1936-1937 Studebaker Coupe and Its Unusual Backlight Window

I'm old enough that I remember seeing some 1936-1937 Studebaker coupes that sported an unusual backlight window design.  That was in the late 1940s when plenty of late-1930s cars were still on the road.  Of course, I was too young to really know much about automobile styling.  But I knew that those Studebaker backlights looked a lot different from what I was used to seeing.

As best I know, no other American carmaker used that design, or something similar.  One reason might have been that it was too strongly associated with Studebaker.  A more practical reason is that the wedge-shaped profile comparatively limited exterior visibility.  Competing car salesmen could have used that as a demerit.

That said, it was an interesting feature, as can be seen below.

Gallery

1937 Studebaker Dictator Three-Window Coupe - car-for sale photos
Studebaker advertised its 1936-37 coupes as being either three-passenger or five-passenger.  A business coupe necessarily was 3-passenger, being squeezed together on the only car seat.  A five-passenger model had a rumble seat to accommodate those two others.

Three-passenger or five-passenger, all Studebaker coupes had the same exterior shape.  The design is an attractive one at a time when many designs were awkward.

There's that backlight window.  The trunk is large -- useful on the business coupe variant.

1937 Studebaker President Coupe - Hyman, Ltd photos
A very 1930s American front end.

The lid is for a rumble seat on this car -- note the step above the right taillight.  Typically, '36-37 Studebaker coupes had trunk lids instead.

1936 Studebaker Dictator Coupe - car-for sale photo
This image of a '36 coupe shows the backlight when hinged open -- an unusual feature.  The windshield opened in a similar manner.