In the early 1960s, Bendix Corporation became aware of the competitive advantage that a private test facility could provide a supplier to the automotive industry. In December 1963, the Studebaker Corporation, which originally constructed the proving grounds in 1926, shut down production in South Bend. After a three-year lease arrangement, Bendix purchased the proving grounds in 1966, and the BAPG tradition began.  The Bendix Corporation, under a merger, became part of Allied Corporation, which later became AlliedSignal, Inc. In 1996, Robert Bosch GmbH of Stuttgart, Germany, purchased AlliedSignal’s worldwide automotive brake business, including the proving grounds. Over the years, outside customer sales continued to increase, and today over 75 percent of the BAPG’s testing activity is non-Bosch work.