I bought a new coffeetable book about old cars, the Standard Catalog of Independents. These Standard Catalog books list fine details about all types and prices and options for all years, to the extent that the data was available.
The details on Studebaker include some unfamiliar weirdness in the ’50s.
Studie ran wild with names for accessories, trying to match GM’s practice. Rear-view mirrors were available in Strato-Vu, Strato-Line, and Dor-Top models. A kleenex dispenser was Auto-Serv. Pushbutton radio was Strato-Line, manual radio was Starline. Heaters were Climatizer or Quad-Duty. Dual horns were 3-D-Booster. Bumper guards were Winguards. Lighters were Standard or Draw-Matic. Convertibles had Breez-Bye Wind Rejector or No-Blo Wind Deflector. (I thought the whole point of convertibles was to feel the breez bloing thru ur DeluxStyle Hair.)
In ’58 the main models were Scotsman, Champion, Commander and President. Scotsman continued the attractive ’57 body unchanged, while the other three tacked on horrible homemade-looking quad headlight pods and fins. Champion was the smaller body with 6, Commander was the smaller body with V8, President was the larger body with larger V8.
The Scotsman was the cheapest, only available with a 6 and limited in accessories. It was aimed at fleets and Conservative Prospects. BUT: Studie also sold a few dozen Scotsman Commander and Scotsman President cars, in both sedan and wagon form, for police only. (By the quantities, I’m guessing these were all sold to the South Bend police department, which honored its hometown brand.) These had the nice ’57 body with the smaller or larger V8, which would have been a desirable and salable combination for civilians. By favoring fashion over profit, Studie probably missed a few thousand high-profit sales.
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Another salient item from the book. All the articles and books I’ve read state firmly that AMC didn’t have electric wipers until 1973. The option lists in this book show a different timeline. Electric wipers were OPTIONAL starting in 1964, and STANDARD in ’73. This is still MUCH later than the rest of the industry. Chrysler started electric wipers in ’39, Packard in ’42, GM and Ford and Studie around ’51, in each case optional for a while then standard.
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While I’m doing historical corrections… Those dealer training films alter a similar conventional belief. All the books and articles say that the transition to quad headlights in ’58 was preceded by optional quads on a few brands, plus standard quads on Nash, in ’57. DeSoto and Chrysler and Mercury were the optionals. The films make it clear that DeSoto and Chrysler started the model year with optional, then soon switched to standard, so most of their ’57s have quads.
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Nonbark note: The Studie police option reminded me that Nashes appeared as cop cars OFTEN in TV and movies. I’ve always doubted that real-life police used Nashes, which were underpowered and clumsy. The Nash option lists in the ’50s look complete, but there’s no heavy-duty or police/taxi packages at all. Not surprised. By contrast, Hudson before the merger always had police/taxi option packages. Hudsons certainly weren’t common, but I bet a few Hipos picked Hornets for speed and handling. Later in the 70s, AMC Matadors were genuinely popular among cops.
Polistra's Mill 