1952 Studebaker Commander

1952 was the first year of Studebaker's 2nd century of vehicle production (starting with farm wagons in 1852), and the 1952 Starliner was Studebaker's first pillarless hardtop. What Studebaker designers essentially did was take a 1952 convertible (1952 was the last year for a Studebaker convertible until the introduction of the Lark) and attach a pillarless hardtop (much like the ones used by Packard and GM) to it in place of the convertible top. A totally new Starliner debuted in 1953.

Appropriately, a Studebaker Commander V-8 Convertible was chosen as the pace car for the 1952 Indianapolis 500. Studebaker executive vice-president P.O. Peterson, accompanied by Wilbur Shaw, was given the honor of piloting the pace car.

The Raymond Loewy-designed car was updated again for 1952, removing the controversial bullet nose with a new 'clam digger' grille. Power was sourced from a 232 cubic-inch V8 that produced 120 bhp, and was the first modern V-8 engine offered in the low-priced field. It had overhead valves, solid valve lifters, five main bearings, a 7.0:1 compression ratio, and a Stromberg two-barrel carburetor. The V-8 was installed in the Commander while the lower-priced Champion was equipped with the L-head 159.5 cubic-inch six-cylinder engine offering 85 horsepower at 4,000 RPM. Both the Champion and the Commander rested on a 115-inch wheelbase except for the Land Cruiser, which had a 119-inch platform.

The Champion was offered in Custom, Deluxe, and Regal trim levels, while the Commander had Regal, State, and Land Cruiser trims. Body styles on the Regal Line included a two- and four-door sedan, and the Starlight Coupe. The two-door sedan was priced at $2,085, and 5,995 examples were built, 22,037 of the sedan were built with a factory base price of $2,120, and 5,127 were Starlight Coupes priced at $2,115.

The State trim level, distinguished by front fender ornaments, included the body styles found on the Regal line, plus a convertible and starliner. The two-door sedan was priced at $2,170, the sedan at $2,200, the Starlight Coupe at $2,200, the convertible at $2,550, and the Starliner at $2,490. The most popular body style was the Starliner with 14,548 examples built, followed by 9,998 of the four-door sedan, 1,529 of the two-door sedan, 3,784 of the Starlight Coupe, and 1,715 of the convertible.

The Land Cruiser, built on the longer wheelbase and equipped with the State Line trim, had a base price of $2,365, and 20,117 examples were built. It remained similar to the previous year's design, except the Land Cruiser name was relocated from the front fender to the deck lid.

1952 was the final year Studebakers used 'suicide' rear doors on their four-door sedans, and Studebaker was the last of over 100 makes of cars that were once produced in Indiana.

All-new styling was introduced for 1953 Studebakers, and the Champion continued to represent the entry-level model while the Commander was at the other end of the spectrum.

by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2007