Studebakers depicted in the 2012 calendar:

Cover…………………. 1939 Commander

January………………. 1954 Champion

February…………….. 1955 Truck

March………………… 1959 Silver Hawk

April………………….. Studebaker Sprinkler Wagon

May………………….. 1951 Commander

June………………….. 1963 Avanti

July…………………… 1940 Champion Coupe

August………………. 1962 Daytona Convertible

September………….. 1963 Champ Truck

October……………… 1939 K15 M Truck

November…………… 1966 Daytona

December………….. 1962 Gran Turismo Hawk

Bonus………………. An unrestored 1942 Commander Custom Sedan Coupe (blackout model)

The calendar measures 8 1/2″ x 11″ and opens to measures 11″ x 17″. Printed in four color process on glossy paper and drilled so you can hang it up and enjoy it all year.

Still just $10 plus postage!

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1956 Studebaker Transtar

In this day when trucks have become luxurious it’s common to find model names on them like Silverado or Ram but in the past you usually just found trucks identified with a letter and numbers like the F Series and the Studebaker R-Series trucks. One rare exception was Studebaker’s Coupe Express pickups of the 1930s. However beginning in 1956 Studebaker gave their trucks a real name, Transtar. This came with the second facelift of the popular R Series trucks that dated back to 1949.  These attractive trucks were designed by Robert Bourke.

The 1956 facelift included a revised hood, larger parking lights and Transtar emblems on the doors. The trucks were offered in a two tone paint job. Unfortunately the attempt to update the trucks and create sales did not help and sales continued to decline.

1957 Studebaker Transtar

For model year 1957 a more drastic facelift was tried with the addition of  the fiberglass grille with large upright dividers. They did take a bit of a styling step backwards though by moving the parking lights to the top of the fenders in a free standing housing. Sales continued to decline even with the new features so in 1958 Studebaker introduced the low cost Scotsman to draw customers into the showrooms. This was basically the original design from 1949 with a one piece windshield, a smaller front bumper and plaid decals. This was a no frills truck with no chrome, glovebox door and spartan features.

1959 was the last year the Transtar name was used on 1/2 and 3/4 ton pickups as 1960 heralded the arrival of the new Champ truck. The Scotsman was still available though now with optional upgrades as they found customers did not really want the bare bones trucks. Sadly the Champ was not able to increase sales much and was the last of the Studebaker trucks before the company went out of the automobile business. No Champs were built once the manufacturing moved to Canada in 1965.

Studebaker Champ Truck

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Raymond Loewy 1893 - 1986

The Coca Cola company refers to their bottle as the contour bottle though it has also been known at the hobble skirt bottle. This was designed in 1915 by Earl R. Dean. The company wanted a bottle so different from the norm that it could be recognized easily over other soft drink bottles so they held a contest which Dean’s design won. The unique color of the glass is called Atlanta Green. At the time the bottle was designed Loewy was still serving in the French army and didn’t emigrate to the US till 1919.

What Loewy did do was to redesign of the original contour bottle in the 1950s doing away with the embossed name and adding white Coke & Coca-Cola lettering. In 1960, he designed the first Coke steel can with the diamond design.

To the Studebaker fan Loewy holds a special place with his forward designs, many of which have made these the cars we enjoy so much. How else would we have the chance to drive cars like the Avanti, Champion, Hawk, Starlight Coupe or an R series truck?

Thank you Mr Loewy!

1963 Studebaker Avanti

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This year Santa Claus decided to go with an upgrade from the old sleigh

Twas just before Christmas when I had to park,
the Hawk, the Avanti and even the Lark.
The Bulletnose was tucked in the back of the garage,
all winter I’ll be driving a hundred dollar Dodge.
I should be out polishing and fixing some leaks,
but what’s the big hurry, it’ll be snowing for weeks.
The last time I drove it the Hawk sure did chatter,
I think that the clutch plate is going to shatter.
The Champion needs brakes, the Lark needs the same,
I’ll do that tomorrow, today’s the big game.
Look at the Studebakers I’ve started to stash,
I’ve found a few more but I don’t have the cash.
While driving around with no place to go,
I found a Daytona half buried in snow.
I think I should buy it, it doesn’t need much,
a hood and a fender, some tires and such.
I’m running out of room, I need a bigger place,
but it’s not a big car, I can surely find space.
There’s so much to do I soon should get busy,
The thought of it all, it just makes me dizzy.
The Commander to paint, the Champ to re-ring,
there’s so much to do, it soon will be spring.

1901 Studebaker Handy Wagon owned by Walt & Michal Barnes of Ashtabula Ohio.

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