Studebaker Commander
Studebaker was one of the very first to market with a brand-new car after World War II, which sent shockwaves through the American auto industry, making even the Big Three scramble to lead the pack. But, having barely survived a bankruptcy during the 1930s, Studebaker was acutely aware that it would be extremely hard-pressed to beat the Big Three at sales—as such, the company sought to be an engineering, styling and technology leader. As the 1950s began, Studebaker started falling behind again and needed a smash hit.
Designer Raymond Loewy and Robert Bourke worked together to create a sleek, low-slung vehicle that would look like nothing coming out of Detroit. Shown as a coupe and sedan, Studebaker immediately adopted the design and predicted the sedan would take 75% of the sales while the coupe would absorb 25%. Interestingly, the coupe was meant as more of a styling exercise for a potential concept car of the future, but Studebaker’s board wanted both. The new Studebaker would stun the market with its smaller design, rakish lines and clean overall look. Sadly, it wouldn’t sell as well as the company had hoped for a variety of reasons, and the coupe outsold the sedan, creating production problems and slowing public confidence even more. For 1955, the company went all out with a restyled front end, new paint options and more brightwork to better compete against the likes of the Big Three and their seeming obsession with chrome.
Studebaker also corrected quality control issues and build concerns and offered a wider range of options including power steering, power brakes and a power seat—V-8 cars could even have air conditioning. All things told, things should have been looking up, but sales still lagged. Fitted with a matching-numbers 259/185 HP HiPo V-8 engine and an automatic transmission, this Commander also boasts a pushbutton radio, leather interior .
