Studebaker Scotsman

Studebaker Scotsman 1957

The Studebaker Scotsman was a passenger car manufactured by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana in model years 1957 and 1958. In 1958 and 1959, the same company also produced an inexpensive range of pickups with that name.

Car

When Studebaker-Packard's financial situation worsened in 1955 and 1956, management decided to abandon their efforts to counter the "Big Three" with equivalent offers in favor of other market niches, especially cheaper, simpler cars.

The Scotsman was key to this approach. Studebaker used the 2-, 3- and 4-door bodies of its predecessor Champion and offered it cheaper than the competitors their models Chevrolet One-Fifty , Chevrolet Del Ray , Ford Custom and Plymouth Plaza . All of these vehicles were the cheapest in their segment with only minor differences.

In order to be able to deliver the Scotsman (a name that should refer to the proverbial Scottish thrift) at a low price, most of the optional extras were dispensed with. The car's wheel covers and grille were painted rather than chrome; customers had to pay a surcharge for the convection heating because Studebaker's famous "Climatizer" fresh air heating was considered too expensive as an optional extra for this car. The interior consisted largely of painted cardboard panels and the only available upholstery was gray polyvinyl chloride . Instead of carpets, the Scotsman had rubber floor coverings. Only the front and rear bumpers and a few small parts in the interior were chrome-plated; painted bumpers could be ordered on request, which further lowered the price of the car. On the 2-door sedan and 3-door station wagon, the rear side windows were fixed and could not be opened, which was not common in the 1950s. Windshield wipers were only part of the basic equipment because they were viewed as a safety-relevant part. The only visible luxury was the heavily advertised "Cyclops Eye Tachometer" (magnifying glass tachometer), the same as the 1956 Studebaker models; the other 1957 Studebaker models had wider, differently designed speedometer housings.

The car reminded many people of the "black" cars of the shortened model year 1942, when all chrome decorations had to be omitted due to material rationing.

The number of factory options on the Scotsman was small; Studebaker dealers were even obliged not to install any additional equipment in these vehicles. The idea was that a customer who could invest money in extra equipment for such a simple car might as well pay the $ 200 more for a regular Champion .

Studebaker's management wanted to sell 4,000 of the car in the shortened 1957 model year, at a price of just US $ 1,776 for the two-door sedan. To their great surprise, over 9,000 units were sold. To the astonishment of those in charge, it wasn't just the stingy and those who couldn't afford a more expensive car that bought this car. Even as rich as the former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt chose this car.

Despite its economical equipment, the Scotsman offered exceptional quality and economy. The small six-cylinder engine only consumed 9.5 l / 100 km of petrol when the car was equipped with overdrive . In 1957, this was economical consumption for a car of this size; however, you had to pay a price for it: at only 101 bhp (75 kW), the Scotsman was anything but a high-performance vehicle. It took him approx. 21 seconds to accelerate from 0 to 100 km / h, at a time when 10 seconds for this acceleration was common in the USA, even for inexpensive vehicles.

After the initial success of the first Scotsman, the models for 1958 were changed little. There was a very minor change in the grille and round taillights, so the model remained as affordable as before. The 1958 champion got tail fins and double headlights, as the 1958 trend dictated; the Scotsman had to do without it and kept his individual main headlights.

In order to boost sales of fleet vehicles, Studebaker also offered the Econ-o-miler in 1958 , which had the chassis of the President sedan with a 3,061 mm wheelbase. The Econ-o-miler had the economical exterior and interior fittings of the Scotsman and was marketed as a taxi . In addition, in 1958, Studebaker's police cars were often Scotsman with V8 engines from the Commander or the President .

The Scotsman, whose sales had done so well in 1957, continued its success in 1958 and sold more frequently than the Champion, Commander and President combined. The car proved that Studebaker did not have to follow the styling trends of the other automobile manufacturers. Spurred on by the simple shapes of the Scotsman, Studebaker's engineers and designers took the next level and launched the Lark compact car in 1959 . The Lark was nowhere near as economical as the Scotsman, but the concept of a car that could seat 6 adults and differ significantly from other US automakers' offerings continued to attract attention, at least for a while.

truck

Due to the success of the Scotsman car, the management of Studebaker thought that there should be an opportunity for simple, cheap pickups in the previously unattended market.

For this market, the pickup was given a new styling that - with a few changes - matched the style of the radiator grille and front end from 1949 to 1953.

If the Scotsman has to be described as sparingly equipped, the pickup was definitely arid. Many trucks in the 1950s only had a taillight, a sun visor, a windshield wiper and an armrest - all on the driver's side. The Scotsman followed this philosophy with one exception: there was no armrest! The meager equipment continued on the outside. Many trucks had little chrome trim; the Scotsman didn't have one. There were only the simplest of logos: the name Studebaker was stamped on the bonnet, on the tailgate and on the dashboard.

Studebaker offered the simple pickup in an even simpler version, and so this vehicle was the cheapest of its kind in the USA in 1958; if you invested less than US $ 1,500, you could drive your Scotsman pickup home in the standard version.

Although the car and truck market collapsed in 1958, Studebaker's little cart sold well. If it hadn't been for the Scotsman pickup, Studebaker's trucking division, which had a bad year, would definitely have delivered terrifying results.

In contrast to its passenger car counterpart, the Scotsman pickup was continued to be built in 1959 and given the new, chrome-plated company logo "S" and "Studebaker". An inexpensive "Deluxe Equipment Package" enabled buyers to equip their car with the same grille and front end as the other Studebaker trucks. There were also two new models that only consisted of two different engine options. Again, the pickups sold brilliantly and much more frequently than the rest of the rest of the "Deluxe" truck range.

In the 1960 model year, the Scotsman was replaced by the Studebaker Champ , which combined the truck chassis with a 4-door sedan body derived from the Lark.

swell

Gunnell, John (editor): The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975 , Kraus Publications (1987), ISBN 0-87341-096-3
Moloney, James H .: Studebaker Cars , Crestline Books (1994), ISBN 0-87938-884-6
Langworth, Richard: Studebaker, The Postwar Years , Motorbooks International (1979), ISBN 0-87938-058-6