1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner

If you've gotta start a dream garage somewhere, the '53 Stude is a good place to begin. Thought by some to be the nicest shape ever put to an American automobile, the Starliner wasn't a sales success — overall Studebaker sales actually fell from those of the rather drab-looking 1952 models. Production planners dropped the ball when deciding how many of the svelte coupes to build — for some reason they thought that the dowdy-looking sedans and station wagons would sell better, and planned their quotas accordingly, just the opposite of what they should have done. This resulted in shortages of the two-door models, while the other stuff sat on dealer lots. It was probably the beginning of the end for the South Bend automaker, whose last cars would be built for the 1966 model year — in Hamilton, Ontario Canada of all places! The man in the photo above is Raymond Lowey, head of the design firm that penned the '53 lineup. —jc