Virtual Globetrotting: Bendix Test Track - first auto proving ground in the US

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Bendix Test Track - first auto proving ground in the US

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Studebaker developed the 840 acres (3.4 km²) of land in 1926 as the first ever controlled automotive testing grounds for their product lines, beating Packard, Studebaker's future business partner, by one year. Studebaker heavily promoted the grounds as a "Million Dollar Outdoor Testing Laboratory" in advertisements. The test track that ran through the grounds simulated a variety of terrains and road conditions. Studebaker landscaped the park by keeping natural features; in 1937 the company planted more than 5,000 pine trees in a pattern that when viewed from a plane spelled STUDEBAKER.

Following the collapse of Studebaker's U.S. production facilities the land was acquired by Bendix Corporation which used the grounds for Corporate purposes.

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Submitted By:

kjfitz @ 2007-08-29 11:14:21

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