The Colorful 1955 Studebaker Speedster

I was shocked when I saw the first pictures of 1955 Studebaker hardtop coupes.  The beautiful 1953 and only slightly degraded (due to a minimally revised grille) 1954 coupe design had been plastered over with gobs of chrome trim.  There were splashy two-tone and even three-tone paint schemes.

I posted "What Were They Thinking?: 1955 Studebaker Starliner Facelift" here.

What had happened?  Mid-1950s American car fashions happened.  Studebaker marketers and product planners must have thought that their cars had to get "with it," follow those fads and fashions or risk losing sales.

Perhaps the wildest hardtop coupe facelift was the new Studebaker President Speedster, the firm's top of the line model.  Speedsters were listed at $3,253, the next lower model, the President State hardtop coupe, listed at $2,456.  So the Speedster cost about one-third more.

Speedster production was 2,215, and a surprising number of these controversial cars have survived, given what can be found on Internet image searches.

Today's post presents some Speedster paint schemes found on the Internet.  As best I can tell, most or all were either standard options or were cars factory-painted to customer order.  In those days, many customers would order a car with specific items, then wait for its construction and delivery to their dealer.  Nowadays, most buyers simply buy cars of one "package" or another as found on the dealer's lot.

No captions below.  Enjoy (or don't) what you see.  I wonder... how often did two (or three!) tone paint schemes improve the appearance of a design?

Gallery

1955 Studebaker President Speeedster - Mecum Auction photo

1955 Studebaker President Speeedster - car-for-sale photo

1955 Studebaker President Speeedster - Bonhams Auctions photo

1955 Studebaker President Speeedster - car-for-sale photo

1955 Studebaker President Speeedster - car-for-sale photo

1955 Studebaker President Speeedster - unidentified photo source

1955 Studebaker President Speeedster - RM Sotheby's Auctions photo

1955 Studebaker President Speeedster - Hyman Ltd photo

1955 Studebaker President Speeedster - car-for-sale photo

1955 Studebaker President State Hardtop Trim Alternatives

I practically worshiped Studebaker's 1953 Starliner hardtop coupe design when it first appeared, and I still regard it as classic.

So I was shocked when the 1955 facelift was announced.  The most shocking feature was the massive chrome grille framing that destroyed the attractive, logical grille shape of 1953-54.  Added to that was the awkward two-tone paint schemes on coupes and hardtop coupes. Then there was the Speedster with a wide chrome band reaching over the C-pillars and across the roof, delimiting another two-tone pattern.

I discussed the '55 facelift in an early post titled "What Were They Thinking?: 1955 Studebaker Starliner Facelift."

Today, I deal with Studebaker's President line's non-Speedster hardtops that had more sensible trim features.

Gallery

1955 Studebaker President Speedster - Hyman Ltd photo
First, a Speedster for context.  The main styling differences from regular President hardtops were the two-tone paint scheme and the wide chrome band at the C-pillar that can barely be seen in this photo.

1955 Studebaker President State - Mecum Auctions photos
The standard President hardtop.  It shares the chrome trim of the Speedster (apart from the C-pillar band). But it has an added chrome link between the basic side trim and the forward base of the C-pillar.  This defines the two-tone paint scheme.

The two-tone scheme is more apparent from this viewing angle.  Not a nice scheme.  It's awkward, almost arbitrary, and serves to visually shorten the car's appearance.  A sad, unfortunate decline from those classic 1953 versions.

1955 Studebaker President State - car-for-sale photos
This car has a more normal two-tine paint scheme.  I've seen a few more examples on the Internet, so I think this might well have been a buyer option available, but not seen in Studebaker publicity.  Back in the 1950s, it was common for a buyer to order a car from a dealer and specify desired items,  Then the buyer would have to wait weeks for that car containing his specifications to be assembled and delivered.

Much better than the basic President State.  That wide chrome slab on the side is not aesthetically helpful, however.

1955 Studebaker President State - car-for-sale photos
Ah, a car without the slab.  Might this too have been an order option?  Or was this car mildly customized?  I've yet to notice another like on the Web.

That said, it's the most attractive of the cars shown.

1955 Studebaker President State - photo via Hemmings
A definite post-production change is the painting-over of the grill frame.  Seen above is one of a few cars I saw on the internet with painted snouts.  Not well executed.

This is a 1955 Studebaker coupe with a better front end paint job.  No photo source, I don't know if it's a Champion or a Commander.  The front end looks more attractive than the production version's.  Actually, this should have been the production front end.

First-Generation American Panoramic Windshields

General Motors usually set the styling theme pace for American carmakers from the late 1920s through the 1960s.  Of course there were exceptions.  Other firms sometimes introduced features before GM -- an example is placing headlights in front fenders.  And GM sometimes designed cars that didn't sell well -- the late 1950s, for example.

One styling feature that briefly dominated American design was the panoramic (or "wraparound" as we usually termed it in those days) windshield.  It was a pet project of GM's design supremo Harley Earl.  They first appeared 1950-51 on the LeSabre and XP-300 "dream cars."  Model year 1953 saw them on Cadillac Eldorado and Oldsmobile Fiesta convertibles.  And for 1954, Oldsmobiles, Buicks and Cadillacs were redesigned with panoramic windshields.

Model year 1955 saw most models from the other carmakers sporting such windshields, although it took until 1956 for a few other brands to catch up.  Some models such as Studebaker coupes and Nash Metropolitans never went panoramic.

Not all brands from each manufacturer are shown below.  Only examples of each new windshield design are presented in the interest of keeping this post from becoming too long.  The only major omission is the 1956 Lincoln whose windshield was similar to other vertical A-pillar designs.

Gallery

1954 Cadillac Coupe de Ville - BaT Auctions photos
Here is GM's C-body version.

Windshield is tall and framed by A-pillars that are essentially vertical.

1954 Oldsmobile Super 88 - RM Sotheby's photos
GM B-body windshield.

Also tall, but the A-pillar slants forward.

1955 Chevrolet Bel Air - car-for-sale photos
C-body cars were redesigned for 1955.

A-pillars are essentially vertical, a common solution.

1955 Ford Customline - car-for-sale photos
Fords were massively facelifted for 1955.  Roofs were flatter and windshields became panoramic, but not as high as the GM versions.

Again, a vertical A-pillar.

1957 Continental Mark II - car-for-sale photos
The Mark II appeared for model year 1956.  Its panoramic windshield is unlike the others shown here.  It does not intrude into the roofline.

A-pillars slant to the rear.

1955 DeSoto Firedome - Barrett-Jackson photos
Windshields used for Chryslers and DeSotos.  Not as tall as General Motor's versions.

The main difference was the aft-slanting A-pillar.  Same sort of pillar as before, but anchored farther aft.  This gave Chrysler cars a more conventional appearance and seems to have reduced or eliminated the distortion found on GM cars.  In 1956 my father test-drove Oldsmobiles and Chevrolets, experiencing annoying distortion.  So he bought a DeSoto instead.

1955 Dodge Coronet - GAA Auction photos
The panoramic on CHhysler Corporation's entry brands.  Its upper frame is aligned with the upper side window framing.

Another aft-slanting A-pillar.

1955 Packard 400 - Daniel Schmitt photos
Packard's strong '55 facelift included a panoramic windshield.

It's pretty much like the GM vertical A-pillar designs.

1955 Studebaker Champion - car-for-sale photos
Studebaker added panoramics partway in to the 1955 model year.

Similar to Chrysler's solution.

1955 Nash Ambassador - photo via Hemmings
Another facelift, but not as strong as Ford's or Packard's -- changes were at the front end, plus the windshield.

1955 Nash Ambassador - car-for-sale photo
Again, a largely vertical A-pillar

1956 Nash Rambler - car-for-sale photos
Rambler was redesigned for 1956, so its panoramic windshield was probably intrinsic to the styling.

From this photo, the pillar is vertical.  But back in the day, I always felt that the A-pillar tilted slightly aft.

1953 Plymouth in Context

Chrysler Corporation's first new post- World War 2 designs shared the same basic body for model years 1949-1952.  Then for 1953, Plymouths and Dodges were given new bodies while DeSoto and Chrysler were massively facelifted.

From what I've read here and there, it seems that the Corporation's leadership thought that the trend in car size would be to smaller vehicles.  So wheelbases of Plymouths were reduced from 118.5 inches (3010 mm) to 114 inches (2896 mm) on standard models.

Competing 1953 Chevrolets and Fords had 115-inch (2921 mm) wheelbases, but their overhangs and overall lengths were greater, especially the Ford's: 198 inches (5029 mm) versus 189 inches (4801 mm) for the new standard Plymouth's.  So size was indeed a potential appearance and sales consideration.

Plymouth production for 1953 was 662,515 and 399,900 for 1954.  The '53 figure was comparable to  some previous Plymouth numbers, so the new design was not a liability at first.  1954 saw an industry-wide fall-off, but Plymouth's decline was noticeably stronger than the average, as was that for the rest of the Chrysler Corporation line.  Since DeSoto and Chrysler were on a different basic body than Plymouth (and Dodge), I don't think 1953-54 Plymouth styling itself was the only decline factor.

The Gallery below has a brief comparison of 1953 Plymouth Cambridge coupes to comparable competing cars from Chevrolet, Ford and Studebaker (a lesser rival).  Most are from entry-level price lines, though there is a partial exception.  Also, a four-door Ford is displayed, though it shouldn't affect the comparison much.

Images below are of cars listed for sale or assumed so.

Gallery

1953 Plymouth Belvedere
I wrote about the grille design here.  This is Plymouth's top-of-the-line model, showing what potential buyers might consider.  Below are entry-level cars.

1953 Studebaker Champion
Studebakers were redesigned for 1953.  This two-door is more awkward looking than the company's sleek coupes that share its front end and side sculpting.

1953 Ford Mainline Fordor
Not a coupe, but aside from the rear door, styling features are the same.  Fords were redesigned for model year 1952.

1953 Chevrolet One-Fifty
The entry-level Chevrolet.  Like Studebaker and Plymouth, '53 Chevy's were given new bodies.  Not very fresh styling, with carryover features (such as the fender design) from the previous (1949-1952) generation.

1953 Plymouth Cambridge
This is a typical entry-level Cambridge coupe.  I lack useful views of this car, so a variation is pictured below.

1953 Plymouth Cambridge
This is indeed a entry-level Cambridge -- note the lack or chrome around the windshield, for instance.  But the side chrome trim is the same as on the more-upscale Cranbrook line.  The appearance is more rounded than the competing cars.

Not much front overhang -- less than on the other designs.  But rear overhang is similar to the others'.  Side sculpting (enhanced by chrome trim here) visually reduces slab-sides somewhat.  Like Ford and Chevrolet, front doors are free of sculpting, more economical to form the steel.

A simple design, the lack of trim gives the car a 1950s-60s European appearance from this viewpoint.  The passenger compartment top is more domed than the Ford's, Studebaker's, and even the Chevy's.  That makes the car seem more old-fashioned.  A flatter roofline, coupled with the nearly horizontal fenderline would have made for a slightly sleek design.

What American Cars Had the Tallest 1950s Tail Fins?

I remember Chrysler Corporation publicity that tried to make a functional case for tail fins by presenting images of a Convair jet fighter (either the XF-92 or F-102) and a Gold Cup racing hydroplane, each having triangular vertical tails.

While there indeed might have been enhanced vehicle stability at high speeds due to tail fins, from a practical standpoint, they were mostly a styling gimmick.  I should add that one justification I saw in a car hobbyist magazine when tail fins were new, was that stylists could alter their shapes from one model year to the next to freshen a design.  That indeed happened.

I discussed early tail fins here, including Chrysler Corporation's 1956 models that were a transition from 1955 not-fins to the 1957 redesign that included fins as a prominant, basic feature.

As for the fin fad, it rapidly faded during the early 1960s.

Just for fun, the present post poses the question: Which American cars had the tallest tail fins when the fashion was at its height?

Gallery

1957 Chrysler Saratoga - possible car-for-sale photo
Chryslers and DeSotos had the simple fin design shown here for model year 1957.  The corporation's Plymouths and Dodges featured more elaborate designs.  The high point of the fin appears to be a short, but noticeable, distance above the cowling at the base of the windshield.  (Note that the lower edge of the body is essentially parallel to the lower frame of the image, the car being nose-heavy.)

1958 Studebaker Commander Starlight - car-for-sale photos
An example of another brand's tail fins.  These seem to be a little lower than Chrysler's, though still prominent.

1959 Cadillac Coupe DeVille - car-for-sale photos
There is a Cadillac, the brand that introduced decorative tail fins on its new 1948 design.  The fins seen here are clearly taller than Chrysler's.

1957 Chrysler Saratoga - Barrett-Jackson Auctions photo
Now for some rear-quarter views.  This looks like the Saratoga in the photo above.  The fins appear higher  from this perspective than from the  side view.

Again, the Studebaker's fins are shorter than the Chrysler's.

While the Caddy's fins are clearly the tallest.

1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz - Broad Arrow Auctions photo
Side view of Cadillac fins on a convertible.  In recent years, they have become a cult-object, epitomizing the excesses of 1950s American styling.  That aside, they strike me as being ridiculous, a last-gasp of Harley Earl's declining abilities as GM's styling vice president before he reached mandatory retirement age.