Studebaker Commander
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Studebaker Commander was an automobile produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana (USA) and Studebaker of Canada Ltd. of Hamilton, Ontario (Canada). Studebaker began using the Commander name in the 1920s and continued to use it until the company folded in 1966 with the exception of 1936 and 1959-63. The model held various positions in the Studebaker hierarchy, and in some cases changed its role in the Studebaker line-up from one year to the next.
In 1927 the Commander name was assigned to Studebaker’s middle series; previously, that vehicle range had been known as the short wheelbase Big Six models. (Also in the late 1920s long wheel base Studebaker Big Six vehicles were renamed the Studebaker President, and Standard Six models were rechristened the Studebaker Dictator.)
In 1935, the Commander was dropped from Studebaker’s product line, only to be reinstated in 1937 when the name was applied to Studebaker’s least expensive range formerly known as the Studebaker Dictator. In 1939, Studebaker introduced the Champion, and again the Commander line was positioned as the midrange vehicle.
Following World War II, Studebaker dropped its President models, and the Commander again was elevated in the line up. Studebaker also rolled out an extended wheelbase model, the Land Cruiser.
In 1955 Studebaker reintroduced the President moniker to denote its premium model range and Commander was shifted to mid range model. The Commander line was extended down in price with the introduction of the Custom sub-series, basically becoming a Champion with a V8 engine. Studebaker placed the name on hiatus at the end of the 1958 model year.
In 1963, Studebaker again resurrected the Commander name for the 1964 model year to denote the next to lowest-priced Lark model, the Challenger being on the bottom. 1964 Studebaker Commanders are easily identified by their single headlight arrangement. For 1965 the Commander shared the dual headlight system with the Daytona and Cruiser thus making it easy to tell the 1964 model from the 1965.
[edit] Trivia
- A specially-painted Studebaker Commander was used in the film The Muppet Movie. One of these now resides in the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend.
- The Bullet-nosed models were the inspiration for the Rover P4.
[edit] References
- Maloney, James H. (1994). Studebaker Cars. Crestline Books. ISBN 0-87938-884-6.
- Kimes, Beverly R., Editor. Clark, Henry A. (1996). The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1945. Kraus Publications. ISBN 0-87341-428-4.
- Langworth, Richard (1979). Studebaker, the Postwar Years. Motorbooks International. ISBN 0-87938-058-6.
- Gunnell, John, Editor (1987). The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975. Kraus Publications. ISBN 0-87341-096-3.
