1957 Studebaker Commander

By 1957, Studebaker had come out with a refreshingly 'American' look for its line of sedans. Sales kept slipping, however, and in 1959 all the 'big car' lines were dropped in favor of the new compact Lark.

The 1957 Studebakers wore larger taillights and a new wraparound grille, and a four-door station wagon was introduced. Champion and Silver Hawk models were powered by an L-head, 185.6 cubic-inch six-cylinder unit with four main bearings, solid valve lifters, a one-barrel carburetor, and delivering 101 horsepower at 4,000 RPM. The Commander and Silver Hawk came standard with a 259.2 CID V8 with overhead valves, five main bearings, solid valve lifters, a two-barrel carburetor, and delivering 180 horsepower at 4,500 RPM. The President had a 289 CID V8 with 210 horsepower, and the 289 CID V8 in the Golden Hawk delivered 275 horsepower. The President Classic and Hawks rested on a 120.5-inch wheelbase, and the others had a 116.5-inch platform.

Custom trim levels had single-side trim moldings on most of the body side and rubber moldings around the rear windows and windshield. Deluxe trim levels had bright metal moldings around the rear windows and windshield and full-length bodyside trim. The Custom two-door sedan listed for $2,120 and the four-door version at $2,170. Five hundred thirty of the two-door and 828 of the four-door sedan were built. The Deluxe trim level, also offered in two- and four-door sedan configuration, listed for $2,300 and $2,250, respectively. The four-door sedan proved popular, with 10,285 examples built. 2,072 were of the two-door sedan.

By Daniel Vaughan | May 2002