My first car was a 55 Commander with a V-8 engine.
This car would outrun most anything stock equipped in town. I loved it so much that when my girlfriend told me I needed to get rid of it and get a Chevy, I got rid of her instead. The design and performance was wonderful. I had a friend that had a 51 Starlight coupe that was also far ahead of its time, well beyond any other car back then.
The Studebaker Golden Hawk introduced in 56 would do 160 mph and that was astounding! No Corvette could touch them. Joyce's uncle Joe had a Golden Hawk and he went from Danville, Illinois to Saint Louis, Missouri at 155 mph all the way back when there were just two lane highways. He was a race car driver and on that trip he was in a hurry.
Sadly the company went out of business in 1966 due to poor sales. I guess America drank the Kool-Aid from the big 3 automakers. Now the Studebakers left from days gone by are more valuable than they ever were because looking back buyers realize what great cars they were. Here is a video link to the history of the company. It begins way back so about 9 minutes it is in our era, although earlier in the video they have a 1939 Champion that was also way ahead of its time.
Copyright Bill Weber 2018 and beyond.
The Studebaker Golden Hawk introduced in 56 would do 160 mph and that was astounding! No Corvette could touch them. Joyce's uncle Joe had a Golden Hawk and he went from Danville, Illinois to Saint Louis, Missouri at 155 mph all the way back when there were just two lane highways. He was a race car driver and on that trip he was in a hurry.
Sadly the company went out of business in 1966 due to poor sales. I guess America drank the Kool-Aid from the big 3 automakers. Now the Studebakers left from days gone by are more valuable than they ever were because looking back buyers realize what great cars they were. Here is a video link to the history of the company. It begins way back so about 9 minutes it is in our era, although earlier in the video they have a 1939 Champion that was also way ahead of its time.
Copyright Bill Weber 2018 and beyond.
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