(EXPANDED FROM 4/16/2021)
The 1941 Studebaker Commander is noteworthy partly because of its lovely art deco styling, but also because it represents close to the last of the automaker’s big premium-priced cars.
In 1939 Studebaker had come out with the Champion, which undercut the Big Three’s low-priced cars in size. The Champion proved to be exactly that — and the opposite of the automaker’s previous efforts to break into the low-priced field with the ill-fated Erskine and Rockne.
For example, in 1941 — the last year of full production before the onset of World War II — Champion output almost reached 85,000 units, overshadowing the mid-level Commander (almost 42,000 units) and top-of-line President (almost 7,000 units).
The Champion had immediately made Studebaker the top-selling independent brand for the first time since 1932.
It’s unfortunate that the Champion overshadowed the senior Studebakers because in 1941 they arguably represented a pre-war stylistic high point for the automaker. We will talk more about that in a minute, but first let’s delve into the the details of Studebaker’s temporarily biforcated lineup.
The Champion wasn’t just a decontented version of the full-sized Studebaker body — it was substantially smaller and lighter than the rest of the lineup. Length was 190.5 inches, which was 15 inches shorter than a Commander and front-and-rear tread was around two inches narrower. That translated into a weight of only 2,480 pounds for a base Champion four-door sedan, which was 730 pounds less than the equivalent Commander.
The President was a fancier Commander with the wheelbase extended ahead of the cowl 5.5 inches and a 250-cubic-inch straight eight instead of a 226-cubic-inch six.
Commander prices hovered around $1,000 to $1,100 whereas the President went for $1,140 to $1,260. The pair of nameplates were roughly comparable in price to Nash’s top-end Ambassador Six and Eight, Hudson’s Commodore Six and Eight and Packard’s entry-level 110 six.
1941 redesign was a high point for Raymond Loewy
The big Studebaker body was restyled for 1941 by Raymond Loewy’s design firm. The new look stood out because of its art deco details, such as the biplane front bumper and side sweepspear. Our featured car, a Commander six-window sedan, has a subtle version of the two-tone paint (called “Delux-Tone”).
Take a look at the delicate curvature of the waterfall twin grilles. And the complexity of that front bumper, replete with five sets of thin red stripes.
Note how the sweepspear gets gradually thicker as it moves to the front of the car, giving the impression of forward motion. And how the trunk lid’s strongly vertical logo is echoed in the shape of the taillights as well as the downward-pointing red stripes in the V-shaped rear bumper.
Perhaps the most controversial design element is the rounded bulge around the rear wheels. I go back and forth on whether it works, but if nothing else it was refreshingly unique at a time when rear fenders tended to be blandly similar.
The six-window sedan was arguably not the most interesting big Studebaker body style. Both the Commander and President also offered a four-window sedan that J. P. Cavanaugh (2019a) described as a “sleeker version of a Cadillac Sixty Special or a more formal rendition of the Packard Clipper.” That was very good company to be in.
For 1942 the Studebaker lost some of its design nuance. A new grille was decidedly generic, the deletion of the sweepspears made for rather plain side styling, and the bumpers were turned into battering rams. Ugh.
Not the ideal end for the big Studebaker, but we could ignore the 1942 models because of the abbreviated production run.
Was it smart for Studebaker to abandon big cars?
1939-41 Champion sales were so strong compared to its Studebaker’s big cars that After World War II the automaker moved its entire lineup to the more compact platform. Prices still straddled the low-priced and premium-priced fields, but the Studebaker tended to be shorter, narrower and lighter than the competition. It also no longer offered a straight eight.
At least in the short run this would prove to be a good financial move. Up through 1953 Studebaker outsold all other independent automakers, sometimes by significant margins (go here for further discussion).
Cavanaugh (2019b) has wondered whether that strategy was a “slow motion trap of costs (too) high to compete with inexpensive cars and not enough prestige or size to sell in higher-price segments.”
His point is reasonable. In theory, an independent automaker that focused on the premium-priced, full-sized class could at least partially make up for its relatively low volume with higher profits.
The wild card here is that competition would become positively brutal in the premium-priced field in the 1950s. None of the independent automakers could afford to keep up with the Big Three’s rapid-fire advancements, such as V8 engines, four-door hardtops and lower-slung bodies.
Then sales collapsed during the Eisenhower recession of the late-50s. Even Chrysler struggled to maintain its standing in this field (go here for further discussion).
Geeber (2019) offered a counterpoint to Cavanaugh that is closer to my way of thinking. “The only way for an independent to survive was by taking the Nash route – offer something that buyers couldn’t get at a Big Three dealership, and market it appropriately (i.e., the first Rambler was a small car, but not a cheap car).”
This is why I look at the 1941 Commander with wistful ambivalence. The styling was memorable so I find it too bad that the big Studebaker’s time in the sun ended so quickly. But if nothing else, this car went out on a higher note than its postwar family compact cars.
NOTES:
This story was originally posted on Dec. 1, 2019 and expanded on April 16, 2021 and Oct. 1, 2024. Production figures and specifications are from the auto editors of Consumer Guide (2006), Classic Car Database (2024), Flory (2009), Gunnell (2002) and (Wikipedia (2022).
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Auto editors of Consumer Guide; 2006. Encyclopedia of American Cars. Publications International; Lincolnwood, Ill.
- Cavanaugh, J. P.; 2019. “Curbside Classic: 1941 Studebaker President Skyway Cruising Sedan – The Ex President.” Posted April 23.
- ——; 2019. Commentator in “Curbside Classic: 1941 Studebaker President Skyway Cruising Sedan – The Ex President.” Posted 10:04 a.m., April 28.
- listing and photo gallery.” Accessed April 24.
- Classic Car Database; 2024. “Search for Specifications.” Accessed Oct. 1.
- Flory, J. “Kelly” Jr.; 2009. American Cars, 1946-1959: Every Model, Year by Year. McFarland & Co.
- Geeber; 2019. Commentator in “Curbside Classic: 1941 Studebaker President Skyway Cruising Sedan – The Ex President.” Posted 11:53 a.m., December 30.
- Gunnell, John; 2002. Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1946-1975. Revised 4th Ed. Krause Publications, Iola, WI.
- Kimes, Beverly Rae and Henry Austin Clark, Jr.; 1996. Standard Catalog of American cars 1805-1942. Third Ed. Krause Publications, Iola, WA.
- Wikipedia; 2022. “U.S. Automobile Production Figures.” Page last modified Jan. 26.
ADVERTISING & BROCHURES
- oldcarbrochures.org: Studebaker (1941, 1942)
- oldcaradvertising.com: Studebaker (1941)
I had never realized just how distinct these big prewar Studes were. It seems that since the Classic era and the early thirties bankrupcy, Studebaker had been retreating downmarket step by step. The early fifties Land Cruisers seemed a big car, I’d never realized they were ‘just’ a stretched smaller one, not in line with the big thirties Studes. Likewise the ’57; a chance viewing of one driving past didn’t make the narrowness apparent. The Lark was sort of the Champion concept revived, once again with no big brother. Eventually they ran out of market to retreat to.
I’ve never seen one of these Commanders in the metal. Those rear fenders do look odd, sort of reminiscent of early thirties Hupmobile front fenders which followed the wheel more closely than was the norm. An odd look for the time.
I wonder, could they have fitted the eight into the Champion body postwar? MInd you, lack of an eight didn’t seem to bother them for ’50, and they were working on the V8 for ’51, so I guess it didn’t matter.
Seems like Studebaker back then was trying to do two or three steps on the Sloan ladder under one brand. Granted, Studebaker tried companion makes twice and flopped.
To fully appreciate what Studebaker lost after the Albert Russel Erskine management debacle of the not cutting back on production in 1929-1930, followed by the disastrous declaration of a cash dividend of $ 7.8-million in 1930 (5x 1930 profits !) and a 1931 cash dividend of $ 3.5-million, evaporating available working capital, plus the failure of the Erskine and Rockne models, a tour of the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend, I believe, is a must for anyone who really cares about the failure of the brand. The magnificent cars of the mid-1930s: The near-classic straight-eights (that raced at Indianapolis) are truly desirable cars. Even the smaller cars spun off the Champion and the Commander before World War II were well-engineered cars. Perhaps if Studebaker had not been first by far with a post-war car in 1947, they might have developed a different strategy for survival.