1934 Studebaker Land Cruiser

Studebaker redesigned its line for the 1934 model year.  Perhaps the most interesting example was its Land Cruiser four-door sedan with a four-segment back window.

The Land Cruiser name was used later for top-of-the-line Studebakers and has been used since 1951 for a four-wheel drive Toyota line.  Some background regarding the Studebaker Land Cruiser is here.

The design essentially was a different aft-end (starting at the B-pillar) based on standard four-door sedans.  It had the newly fashionable streamlined appearance and featured a large, for the times, enclosed trunk.  Land Cruisers were offered on all three Studebaker lines for the 1934 and 1935 model years.

Gallery

1934 Studebaker Commander Land Cruiser
"Streamlining" took the form of the double-curved rear profile with rounded edges.  The four-piece back window ensemble was necessary due to its width and use of flat glass panes -- curved automobile glass was an expensive rarity in 1934.

1934 Studebaker Commander Land Cruiser
This photo might have been taken at a large Studebaker dealership.

1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow - Blackhawk photo
Studebaker owned Pierce-Arrow in the early 1930s, so it has been speculated that Phil Wright's sensational Silver Arrow design might have influenced Land Cruiser styling to some degree.

Rear quarter view showing the integral trunk and a two-segment back window using flat glass panes.

1934 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow - RM Auctions photo
Pierce-Arrow became independent of Studebaker in 1933, but the production two-door Silver Arrow model for 1934 was related to Studebaker's four-door 1934 Land Cruisers.  Compare the shaping of the rears of the two cars.

1934 Studebaker Commander Land Cruiser
Now for some photos I took of a Land Cruiser several years ago at the LeMay museum in Tacoma.  The front end is 1934 Studebaker featuring a mild "shovel-nose" grille.

The hood contains an in-line eight cylinder motor, so it's commendably long.  The passenger compartment seems rather small and perhaps cramped.

The back window design is interestingly awkward, but the rest of the rear styling is pleasant and advanced for its time.  Land Cruisers had spatted rear wheel openings that furthered the visual streamlining theme.

1934 Studebaker President Land Cruiser - Image via Hemmings
One way to distinguish top-of-the-line President Land Cruisers from Commanders is the decoration on the rear wheel spats.  Entry-level Dictators had six-cylinder motors, shorter hoods, and closely-spaced vertical-cut hood louvres.  I could not find a useful image on the Internet, though some might exist.