There was also something terrific up front for 1951: Studebaker's first V-8. Commanders, like Bill Arnold's '51 in these photographs, came with a 233-cubic-inch unit that was unabashedly inspired - some say it was a flagrant example of industrial espionage - by Cadillac's overhead-valve V-8 that had just been introduced in '49. Studebaker thus one-upped the Big Three by offering the first modern V-8 in a low-priced car. It would take Ford until 1954 to replace the ancient flathead V-8 (which dated back to 1932) and Chevrolet and Plymouth until 1955 to market their own modern V-8s. Studebaker also introduced an automatic transmission in mid-1950. One notable option offered on manual-gearbox cars was Hill Holder, a mechanism by which the driver could keep the car from rolling backward on an incline by keeping the clutch pedal fully depressed, freeing the right foot to mash the accelerator and keep things moving forward. Subaru introduced a similar feature in 1980 and named it Hill-Holder, just as Studebaker had done years earlier.
Although not considered an especially big car in its day, the bullet-nose Studebakers have real presence on the road, reflective of the optimism of their era. With gasoline selling at twenty-seven cents per gallon, fuel economy wasn't a huge issue. But Studebakers, even V-8-equipped ones, were noted for their mileage: a Commander won its class in the 1951 Mobilgas Economy Run, averaging 28 mpg.
Piloting a bullet-nose Studey today is more like driving a time machine than anything else. You're taken back to an era when a smooth ride was the litmus for quality. Front coil springs gusseted by rubber insulation ensure an ingratiatingly tranquil ride. Cornering is best kept to a leisurely pursuit, Buck Rogers styling notwithstanding. Who would want to tear into a corner in so stately a vehicle, in which driver and passengers sit upright and above the fray?
Weight distribution favors the front as you'd imagine, and - with no power steering - parking can be a chore, but it does have an aerobic aspect that cannot be ignored. Interiors are quite sumptuous, especially in Commanders, whose seats are upholstered with top-quality materials. Dashboards are trimmed in gleaming chrome but are somehow understated in a moderne way; even the fonts used on the instruments are worth savoring for their sheer design detail, yet another reason to wheel a bullet nose - going and coming - in the twenty-first century. ...next page >>