With the possible exception of the Ghia Cadillac www.bing.com/images/search?q=1953+ghia+cadillac&id=4214F2C069800700272B638E340815E09A6C77B4&form=EQNAMI&first=1&scenario=ImageBasicHover&cw=1117&ch=718
My father graduated art school in 1954 and purchased a Studebaker Commander Starliner from the dealer in West Memphis, Arkasas. He originally planned to buy it in Memphis, Tennessee, but the dealer blew him off as a kid who was just dreaming. My parents married and moved to Miami, Florida soon after, where dad began his career in advertising. I was born in 1960 and was driven home in this car. Throughout the 60's this car was my mothers daily driver. I can remember mom and I driving in the front seat (no seatbelts), mom smoking and shifting that column shifter. Whenever she'd brake hard, she'd stiff arm my chest (who needs seatbelts?) My very earliest memory is of being about 3 years old and somehow sneaking out of the house and immediately going over to the car and lifting the fuel door up and smelling the intoxicating smell of leaded gas! In the 70's both my brother Forrest and I took turns driving it to high school. I can remember one day driving way too fast and cresting the only hill in Coconut Grove, only to pass my father going the opposite direction. Kind of hard to look innocent when you get busted doing 70 in a 35, driving a bright yellow '54 Stude. Yes I got lectured, but still got to keep my driving privileges. In the early 80's dad had the car painted black. Not long after he told me that he was going to sell the car. I was really sad about it. Soon thereafter my birthday came around and my folks asked me what I wanted for my B day present. Normally gifts were either not given or were very basic and inexpensive. I took a deep breath and gathered my courage and said " what I'd REALLY like is your Studebaker!" I nearly fainted when he said yes. In the mid 80's I drove cross country by myself and had a few adventures along the way. Somewhere west of Fort Stockton, TX I got pulled over by a trooper who said he paced me going nearly 100 MPH. He asked what was under the hood and I told him it was a stock. The cop was cool and also really liked the car so he let me go with NO citation! Today, I am almost 61 years old. I still own the car, but it sadly sits in my garage, not running. Logically, I should get rid of it as I can't afford to put it back on the road, but I just cannot bring myself to part with it. I tell myself, "Maybe someday..."
Wade, I'm the owner of the car in the video and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your story. I'd love to see your '54 Starliner, and bet it looks great painted black. Thanks for sharing such a special recollection.
My high school best pal's father owned one of these with the same color scheme. It was his daily driver for many years. It was amazingly comfortable and smooth handling. I rode in it countless times in the late 1960s.
Studebaker used this chassis in an amazing variety of models. Avanti, Gran Turismo Hawk, President, the 1957 and 1958 Packard, the Lark - right up to the bitter end in 1966. Fantastically beautiful and exciting styling. Thank you, Charles.
Because they didn't have the money for a modern one. No ball joint front suspension, no curving frame to allow foot wells. The lower Starliner (later Hawk) models like this one had half width foot wells in the back seat because the frame was in the way. So you got enough legroom for one of your legs. Even the 1953 models suffered from insufficient money spent on engineering and testing. The frames were too flexible. This was fixed along the way. The 1953's were a brave gamble but after that there was never enough money, their factory was the most inefficient, and their labor contracts the most expensive, and management was not good. The Lark compact was just a shortened 1953 body which worked for a while but really the story was winding down through the 1950's already. That doesn't mean that this example isn't an influential design classic.
The Skyliner/Starliner chassis morphed into the Hawk, Silver Hawk, Power Hawk, Speedster, Golden Hawk, Packard Hawk, and ultimately the Gran Turismo Hawk. The full sized Packardbaker, Studebakers, and truncated Larks were sourced from a different chassis. The Avanti was a new design, but it’s underpinnings were basically taken from the Lark.
I had an uncle that had an Avanti....... I was in awe every time I was around it!! My aunt still has it in her garage........hope someone gets it and restores it after she's gone.😉
Someday my Studebaker will be this nice. And I’d love to have a passenger as excited about it as Mr Phoenix! I’m glad I found this channel, all the videos are super fun to watch!
It really is amazing how different this looked than other American cars of the early '50s. Not to take away anything from the many beautifully-designed cars of that era, but this is just so elegant in its form and posture. Wow.
That car was radically simple and modern in '53, and is still beautiful today. I remember some very stylish friends of my grandparents had a new one, yellow with a black roof. Your choice of Rose Hills as venue was fabulous.
Now you are stylin' in a Raymond Loewy forerunner to the Hawks. Sleek enough for a Salt Flats classic and ahead of it's era with a near timeless presence.. That's a really nice one too.
less is MORE! That was one heck of a car! Understated elegance to be sure. Studebaker was (the scrappy car company) that would put up a fight with the BIG 3. Well done!
Dad loved Studebaker, we had three growing up. I learned to drive on a '53 Commander V/8, three on the tree. Dad let me put 3in lowering blocks and spun aluminum lake hub caps and dual glass packs on her. That 1953 Loewy Coupe design was way ahead of its time. It was clean and simple before all the chrome and do-dads were added, it's the one I wish was still in the garage. Our last was a '56 Golden Hawk. A Muscle Car before the Muscle Cars. I was king of the Pack in '58. Ahh the memories. Keep 'em alive.
The '53 Studebaker coupe was one of the most influential car designs of the 1950's. Often cited for being an inspiration to other later stylists. THANKS CHARLES! Great video!
I WANT IT.....😍 BUT where's the engine? Dad loved Studebakers. We had four during my teenage years. I learned to drive on a 53 Commander V8 stick shift. Never forgot that car. He even let me cool it up. 3" lowering blocks, spun aluminum Bonneville moon hubcaps, glasspac duel exhaust, 3 on the floor and of course the Black DiceI in the windshield.I only had my learners permit at the time, but boy that car was fun . The last Stude I remember was a 56 Golden Hawk with the Packard V/8 that he bought for 'Mom'. My brother and I new better though, the grin on his face when he brought it home gave him away. It was just time for me to be the head of the "crew." Me with my 200ft one wheel burnouts. I still consider to be it the first muscle car, that ride was a HOOT. Aluminum engine turned dash with Stewart Warner gauges, Golden & Cream two-tone paint, it was one cool ride. I still have those Dice...wish I had the car to put them in. RLC
Charles this is about class and clean lines not a boat load of chrome and gargantuan fins. I can tell this is a first class quality restoration by the pristine chrome bumpers. As always your JOYRIDE SERIES stands alone in the car story Universe. Amazing!!
I owned one in the late 90's. Charcoal color\white top 1953 studebaker commander. But what I remember most about it, was it had beautiful white leather diamond tufted seats,front and back. Shoulda kept it!
I'm a Mopar guy but the early 50's Studebakers are awesome my favorites and the 50-51 Champion and Commander Starlight coupe with the bullet nose. they are a beauty and the so is the rest of the 1950's Studebakers like the Golden hawks another beauty with the big supercharged engines
That's what I read, as well. Thanks for bringing that up. Also, Virgil Exner worked for Raymond Loewy and the two apparently had a falling out due to the practice you mentioned.
@@_charlesphoenix Fintastic! I can hardly wait to see it. Charles, I don't know how often you get to Palm Springs, but if you do and want to feature more Studebakers, my lifelong friend, Garth Collins, has a beautiful '55 Black & White President and a Lavender '63 GT Hawk. He's currently restoring a '57 Golden Hawk. Garth and I were members of the Freewheelers in San Francisco. Just let me know and I'll be happy to forward his contact information. Thanks for all you do to keep us smiling. Derric Dickson
My wife and I restored a 1956 Powerhawk with the same profile. She drove it to work every day to Century City for several years in the 80's and 90's. Turned lots of heads.
Thank God for another spell-binding episode of Joy Ride with your host, Charles Phoenix. Thank you Steve for sharing your mid-Century masterpiece. What an INCREDIBLE car! (Boo to the loser who gave the first thumbs down I've ever seen on any of these life-saving episodes - loser!) You know better than that! Thanks again guys!
Grew up in South Bend , little boy in the 50's, thought ALL cars were supposed to look as good as Studebakers, then reality crashed into my styling delusions in the 60's.
People can't design such beautiful cars anymore. The so called engineers of design are either blind to beauty or too ignorant from sparse education to see and understand. And perhaps the modern day die makers haven't enough moxie to engineer the curvatures and other features needed to even replicate any Studebaker.
While not the sales success hoped for, the Skyliner and its pillared companion the Starliner, are automotive works of art. Unfortunately in years that followed, Studebaker added massive amounts of chrome and tail fins, making a clean design as cluttered as Loewy tried to avoid. On a scale of 10, this is a 20!!
I don't believe, that Studebaker ever used the Skyliner name, for these models. I'm not aware of them, ever using it, for any of their other models, either? Studebaker used, the Starliner name, for the pillerless Hardtop models, and celled the models, with the B pillers Starlight coupes.
I saw where someone said "it's not a Golden Hawk"...so comparing the two, it's like Studebaker gave in to the heavy handed styling of others, as you stated 'Unfortunately" of all the chrome and fins and clutter to this design. This proves less is more (v GH), so elegant in it's simplicity.
A popular mod at the time this car was in production was to replace the engine with a Cadillac engine. They were marketed as 'Studillacs'. There is a whole chapter, even the title, of a James Bond novel devoted to Studillac.
Well it's not a Golden Hawk (my childhood "when I grow up" car) but it is still sheer beauty in automotive design. Thanks for sharing Charles. *btw... ya, when I grew up Studebaker was gone. Youth blown on a pipe dream!
This car, in black and white, does a star turn as Kevin Spacey's ride in "L.A. Confidential.". And Spacey steps out of it dressed in black shirt and slacks, with a white sport coat. Still the best looking car of the 1950s.
In 1953 Americans wanted boxy, family sized cars. The Studebaker was too radical, and the 4-door model looked awkward and small. In 1956 Studebaker reverted to the boxy look, like Chevrolet, but it was too late.
100 years ahead, Wait, I must mean 150 years ahead of it's time! Can't die makers machine those lines for patterns anymore??? How horrifying they haven't the expertise any longer!!!
A few miles from where I lived in LA was a street named, "Studebaker". In the late Eighties I thought about buying a '57 Hawk, but later I saw the 53s, and liked the finless versions more.
3:08 Designed by Bob Bourke, an employee within Raymond Loewy's design firm. Loewy spotted the Starliner sketches and presented them to Studebaker. Yeah, other designers within Loewy's organization refined the shape and feasibility for production, but Bourke had the idea.
The subtleness and lack of flash makes this car stand out from all the other offerings from the 50s. Don't get me wrong, I love chrome and fins as much as the next guy, but there's something cool about the 53-54 Studebaker that you don't find in other 50s American cars. Less is more.
I know it's a crazy comparison, because they are cars of very different size and mechanics, but there is something in the proportions of this car that reminds me of a VW Karmann-Ghia
so streamlined it left the stodgy dodges and frumpy fords billowing in its wake! although truth told it wasn't the highest output V8 at the time. it may as well have been from outer space, as it looked like no other car at the time. what the hotshot young bachelor should drive!
@@stephendavidbailey2743 I believe 239 was the displacement, of the contemporary flathead Ford V8s? With a 3 - 3/8" dia. Bore, and a 3 - 1/4" Stroke. The '51 - '54 Studebaker V8s, displaced 232.6 cu. in. It did produce more power, than the Ford flatheads. It, also produced more hp / cu. in. Than both the 333" Cadillac, and the 303" Olds V8s, that preceded it. The ratio of the Chrysler Hemi, introduced in '52, was only slightly better. When equipped with the three speed OD. tranny, the Stude V8 was also capable of nearly 30 mpg, on the Highway. The '53 Corvette, with the, tripple carburated, 235" Blue Flame, stove bolt 6, had only 20 more horses. There were heads available with a compression ratio that was a half point higher than the standard 7:1 compression heads. They raised the horsepower rating to 127 hp. These heads were used, as the standard heads, in '54.
The styling of this car is so amazing. Hard to believe this is from 1953. Beats every other American car for styling for that year IMO.
With the possible exception of the Ghia Cadillac www.bing.com/images/search?q=1953+ghia+cadillac&id=4214F2C069800700272B638E340815E09A6C77B4&form=EQNAMI&first=1&scenario=ImageBasicHover&cw=1117&ch=718
@@alanblanes2876 I was referring to production cars. Only 2 Ghias were built. I like the silhouette and rear styling of the Ghia but not the front.
Nothing was even close.
So far ahead of its time. I wish I could afford one as I am a 53 model myself. Come on Lotto numbers !
My father graduated art school in 1954 and purchased a Studebaker Commander Starliner from the dealer in West Memphis, Arkasas. He originally planned to buy it in Memphis, Tennessee, but the dealer blew him off as a kid who was just dreaming. My parents married and moved to Miami, Florida soon after, where dad began his career in advertising. I was born in 1960 and was driven home in this car. Throughout the 60's this car was my mothers daily driver. I can remember mom and I driving in the front seat (no seatbelts), mom smoking and shifting that column shifter. Whenever she'd brake hard, she'd stiff arm my chest (who needs seatbelts?) My very earliest memory is of being about 3 years old and somehow sneaking out of the house and immediately going over to the car and lifting the fuel door up and smelling the intoxicating smell of leaded gas! In the 70's both my brother Forrest and I took turns driving it to high school. I can remember one day driving way too fast and cresting the only hill in Coconut Grove, only to pass my father going the opposite direction. Kind of hard to look innocent when you get busted doing 70 in a 35, driving a bright yellow '54 Stude. Yes I got lectured, but still got to keep my driving privileges. In the early 80's dad had the car painted black. Not long after he told me that he was going to sell the car. I was really sad about it. Soon thereafter my birthday came around and my folks asked me what I wanted for my B day present. Normally gifts were either not given or were very basic and inexpensive. I took a deep breath and gathered my courage and said " what I'd REALLY like is your Studebaker!" I nearly fainted when he said yes. In the mid 80's I drove cross country by myself and had a few adventures along the way. Somewhere west of Fort Stockton, TX I got pulled over by a trooper who said he paced me going nearly 100 MPH. He asked what was under the hood and I told him it was a stock. The cop was cool and also really liked the car so he let me go with NO citation! Today, I am almost 61 years old. I still own the car, but it sadly sits in my garage, not running. Logically, I should get rid of it as I can't afford to put it back on the road, but I just cannot bring myself to part with it. I tell myself, "Maybe someday..."
What a GREAT story ... I'll make sire the owner of this red car reads your story. He'll enjoy it too.
Wade, I'm the owner of the car in the video and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your story. I'd love to see your '54 Starliner, and bet it looks great painted black. Thanks for sharing such a special recollection.
I remember seeing a 1953 Studebaker Commander coupe once for 3k. Wish I'd bought it.
My high school best pal's father owned one of these with the same color scheme. It was his daily driver for many years. It was amazingly comfortable and smooth handling. I rode in it countless times in the late 1960s.
You could do a 30 minute video just on that Dealer Guidebook!
I knoooowwww! 🤣
Studebaker used this chassis in an amazing variety of models. Avanti, Gran Turismo Hawk, President, the 1957 and 1958 Packard, the Lark - right up to the bitter end in 1966. Fantastically beautiful and exciting styling. Thank you, Charles.
Because they didn't have the money for a modern one. No ball joint front suspension, no curving frame to allow foot wells. The lower Starliner (later Hawk) models like this one had half width foot wells in the back seat because the frame was in the way. So you got enough legroom for one of your legs. Even the 1953 models suffered from insufficient money spent on engineering and testing. The frames were too flexible. This was fixed along the way. The 1953's were a brave gamble but after that there was never enough money, their factory was the most inefficient, and their labor contracts the most expensive, and management was not good. The Lark compact was just a shortened 1953 body which worked for a while but really the story was winding down through the 1950's already.
That doesn't mean that this example isn't an influential design classic.
The Skyliner/Starliner chassis morphed into the Hawk, Silver Hawk, Power Hawk, Speedster, Golden Hawk, Packard Hawk, and ultimately the Gran Turismo Hawk. The full sized Packardbaker, Studebakers, and truncated Larks were sourced from a different chassis. The Avanti was a new design, but it’s underpinnings were basically taken from the Lark.
@@emjayay Thanks for the comment - most interesting.
I had an uncle that had an Avanti....... I was in awe every time I was around it!! My aunt still has it in her garage........hope someone gets it and restores it after she's gone.😉
Gawd, this guy looks like the kid in, "Christmas Story" all grown up.
Someday my Studebaker will be this nice. And I’d love to have a passenger as excited about it as Mr Phoenix! I’m glad I found this channel, all the videos are super fun to watch!
Love this guy. Cracks me up while being informative and enjoyable to watch and listen to. Great voice!!!!
It really is amazing how different this looked than other American cars of the early '50s. Not to take away anything from the many beautifully-designed cars of that era, but this is just so elegant in its form and posture. Wow.
What a beauty! Thanks for sharing Charles.
Gorgeous car...fabulous restoration!
Studebakers were beautiful automobiles with cutting edge styling as this 1953 is a fine example of!! Thank you Charles for yet another great video!! 🙂
Glad you enjoyed it
One of the most attractive Studebakers of all time!
This is just pure elegance on wheels.. It screams sophisticated.
You have your values very well sorted on the subject of S T U D E B A K ER...
That car was radically simple and modern in '53, and is still beautiful today. I remember some very stylish friends of my grandparents had a new one, yellow with a black roof. Your choice of Rose Hills as venue was fabulous.
Now you are stylin' in a Raymond Loewy forerunner to the Hawks. Sleek enough for a Salt Flats classic and ahead of it's era with a near timeless presence.. That's a really nice one too.
less is MORE! That was one heck of a car! Understated elegance to be sure. Studebaker was (the scrappy car company) that would put up a fight with the BIG 3. Well done!
Just like the old saying, Less is MORE! Another BEAUTIFUL Video Charles ❤️❤️
Sad that such an industry has ended ,,, distinctive, beautiful and practical design !!!
This guy cracks me up.
the brochure gave a maximum presentation for such a minimal automobile design. everything about this car is clean.
Dad loved Studebaker, we had three growing up. I learned to drive on a '53 Commander V/8, three on the tree. Dad let me put 3in lowering blocks and spun aluminum lake hub caps and dual glass packs on her. That 1953 Loewy Coupe design was way ahead of its time. It was clean and simple before all the chrome and do-dads were added, it's the one I wish was still in the garage. Our last was a '56 Golden Hawk. A Muscle Car before the Muscle Cars. I was king of the Pack in '58. Ahh the memories. Keep 'em alive.
The '53 Studebaker coupe was one of the most influential car designs of the 1950's. Often cited for being an inspiration to other later stylists. THANKS CHARLES! Great video!
Thanks for sharing!
I WANT IT.....😍 BUT where's the engine?
Dad loved Studebakers. We had four during my teenage years.
I learned to drive on a 53 Commander V8 stick shift. Never forgot that car. He even let me cool it up. 3" lowering blocks, spun aluminum Bonneville moon hubcaps, glasspac duel exhaust, 3 on the floor and of course the Black DiceI in the windshield.I only had my learners permit at the time, but boy that car was fun
.
The last Stude I remember was a 56 Golden Hawk with the Packard V/8 that he bought for 'Mom'.
My brother and I new better though, the grin on his face when he brought it home gave him away.
It was just time for me to be the head of the "crew." Me with my 200ft one wheel burnouts.
I still consider to be it the first muscle car, that ride was a HOOT.
Aluminum engine turned dash with Stewart Warner gauges, Golden & Cream two-tone paint, it was one cool ride.
I still have those Dice...wish I had the car to put them in.
RLC
Charles this is about class and clean lines not a boat load of chrome and gargantuan fins. I can tell this is a first class quality restoration by the pristine chrome bumpers. As always your JOYRIDE SERIES stands alone in the car story Universe. Amazing!!
❤️ I love Studebaker‘s! This is a beautiful car and it has a three on the column!
I owned one in the late 90's.
Charcoal color\white top 1953 studebaker commander.
But what I remember most about it, was it had beautiful white leather diamond tufted seats,front and back.
Shoulda kept it!
I'm a Mopar guy but the early 50's Studebakers are awesome my favorites and the 50-51 Champion and Commander Starlight coupe with the bullet nose. they are a beauty and the so is the rest of the 1950's Studebakers like the Golden hawks another beauty with the big supercharged engines
Loewy never designed anything. He just owned the company that hired the stylists. The main man that designed this car was named Robert Bourke.
That's what I read, as well. Thanks for bringing that up. Also, Virgil Exner worked for Raymond Loewy and the two apparently had a falling out due to the practice you mentioned.
Edison did the same thing.
Just like Steve Jobs.
Im so glad I found this channel ! #1 fan!🤗👍✌️😁
Charles, thank you for a great look at this beautiful car. So streamlined for the early 1950's. Lovely!
Sophisticated Stude & Dude!
I want a bucket seat 1961 Hawk.
Thanks for posting.
1964 GT Hawk for me.
@@stephendavidbailey2743 Also a great consideration. PS, PB Buckets, Borg Warner Power-Shift, Twin Traction & AC. Navy, Silver or Black.
Steve has a 61 Hawk too ... will be a joyride soon !!!
@@_charlesphoenix Fintastic! I can hardly wait to see it.
Charles, I don't know how often you get to Palm Springs, but if you do and want to feature more Studebakers, my lifelong friend, Garth Collins, has a beautiful '55 Black & White President and a Lavender '63 GT Hawk. He's currently restoring a '57 Golden Hawk.
Garth and I were members of the Freewheelers in San Francisco. Just let me know and I'll be happy to forward his contact information.
Thanks for all you do to keep us smiling.
Derric Dickson
truly beautiful , amazing how good it still looks after all this time .
It does!
I really enjoy your videos and enthusiasm for vintage cars! Keep them coming Charles
Absolutely amazing, thanks for the video I love it
All of your videos are excellent, this one is too. Superb job!!!!
It’s too too bad Loewy couldn’t save this company. Killer styling.
You are right, Loewy was a real Genius of Design. This is car far ahead in the future.
..or Brooks Stevens, 10 years later..
My wife and I restored a 1956 Powerhawk with the same profile. She drove it to work every day to Century City for several years in the 80's and 90's. Turned lots of heads.
Thank God for another spell-binding episode of Joy Ride with your host, Charles Phoenix. Thank you Steve for sharing your mid-Century masterpiece. What an INCREDIBLE car! (Boo to the loser who gave the first thumbs down I've ever seen on any of these life-saving episodes - loser!) You know better than that! Thanks again guys!
Thrilled you enjoyed !!! ...
This car influenced the design of many cars, the original Ford Mustang, the second gen Chevy Camaro, countless others.
it was SO ahead of its time !!!
Grew up in South Bend , little boy in the 50's, thought ALL cars were supposed to look as good as Studebakers, then reality crashed into my styling delusions in the 60's.
9 of 9 : my grandmas dad owned the company! I wasn’t alive during that time but I’m very proud of my family!
People can't design such beautiful cars anymore. The so called engineers of design are either blind to beauty or too ignorant from sparse education to see and understand. And perhaps the modern day die makers haven't enough moxie to engineer the curvatures and other features needed to even replicate any Studebaker.
there was no better looking car for 1953!
Steve's car is gorgeous!
I. LOVE. This. Car.
My Dad bought a brand new Champion in the same colors. He traded in a 1946 Ford Sportsman woody ragtop. I have the receipts and pictures of both cars.
I saw my first of these a few years ago and I was surprised at how small they are.
Exuberant video for a subtle car!
While not the sales success hoped for, the Skyliner and its pillared companion the Starliner, are automotive works of art. Unfortunately in years that followed, Studebaker added massive amounts of chrome and tail fins, making a clean design as cluttered as Loewy tried to avoid. On a scale of 10, this is a 20!!
I don't believe, that Studebaker ever used the Skyliner name, for these models. I'm not aware of them, ever using it, for any of their other models, either? Studebaker used, the Starliner name, for the pillerless Hardtop models, and celled the models, with the B pillers Starlight coupes.
You’re correct! Must have had Charlie Barnet’s “Skyliner” on my mind. 😗
I saw where someone said "it's not a Golden Hawk"...so comparing the two, it's like Studebaker gave in to the heavy handed styling of others, as you stated 'Unfortunately" of all the chrome and fins and clutter to this design. This proves less is more (v GH), so elegant in it's simplicity.
@@KP-zi6jx True! And Loewy proved less is more with the Avanti. While it didn’t save Studebaker, to this day it’s a timeless classic of design.
I like how the car actually is as long and low as the picture in the brochure!
Funny, yes!
You have the job I’ve always dreamed of
Very beautiful Studebaker. My great grandparents used to help make these beauties in their days.
Love this car.
Love it even more now!
Best looking car in 1953. My aunt had one.
A popular mod at the time this car was in production was to replace the engine with a Cadillac engine. They were marketed as 'Studillacs'. There is a whole chapter, even the title, of a James Bond novel devoted to Studillac.
Well it's not a Golden Hawk (my childhood "when I grow up" car) but it is still sheer beauty in automotive design. Thanks for sharing Charles.
*btw... ya, when I grew up Studebaker was gone. Youth blown on a pipe dream!
OMG Charles! So sleek...So svelte...So sexy. And it was built the same year as I!!!! If only I still had those same attributes as this Studebaker!!!
Designed by Virgil M. Exner, Sr. In 1950, with Bob Bourke and Vince Gardner for Raymond Loewy Design Studio, New York.
Beautiful car. Steve looks as if he could be related to Charles. Good genes, I know.
I like how you uses 1950s typeface and colors for your introduction at early of the video.
thank you
I also did like the 1950 51 model named the champion with a bullet nose !
The Studebaker C/K body coupes still look fresh, 70 years later.
The trapezoidal quarter windows are styling cue still seen on today's cars.
This car, in black and white, does a star turn as Kevin Spacey's ride in "L.A. Confidential.". And Spacey steps out of it dressed in black shirt and slacks, with a white sport coat. Still the best looking car of the 1950s.
In 1953 Americans wanted boxy, family sized cars. The Studebaker was too radical, and the 4-door model looked awkward and small. In 1956 Studebaker reverted to the boxy look, like Chevrolet, but it was too late.
Almost an American Alfa Romeo. Bellissima!
More like an American Delahaye with how radical it was. The chief designer, Raymond Loewy, was French-American as well.
late to the party but looks like I didn't miss much. Great video as always Charles
Appreciate the enthusiasm/flamboyance, lol. Loewy's French side showing here, more akin to Citroens of the decade than American cars.
100 years ahead, Wait, I must mean 150 years ahead of it's time! Can't die makers machine those lines for patterns anymore??? How horrifying they haven't the expertise any longer!!!
This car brought about the Hawk editions later on.
A few miles from where I lived in LA was a street named, "Studebaker".
In the late Eighties I thought about buying a '57 Hawk, but later I saw the 53s, and liked the finless versions more.
3:08 Designed by Bob Bourke, an employee within Raymond Loewy's design firm. Loewy spotted the Starliner sketches and presented them to Studebaker. Yeah, other designers within Loewy's organization refined the shape and feasibility for production, but Bourke had the idea.
It is heartbreaking that Studebaker went out of business. They were cool and fast.
It's a beautiful super rare car, thank you CP. I would have liked to peek under the hood. Great Video.
The subtleness and lack of flash makes this car stand out from all the other offerings from the 50s. Don't get me wrong, I love chrome and fins as much as the next guy, but there's something cool about the 53-54 Studebaker that you don't find in other 50s American cars. Less is more.
🤩
I know it's a crazy comparison, because they are cars of very different size and mechanics, but there is something in the proportions of this car that reminds me of a VW Karmann-Ghia
I can see that comparison
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Wow❤
Fun fact, the early ones still had a split windshield.
Thx,..had a 55 Champion, similiar. No oil filter!
so streamlined it left the stodgy dodges and frumpy fords billowing in its wake! although truth told it wasn't the highest output V8 at the time. it may as well have been from outer space, as it looked like no other car at the time. what the hotshot young bachelor should drive!
That's a huge change from the bullet nose from 2 years prior, I think I'll make a '53 my 4th Studebaker....
The best-looking American car of the 1950s. Not surprisingly, it was designed by a Frenchman, Raymond Loewy.
It looks like the center of the wheel covers had gold or red or plain metal in the brochure.
Oh my gosh this car is way way ahead of Ford and Chevrolet in style
Charles have you finaly stepped up and Got a Studebaker'? 🤔
Does Steve still have the Black one ?.
You sound like EXACTLY like Brett Gelman from Stranger Things LOL
Not sure about that dash, everything is so low, tough to glance down fast to see if you're speeding.
Yes, kind of upside down with the gauges below and the controls above.
@@emjayay It does have panache. Like the 1965 Buick.
Is that odd for a car with a V8 to have relatively low horse power or was that typical in 1953?
Probably typical ...
Very low compression ratios. Also the rating was somewhat more honest than later on. And the displacement was quite small - 239 CID.
I like how when he said 120 there was this long pause.
@@stephendavidbailey2743 I believe 239 was the displacement, of the contemporary flathead Ford V8s? With a 3 - 3/8" dia. Bore, and a 3 - 1/4" Stroke. The '51 - '54 Studebaker V8s, displaced 232.6 cu. in. It did produce more power, than the Ford flatheads. It, also produced more hp / cu. in. Than both the 333" Cadillac, and the 303" Olds V8s, that preceded it. The ratio of the Chrysler Hemi, introduced in '52, was only slightly better. When equipped with the three speed OD. tranny, the Stude V8 was also capable of nearly 30 mpg, on the Highway. The '53 Corvette, with the, tripple carburated, 235" Blue Flame, stove bolt 6, had only 20 more horses. There were heads available with a compression ratio that was a half point higher than the standard 7:1 compression heads. They raised the horsepower rating to 127 hp. These heads were used, as the standard heads, in '54.
@@glorialondon5054Perhaps the later 289 transmitted itself into my memory.
So far ahead of it's time... notice that the driver and front passenger sit in thew middle between the front and rear axles.
Should have a choice of stick or automatic...
Looks like Kelly Johnson had a hand in this.
❤️ ❤️ ❤️
Very good video Charles a little of corny
These videos are better than anything on TV today.. too much woke bs
Push button transmission. What was that about?
Pretty expensive when new for a Stude.