From The Classifieds: 1955 Studebaker Commander

Dwight Eisenhower was the US president, and in Australia we were under the thrall of a Liberal government headed by party founder Robert G Menzies. Despite a number of discomforts including the Korean war and the Suez crisis in 1956, things – in the western world at least – were generally on the up.

The baby boom was on, industry was shifting into top gear and most people were focussed on getting together a peaceful life.

This was reflected in the auto industry, where car-makers were fully immersed in a revitalisation period that followed the drawn-out holding pattern brought about by WWII.

Particularly in the US, car stylists were sprouting their wings with a wave of bold, confident designs that were (if a little outlandish) an optimistic reflection of the future. Many styling cues were taken from the emerging era of jet aircraft, resulting in gaping air intakes and rear wings that became progressively larger and more ludicrous.

Among the forward-thinking US designers at the time was Studebaker stylist Raymond Loewy who, along with stylist Virgil Exner, was a driving force behind the second-tier US car-maker’s determination in the late 1940s to be the first to present the public with truly post-war designs.

Just prior to the invasion of the monstrous rear fins that typified the era and culminated in the likes of General Motors’ iconic and massive 1959 Cadillac, Loewy’s Studebakers were an adventurous yet relatively restrained indicator of where US car design was headed.

This was something at odds with the company’s declining fortunes as it struggled in the wake of the powerful Big Three – General Motors, Ford and Chrysler – but its products were nevertheless among the most striking cars of the era.

Witness the 1953 Studebaker Commander sedan and coupe – a lithe, beautifully resolved evolution of the first post-war Commander series – which demonstrated that excess was not a word in the corporate lexicon.

This 1955 Commander listed currently on carsales.com.au lives in the inner Brisbane suburb of Clayfield and is a little unusual in that it’s a four-door sedan, rather than the coupe version that appears to be a popular presence at Studebaker events, particularly in the US.

What is also unusual is that the kitchen green Commander is claimed to be in “totally original condition”, pretty much untouched – apart from maintenance and a recent engine rebuild – from the day it was delivered new in Brisbane in 1955.

The 289 cubic-inch V8 is a Studebaker engine, not a Ford as some people think, and the three-speed manual transmission includes overdrive as well as a still-functional hill-holding device.

According to the owner: “The upholstery is good and the hood lining excellent. The doors require wind lacing and the carpets no longer exist.”

The Studebaker is being advertised for $25,000, complete with a roadworthy certificate and is a wonderful reminder of what are seen now as more innocent times.

Note: Studebaker was a presence in Australia from before the early days of the motorcar when it was a manufacturer of horse-driven carriages in the mid-1880s. Generations of Studebaker cars followed until the last Cruiser model was sold here in 1968. The Lark model was actually assembled in Australia from 1960.