1954 Studebaker Commercial Loewy Coupe

1954 Studebaker Coupe. TV Commercial

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• 1954
• Studebaker
• Commercial
• Coupe
• Raymond
• Lowey
• advert
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[okrabay]

why did studebaker go under?

[OsbornTramain]

Studebaker didn't go under, they were a company that had other concerns besides automobile manufacturing. STP Petrolium Products, Wheel Horse Tractors, Olin Engines etc etc. They put their resources into other capital ventures where the felt they could make more profit. The auto division slowly died. The end came in 1966 when they closed their Canadian Operation down. In 1979 McGraw Edison, bought out completely Studebaker-Worthington for namely the Worthington appliance division.

[leadman1979]

Bob Bourke was the actual designer.He worked for Lowey Studios

[OsbornTramain]

True, he worked for Lowey so Lowey is considered responsible by many. Bob Bourke and others from the Studebaker Design Studio are actually responsible for the 49 Ford too. Bourke had a former Stude co worker Designer working for Wagner. Wagner was hired by Ford. Bourke was trying to help this guy (forget his name) and pitched in to help him create the car. He actually thought it was a proposal for Nash as Wagner was keeping it a secret who the car was for.

[momojew]

OK, so in 1954 they could design and build a decent-looking car that got 29 mpg? Was it a 4 or 6 stroke and what happened? I drive a 1995 4 stroke Jeep that gets only 16 mpg on a GOOD day and it's fuel injected. The oil companies are definitely taking us for a ride, so to speak.

[OsbornTramain]

Not the oil industry, it's weight, We want cars with options. This didn't have air, door locks, windows, stereo systems electronics, blah blah blah, it all ads weight and kills mileage

[JSG1951]

They looked way ahead of their time. Very sleek. Thanks for posting!!

[stephanrae]

I am 68 years old and fell in love with the

Studebaker when I was a teenager. The Studebaker was way ahead of its time. I'd love

to see what a 2008 Stude would look like if they were still around wouldn't you?

[MrYellowDawg]

Those cars were steel, not plastic and had radios and door locks and optional air. they got good mileage because the engines and drive-trains were more efficient. today’s cars stuff 5 pounds of drive-train under a 2 pound hood so everything is up front eliminating the need for a full chassis. This makes the car cheaper to build, lowers longevity, and increase maintenance cost resulting in higher profits for the manufacturer.

[MrYellowDawg]

@OsbornTramain Those cars were steel, not plastic and had radios and door locks and optional air. they got good mileage because the engines and drive-trains were more efficient. today’s cars stuff 5 pounds of drive-train under a 2 pound hood so everything is up front eliminating the need for a full chassis. This makes the car cheaper to build, lowers longevity, and increase maintenance cost resulting in higher profits for the manufacturer.

[MrYellowDawg]

Those cars were steel, not plastic and had radios and door locks and optional air. they got good mileage because the engines and drive-trains were more efficient. today’s cars stuff 5 pounds of drive-train under a 2 pound hood so everything is up front eliminating the need for a full chassis. This makes the car cheaper to build, lowers longevity, and increase maintenance cost resulting in higher profits for the manufacturer.

[JeffDeWitt]

@OlegKostoglatov

Couple of things, yes of course those cars didn't have emissions systems or the safety equipment modern cars are weighted down with. Also we are talking about 29 MPG in the Moblegas economy run, which is NOT real world driving.... it was more like the 50's version of hypermiling. It saves gas but is just not a good idea in real traffic.

Plus, we are talking about a car with a 185 cid flathead six, can you say SLOW?

[llanamejia]

Willowhi: I can perfectly understand what you felt when you found your old man's car

[OlegKostoglatov]

@momojew It may also have to do with gear ratios, Jeeps are usually lower geared to go off road so that means more engine revolutions to hit 60 mph which burns more gas. Also in 1954 they did not have emissions crap and could tune the car as they liked, most also used a three on the tree manual and typically no air conditioning unless it was something higher end like a Chrysler or a Packard. Even so 29 mpg sounds a little optimistic, even unlikely for a small six cylinder from back then.

[OlegKostoglatov]

@OsbornTramain You must be thinking of George Walker, he ended up being the lead designer at Ford. Interesting story is that Virgil Exner was also working for Leowy around this time, he had a hand in designing the 1947-48 Studebakers but was moonlighting for Studebaker while he did it. Loewy had his own idea of what the car should look like but Studebaker liked Exner's design, so when Loewy found out what Exner did he was fired and went to work for Chrysler.

[startover942]

I could only indicate I like this; I LOVE this! Go Studebaker!

[50zcarsman]

One of the great designs, but looked too "foreign" for most Americans, and did not look good as a sedan -- coupe only -- thus no mass market.; 2-door cars were only 12-15% of sale most years. Yes, there were build quality problems -- Stude's workers were among the highest-paid, but their tools and dies were not refreshed as often as the Big Three's. Nothing fatal -- Stude had a strong dealer network. Only when people became convinced they might buy an "orphan" did sales plummet (1963-6).

[505197]

@rentatrip1 They didn't get 29 mpg real world , that was the mobil deal and they got all sorts of inflated bullshit results. It was probably closer to 18 on a good day.