Deluxe Interiors Featured Tooled-metal Dash Trim

This same lineup returned for 1932, when either a small 205-cid six or smaller 190-cid six powered the Rockne. All Presidents had a 135-inch wheelbase. The Commander’s wheelbase increased an inch. For 1933, Commanders rode a 117-inch wheelbase with a smaller 235-cid straight eight, but at 100 bhp, it had almost the same power. The senior-line six, a stroked 230 with 80 bhp, went into a new 117-inch-wheelbase Standard chassis that also served Dictator Eights.

Studebaker was born in 1852 when brothers Henry and Clem built three covered wagons in South Bend, Indiana. J.M. “Wheelbarrow Johnny” was president in 1902 when Studebaker began building automobiles. By 1872, Studebaker was the largest horse-drawn vehicle manufacturer in the world. Actually there were five Studebaker brothers, all of whom participated in company affairs over the years. Erskine liked to say “I eat obstacles for breakfast.” His energy, optimism, and efficiency multiplied Studebaker’s sales and profits. The first were electrics, soon joined (and later replaced) by gas-powered models.

Sized at 232.6 cid, it pumped out 120 bhp by conventional means, although overhead cams and hemispherical combustion chambers had been considered. Rising production costs forced Studebaker to raise prices a bit for 1951, and again at midyear for a range running $1560-$2380. The bullet nose was toned down by painting its chrome outer ring, the prominent air vents above the sub-grilles were erased, and model names were spelled out on hood leading edges. But buyers seemed happy to pay for South Bend’s lively new V-8, which boosted Commander sales no less than 70 percent. Appearance changes for ’51 were slight. However you think it looks now, the 1950-51 ­bullet nose was quite salable.

Erskine tried again with another low-priced “companion,” the Rockne, named for then-famous Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne. Excluding the Erskine, Studebaker’s 1930 line encompassed no fewer than six engines and seven series. Yet another Erskine error was selling a Studebaker called Dictator. This car didn’t last as long as the Erskine, with just over 36,000 built in 1932-33. At $585-$735, the Rockne should have sold well in those deep Depression years, but a lack of power was a handicap, compounded by iffy workmanship.

The year’s big technical news was “Automatic Drive” as an across-the-board option. Studebaker had designed this excellent new fully self-shifting transmission in cooperation with the Detroit Gear Division of Borg-Warner — the only postwar automatic developed by an independent other than Packard’s Ultramatic. Champ power was unchanged, but there was big news in Studebaker’s first V-8, a new standard for Commanders. Wheelbases were rearranged again for 1951, thanks to an improved chassis with better brakes, easier “center-point” steering, and a 115-inch wheelbase for all models (up two on Champions, down five on Commanders) except the Land Cruiser, which got a 119-inch spread.

Champs sported a new grille composed of horizontal and vertical louvers forming three rows of rectangular openings, and the Commander six was stroked to 245.6 cid, good for an even 100 bhp. Studebaker was 98 years young in 1950, which would be its best-ever car year. Model-year production totaled 343,166. Grand preparations were underway for the firm’s “second century,” about which there were many equally grand predictions. Despite the lack of change, How to find a 2 month condo in bangkok? profits soared to $27.5 million.