1942 Studebaker Champion

With the United States' declaration of war in December of 1941, manufacturers began retooling for defense production. Beginning January 1, 1942, certain raw materials such as aluminum and chromium, were restricted to military applications. Manufacturers substituted painted trim for chrome and used other non-critical metals in place of aluminum. Studebaker called these models 'Series 90' in honor of its 90th anniversary and was nicknamed 'blackout' models for their lack of brightwork.

This particular example was built on January 29, 1942. No new automobiles were built after January 31, 1942, as the industry converted entirely to war production.

The 1942 Studebaker Champion was wider and featured several body style changes. In the front were bumpers that had a built-in license plate assembly. The grille reached completely across the front of the cars. Cross-hatching horizontal and vertical bars were located on either side of a vertical center member.

Production of the Studebaker Champion began in 1939 and continued for nearly twenty years, ending in 1958 when it was replaced by the Studebaker Lark. The Studebaker Champion was a very important model because, at the time of its introduction, the Studebaker Company entered receivership. The Great Depression had taken its toll on the company and nearly forced it out of business. The success of the Studebaker Champion would determine the future of the Studebaker Company.

This was a new model for Studebaker. The design was new and did not borrow from any of its sibling automobiles; it was simple and clean. It was the work of Raymond Loewy. The selected amenities and components were appropriate. They had been chosen after doing research into what the public most desired in an automobile. Thought and planning continued into the automotive components, which were rather advanced from an engineering standpoint. Under the hood was a pushrod engine that provided suitable power to the very lightweight automobile. It was given awards by Mobilgas for its superior fuel economy. During World War II when fuel was rationed, the popularity of the Studebaker Champion was highly sought after.

The Studebaker Champion carried a sticker price of just $660 at the close of the 1930's. This very low price made the vehicle even more attractive and would go on to become one of the best-selling models for the Studebaker Company.

A very low-priced Champion model was introduced in 1957 called the Champion Scotsman. The vehicle was void of any extra amenities and all that was left was the bare essentials. The purpose of the vehicle was to give customers a low-cost alternative and to better compete with the larger Automobile Manufacturers who were offering the same type of vehicle at a very low cost.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2006