(EXPANDED FROM 9/6/2023)
The Studebaker pictured above was a mid-year redesign intended to catch up with the Big Three, which at the beginning of the 1955 model year had largely switched to so-called “dog leg” windshields. That term refers to a bend in the A-pillar that allowed a wrap-around windshield.
The Chevrolet and Ford were given vertical A-pillars. The Plymouth had a bit more of an angle but was still given a panoramic level of curvature.
Studebaker had initially stuck with a traditional, relatively flat windshield, which you can see in the wagon below. The only other U.S. car brands that had not switched to a dog leg in 1955 were Lincoln, Nash Rambler, Kaiser and Willys Aero. I probably could have gotten away with not mentioning the last two cars because their production had fallen to a trickle and would be halted this year.
The Rambler could presumably get away with not having a dog leg windshield because it no longer had meaningful competition in the compact class. However, all of Lincoln’s competitors had switched to log legs by 1955. Is that the prime reason why production declined by 26 percent even though total luxury-car output increased by 34 percent? Or were other factors more important?
Behold, the Ultra Vista Studebaker!
The “Ultra Vista” models introduced in January 1955 sported a wrap-around windshield with an almost vertical A-pillar (Langworth, 1979, 1993). In order to do so, the front fender and hood were changed, according to Stewdi in the comments below. However, judging from the photos, my guess is that the fenders would appear to be carried over. but the front doors, windows, roof and dashboard were revised. Those weren’t minor changes, particularly in the middle of the model year.
Richard M. Langworth (1979, 1993) noted that while some Studebaker-Packard managers thought the change was essential, a contrarian view was that the money would have been better spent lowering prices to goose sales in the spring. At that point the Studebaker lineup was priced higher than its Big Three competition — Chevrolet, Ford and Plymouth.
Studebaker’s family sedans and wagons saw their production leap from under 55,000 units in 1954 to more than 99,000 in 1955. That was roughly 8,200 units higher than in 1953, when the Raymond Loewy design was introduced. In addition, this increase was achieved despite a strike that shut down production for 36 days beginning shortly after mid-year changes were unveiled (Langworth, 1979, 1993).
So did the switch end up helping? I can’t come up with enough of an apples-to-apples data comparison in Automotive News to tell what the sales trajectory looked like through the 1955 model year.
However, I can say that Studebaker family car production was up 82 percent whereas the lower-slung coupes and hardtops — which did not get the dog leg — only grew by 26 percent. Of course, one could argue that this disparity reflected the greater popularity of family cars than that the shape of their windshield.
Mid-year changes begin to separate sedans from coupes
Studebaker’s tooling change would have long-range repercussions. The brand’s family sedans and wagons would no longer share a windshield with coupes. This would further reduce Studebaker’s already marginal economies of scale.
Note also that the 1955 Studebaker family cars were the last ones to have an instrument panel with a normal speedometer for a number of years. From 1956-58 a “cyclops” ribbon gauge was used.
The 1955 1/2 Studebaker shown in this story is a top-of-line President State Sedan. The illustration below hints at what the interior originally looked like compared to our featured car, which was displayed at the LeMay Collections’ annual car show in Tacoma, Washington.
Studebaker’s marketing bragged about the car’s trunk space, but it was actually on the low side for a family car because of the body’s teardrop shape.
For 1956 the rear-end of the family cars were squared off and stretched a few inches. Studebaker said that this increased trunk space by 30 percent.
Nineteen-fifty-five was the last year when the family sedan and wagon shared major body parts with the coupes such as some grille parts, headlight bezels and bumpers.
Also see ‘1955 Studebaker President hardtop hints at a road not taken’
For 1956 the coupes would receive more distinctive styling as well as a new name — the Hawk. No longer would they be referred to as body styles of the Champion, Commander and President series.
In a way it made sense to separate the family cars from the coupes. The taller cowl and fenders of the sedans and wagons looked ill-proportioned compared to the sleeker coupes. Even with the hood open, the sedan shown below looks a bit like an anteater.
More ‘normal’ 1956 styling did not save Studebaker
For 1956 the family sedans received a much more conventional boxy shape. Management clearly hoped that it would lead to better sales, but the opposite occurred. Output fell by 33 percent. The only saving grace was that coupe production dropped even more — by almost 45 percent.
It’s true that total U.S. auto production declined in 1956, but only by 12 percent. Hesitation to buy a Studebaker could have been accentuated by the automaker’s increasing ominous financial news. However, we might also consider that Studebaker lost a unique selling point when it pivoted to me-too styling.
What if Studebaker had maintained — but considerably improved — the unusually clean and aerodynamic shape of the 1953-55 family cars? Might the brand have carved out a viable niche instead of becoming an also-ran?
NOTES:
This story was originally posted on Sept. 6, 2023 and expanded on Sept. 26, 2025. Specifications, prices and production data came from the auto editors of Consumer Guide (2006), Automotive News (1955a, 1955b); Gunnell (2002), Langworth (1979, 1993) and Wikipedia (2013).
Share your reactions to this post with a comment below or a note to the editor.
RE:SOURCES
- Auto editors of Consumer Guide; 2006. Encyclopedia of American Cars. Publications International, Lincolnwood, Ill.
- Automotive News; 1955a. “New-Car Sales by Makes For First Half, ’55-54.” August 15 issue: p. 1.
- ——; 1955b. “Top Cars.” October 24 issue: p. 1.
- Gunnell, John; 2002. Standard Catalog of American Cars, 1946-1975. Revised 4th Ed. Krause Publications, Iola, WI.
- Langworth, Richard M.; 1979, 1993. Studebaker 1946-1966: The Classic Postwar Years. Motorbooks International, Osceola, WI.
- Wikipedia; 2013. “U.S. Automobile Production Figures.” Accessed July 5 (page no longer online).
ADVERTISING & BROCHURES:
- oldcarbrochures.org: Chevrolet (1955); Ford (1955); Lincoln (1955); Plymouth (1955); Studebaker (1955, 1956)
During this period they made the sporty coupe in a pillared low trim version for no good reason. Then for the two door sedan they used the four door sedan body, with a longer front door and the rear door replaced with a filler panel they didn’t even bother to lead in. That gave buyers the impression they weren’t even trying.
I have always been amazed that the sales of the coupe were never better. It was a fantastic design for its time, even though the anteater nose “update” was a move in the wrong direction. This was a design far ahead of its times.
I have read where Bob Bourke was the lead designer for the 1955 Studebaker, 3specially the chromed snout. Regardless, it had to be the inspiration for the 1959 Daimler SP250.
Put a 1955 Studebaker and a 1959 Daimler SP250 together at a car show, and I think one is going to ask when is the fish fry ?
Kim, that poorly-done seam was only for ’53 and early ’54s. Then they added a trim piece over the offending seam which hid it – although it was a wide piece, and as such, a person might have reasonably wondered what was under it!
Jeff,l agree about the sales although Studebaker’s prices were not exactly “bargain basement” at this time before they got braver and took on a strike or two. But, Kim, the prices were likely a reason that they offered a low-trim coupe model. They sold in the biggest numbers.
In fact, the lower Deluxe trims outsold the higher Regal trims every year ’53-’55. And it was not small business without a reason. Studebaker sold over 140,000 coupes and hardtops of all models during those three years (Barracudas from Plymouth sold 14,000 FEWER in FIVE years – 1970 to ’74) DESPITE the disastrous Stude production debacle in’53.
James, the ’55 snout was not the best, l’ll definitely agree – and so did Bob Bourke. A pox on the sales department’s power to interfere (but that was a fact of any designer’s life for likely every auto maker)!
Steve, the front fenders and the hoods on the Ultra Vista sedans do not fit on the pre-January models. The sales department interfered with common sense again!
I’m to wonder how many people actually noticed? Now that you laid it all out I find it puzzling, no bizarre that Lincoln was essentially the only real car not to go along with tbe dogleg. FFS this is Ford’s flagship! Hell, Mercury had it and this was during one of Mercury’s small Lincoln phases. During that era it was not unknown for independents to change the trim on unsold last year’s models and reserial them as this year’s. There didn’t seem to be much difference at all between the 54 and 55 Lincolns. Just a little niggle on the potential cujstomers minds.