A South Bend Commander

The automobile boom that arrived after World War II where people moved out of the cities and into the suburbs helped a lot of car companies, not just the Big Three out of Detroit. Studebaker had been making cars since practically the beginning of the automotive industry but struggling sales, mismanagement and the war had led it into hard times. But through a commanding move it was during the early 1950s that they began to really shine. They lived up to their slogan of "First by Far With a Post War Car."

While Studebaker had always designed rugged, dependable cars, it was the styling of Virgil Exner (who would later move to head up Chrysler's design division) that turned the heads of many buyers. Coming out of the war, Exner set a tone that was continued on by people like Raymond Loewy and Bob Bourke who really took the Studebaker design into the future.

In 1951 Studebaker head Harold Vance asked Loewy's team to develop a two-door, four seat concept show car. Bourke turned out a beauty. Vance liked the car so much that he gave the go ahead to put the car into production. It became the 1953 Commander Starliner. At the time the Commander was the top of the line Studebaker and this car lived up to that status. It was a car that had cleaner lines on a lower silhouette than any buyers of the time had ever seen. The car actually looked European. Since so many soldiers had been exposed to European cars while in the war, the look was almost refreshingly familiar.

Originally many people looked at the Commander and decided it was basically a mid-range Champion with a V 8 engine, there was more to this car than power. Like the Champion the "entry level" Commander was donned with the Starlight badge while the sportier hardtop wore the Starliner name.

The truth is that beneath the stunning styling of the new Commander Starliner coupe, little had changed. The engine, transmission, suspension, everything was basically a hold over. Essentially what the company did was dress up the old in fancy clothes. Still, the scheme worked.

Coupes were suddenly selling at near record rates for Studebaker. But this was a case of good news, bad news for Studebaker. In fact, much of the history of Studebaker was a case of good news, bad news. The good news in this case was the jump in coupe sales. The bad news was that the 1953 sedans, which did not share the same crisp new bodywork, slumped miserably.

Even with demand for the 1953 Commander line and particularly the Starliner, production snafus plagued the car from the beginning. Delays on the line kept cars off of dealer lots for months following the launch. Add to that a string of not so minor problems (such as doors that wouldn't open or cars rusting out prematurely) and the surge in Commander coupe sales was short lived.

By 1955 the company re-introduced the President name to be their top of the line vehicle, relegating the Commander to mid-price status until the name was shut down following the 1958 model year. It made a brief return in 1963 but all of Studebaker shut down in 1966.

The Commander Starliner seen here is one of the original 1953 models.