1927 Studebaker Commander Big Six

The 1927 Studebaker Commander Big Six came equipped with an L-head six-cylinder engine displacing 354 cubic inches and offering 75 horsepower. Introduced in January of 1927, it rested on a 120-inch wheelbase and offered in several body styles, including a sedan, Sport Roadster and coupe, business coupe, custom victoria, sport phaeton, and custom brougham. Priced below the former Big Six, they featured disc wheels, French-type visors, bullet-shaped headlights, Atlanta-style hood mascot, and double bar bumpers.

In 1927 David Abbot 'Ab' Jenkins drove this Commander sedan from New York City to San Francisco in record time. Jenkins left New York at 8:00 pm on August 30 and arrived in San Francisco at 10:40 p.m. on September 2. He covered 3,302 miles in 77 hours and 40 minutes, besting the existing record by one hour. The record Jenkins broke was his own, set one year earlier with a Studebaker Big Six Duplex Phaeton.

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.

By Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2008