He has spoken fondly of the Studebaker Scotsman, so I think that he will probably enjoy this video.
I actually like the body style of the 2 door.
As good as its fuel economy was for that time, when you consider that the real-world, day-to-day fuel economy for that low-output six cylinder with 3 speed stick was ~20 mpg, that helps to show just how far technology has taken us over the space of a few decades.
I watched that video last night. When I got my first teaching job in 1965, I bought a bottom of the line 1965 Rambler Classic 550 that had 7000 miles on the odometer. I had thhat car for 8 years. It got me through graduate school and a couple of years later.
Would I want a Studebaker Scotsman today or a bottom of the line Rambler? NO!
I like having air conditioning, power steering, etc. My Toyota minivan with all its features gets better mileage than I ever got with the Rambler.
I hope that you didn’t interpret my posting of that video as a criticism of you, @Triedaq . I was also a Studebaker fan, even though I never owned one.
@VDCdriver I liked your post about the Studebaker Scotsman. I thought simpler was better. In many ways, the Studebaker Scotsman was like the 1939 Chevrolet my.Dad owned when I was born and didn’t trade the car until I was 8.years old. The 1939 Chevrolet had vacuum wipers, a recirculating heater in a box under the dashboard and a manual choke. The only luxuries on the 1939 Chevrolet were a vacuum assist on the three on the column shift and a cigarette lighter.
I did get to drive a 1962 Lark, in 1967. The local motor pool for the state agency where I was interning had that one Studebaker, plus a bunch of Chevys, Fords, and Plymouths. I had never driven the Stude until the day when I was given the assignment of taking it to the central motor pool, in Trenton, in order to turn it in and bring back a new car.
As soon as I got behind the wheel, I wondered why the state had paid for power steering and a V8 on that Stude, in light of the fact that none of our other cars had PS or an 8 cylinder engine. At some point on my long drive to Trenton, I lifted the hood and found that it had the standard (new) OHV six, and that it lacked PS. Because of its lighter weight, that Lark steered with ease, and it accelerated very nicely.
It almost broke my heart to have to turn-in that “old” Studebaker.
I imagine that someone got a great deal on it at auction.
I grew up in my granmother’s 1941 Studebaker Land C uiser Commander, a wonderful car and a great choice for her.. It was $1120 at our local Studebaker-Cadillac dealer only $80 cheaper thab the base Caddy. It was much lighyter than the Caddy, had similar room, better fuel economy , ber fuel economy and vacuum assisted shifting.
I owned two Studes, a Lark 6 standard shift wagon and a 56 Commander V8. The Lark got 27 mpg ao a trip throug9gjh Letchworth Park, The Finger Lakes and Watkins Glen. I should admit that I get better gas mileage than most people because of my driving experience and hate using the brakes and wasting the fuel that I used to get up to speed. The 259 V8 in the Commander regularrly cot 2 mpg in mixed driving. Studebakers needed about 5000 miles to be broken in because ot tighter tolerances/
There must be a number missing after the 2. What is it?
I’ve read about these cars in books and online, seen pictures, but have never seen one in person. This was the first time I learned that they were quite successful saleswise and that some areas ran out of stock.
If you’re referring to Studebaker, they were only really successful with sales during the immediate post-WW II era, and also in the late '50s-early '60s, when they beat other US car companies to market with their compact economy car, the Lark.
By the mid-60s, their sales figures continued to drop, despite being as innovative as possible. By late 1963, their sales figures were so weak that they had to shut-down their South Bend, Indiana factory, and to move all production to their Hamilton, Ontario factory, and to use Chevy/McKinnon engines as a result of the closure of their engine foundry. The last few years saw continued decreases in sales, and by 1966, the marque was gone.
I was referring to the Scotsman itself. I didn’t know that model had sold as well as it did. I remember years ago my mom mentioning that the post-war Studebaker design was such that people liked to say you couldn’t tell if it was driving backward or forward. At a downtown parade around that time she said that someone as a joke drove a Studebaker in reverse along the entire route.
I recall some people saying that also, but I never agreed with that sentiment. This is the 1947 model, which beat all of the competition to market with an all-new model.
By 1950, their design was definitely divisive (folks either liked it or hated it), but I still fail to see any justification for not knowing whether it was driving forward or backward.
By 1953, they had an all-new body design, which was heralded by many folks as the best-looking car of that era. Once again, how could someone say that they couldn’t tell whether it was going forward or backward?
The “Forward Backwards” comment about Studebaker’s Starlight Coupes was what either passed for humor in the 40s, or coined by one of the “Big Three” that were still selling warmed over 42 models.
I would love a 51/52 Commander Starlight coupe. I have never seen any Starlights in person, I have wondered if the rear seat passenger’s window’s opened. We did have a 52 Champion two door sedan, rear window rolled down but not all the way, about two to three inches remained up.
Would, in my dream garage, would like a Land Cruiser. In my somewhat demented mind, have one stretched into a limousine.
As far as the Scotsman models, no thank you. I would consider a Champion, but much prefer Commander or President trim. Yes, my picture shows me with my 49 Champion, would I have prefer a 50-52 Commander convertible? Definitely
@Purebred The rear seat passenger windows on the Studebaker Starlight coupe did not open.
@VDCdriver There was a postwar Studebaker based on its prewar model, the 1946 Studebaker Skyway Champion. In mid 1946, the new Studebaker postwar model hit the showroom. I was 4 years old at the time, but I remember going with my parents to the Studebaker dealer to see the new Studebaker on display. That was the summer of 1946.
In Arthur Miller’s .play, “Death of a Salesman”, ■■■■■Loman, the central character. drove a Studebaker. Earlier in his life, when he had been more successful, he owned a Chevrolet. “Death of a Salesman” was written in 1948. Had the play been written ten years later in 1958, would ■■■■■Loman driven a Studebaker Scotsman?
The name is W i l l y Loman
This forum’s algorithms decided to censor the name W i l l y for some strange reason
I just googled it and apparently the name can be used in BRITISH culture to refer to a male body part
Well, this is an AMERICAN website
The algorithm seems to err on the EXTREME side of caution
I’ve never heard the word used that way on this continent