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.

The two-door station wagon was priced at $2,500, and the four-door version at $2,560. The four-door had 3,995 sales while the two-door had 738 sales.

by Dan Vaughan

The Studebaker Commander was produced for several years, representing several body style changes, and first appeared in the 1920s. The company continued to use the name until its demise in 1966. There were only a few years where the Commander did not appear in Studebaker's line-up during that time; those were in 1936 and 1959-1963.

When the name first appeared in 1927, it was Studebaker's middle-series. As the years progress, it would move up and down market, often changing positions from year to year. The name would continue until it was dropped in 1935, only to reappear in 1937, where it served as the company's least expensive model, taking the place of the previous Studebaker Dictator. The company had decided to do away with the 'Dictator' name, due to the negative political connectors associated with the name. Mainly, Adolf Hitler in Germany had tainted the word 'dictator.'

The Commander moved up-market in 1939 when Studebaker introduced the Champion model. After the Second World War, Studebaker dropped its President moniker and repositioned the Commander in its place. At the same time, Studebaker introduced an extended-wheelbase model known as the Land Cruiser.

The President name reappeared in 1955; the President model became the premium model range, and the Commander was demoted to the mid-range model. The name would continue until 1958 and reappear in 1963 for the 1964 model range. It was positioned next to the lowest-priced Lark model and above the entry-level Challenger model.

by Dan Vaughan