The New York stock market crash of late October 1929 took a few months before its effect on the economy took hold. Then matters got worse in America, hitting bottom in 1932-1933. Studebaker production through most of the 1920s was in the low 100,000 range. For 1932 and 1933, respective production numbers were 42.3 and 26.5 thousand, including Studebaker's Rockne subsidiary. Production was higher during the rest of the decade.
Even though the firm entered receivership in 1933 and didn't return to normal until 1935, car development continued. Redesigned bodies appeared for 1934 -- work on it probably had been going on since 1932 or thereabouts, even though the company was in financial trouble. The previous redesign was for 1932. There was another redesign for model year 1936. A subsequent one was for 1938.
Let's take a look at those front ends.
Final year for the previous body design. The grille is typical of the era, and pleasantly styled. But not distinctive.
Those peaked-oval headlights appeared in 1931on Studebaker Presidents -- the firm's prestige line. Extremely distinctive. The grille design seen here with its pointed lower framing and hint of "shovel-nose" shaping was continued through 1935. Interesting detail: the rounded-pointed zones of the headlights and grilles are reversed: atop the headlights, down low for the grille frame.
The grille is definitely shovel-nosed here. Also slightly V's in plan view.
For 1934 the grille was made more V'd in plan view while the shovel part of the grille was covered over. Maybe because the shovel-nose fashion was ending. Or perhaps because shovel nose grille bar shaping was more expensive than use of straight grille bars. Low 1933 sales might have dictated cost-saving here on the new '34 bodies.
America styling was becoming more "streamlined" (in spirit, if not really aerodynamically) by the mid-1930s. So the facelift of the 1934 body saw this rounded front with its new hood and grille projecting forward from earlier grille locations. No more shovel scoop shaping, but the grille frame continues to come to a point at its bottom. Flanking the grille opening are zones with "whisker" treatments that serve to make the grill seem wider than it is. They also provide transition the hood-side air venting.
A redesigned body, but 1935 hood-grille theme is largely retained.
Now there's a definite "prow" effect here. The grille has been moved forward again and made more V'd in plan view. Yet the frame profile is the same aside from the upper band that transition to the hood sides.
The first Studebaker by Raymond Loewy's firm. This included a completely new grille design. Unusual headlight assemblies are mounted on the fenders.
This facelift moves frontal design to the new horizontal grille orientation that rapidly became standard on American cars. Shovel-nose grilles are now ancient history.
2 comments:
Looks like the Deco/Moderne speedlines were creeping in already with the change from vertical louvers on the sides to horizontal chrome trimmed ones in 1934. The 1937 DeSoto is similar to the 1937 Studebaker with fine horizontal grille bars extending down the sides ending in a slant.
it look so beautiful and adorable
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