Studebaker Wagonaire
The Studebaker Wagonaire was a station wagon that was manufactured by the Studebaker Corporation in South Bend, Indiana from 1963 to 1966.
Model history
A special feature of the Wagonaire was a rear roof section which, if required, disappeared like a sliding roof into the front roof section; this made it possible to transport bulky, tall goods that would otherwise not have fit in an ordinary station wagon.
The unique roof of the Studebaker Wagonaire was an invention of industrial designer Brooks Stevens , who was commissioned by Studebaker President Sherwood Egbert to expand the limited range of models without spending too much money on it. Ironically, Stevens was also the designer of the Jeep Wagoneer , an SUV that remained in production until the 1990s.
The wagonaire, which was based on the Olin Scimitar study commissioned by Stevens in 1959 for the Reutter body in Stuttgart, was based on the body of the regular station wagon version of the Studebaker Lark , which was adapted to the new design above the belt line. The roof over the loading area, which could be pushed forward by hand over the rear seats and locked there, made the car unique. This interpretation made z. B. the transport of an upright refrigerator.
The Wagonaire offered space for six people (five with the individual front seats available as an option), but could also transport eight people if it was equipped with a third row of seats, which was available as an option until 1965. Vehicles with this third row of seats had run-flat tires - called the "captive air" system, which made it possible to continue driving after a flat tire without changing tires. This was necessary because the third row of seats meant that there was no longer any space for a spare wheel.
Early Wagonaire buyers found that the sliding roof at its front end allowed water to enter. This problem took up - with moderate success - the work. Because of these difficulties, a station wagon with a fixed roof was quickly launched in January 1963 parallel to the wagonaire. It cost 100 US dollars less than the wagonaire with a sunroof, but was a special model and had to be ordered separately from the dealer.
When Studebaker closed the plant in South Bend (Indiana) and continued production in Hamilton (Ontario) , Canada , the prestige Avanti and Hawk models were discontinued, but the sedans and wagonaires based on the Lark continued to be built.
The 1964 models, which were only manufactured in Canada from December 1963, were the last Studebaker with motors from their own production. From 1965, General Motors supplied Studebaker with Chevrolet inline six-cylinder and V8 engines. In 1965 there were only station wagons with a sliding roof.
The models with a fixed roof were available again in 1966, but the third row of seats was no longer available. Furthermore, in 1966 the Wagonaire became its own model with the body trim of the Commander and the interior of the sporty Daytona . Only 940 Wagonaires were built in model year 1966, models with a fixed roof are correspondingly rare.
The English toy manufacturer Matchbox made a miniature wagonaire, complete with a sunroof, that was available long after Studebaker stopped production. Husky also made a wagonaire similar in size to Matchbox.
A high performance combo?
The Daytona version of the Wagonaire from 1963/64 can be seen as the pioneer of today's high-performance station wagon versions. Equipped with a V8 engine of 4,737 cm³, Carter quadruple carburetors and manual transmission with steering wheel gearshift and overdrive , the Wagonaire could keep up with many muscle cars of its time. In addition, the Wagonaire could be ordered with all high-performance Avanti V8 engines of the Studebaker "R series" - and with a stick-shift four-speed gearbox. Very few copies - if any - were actually ordered in this version.
Short-lived renaissance of the concept
The concept of the sliding roof was taken up again by GM for the new GMC Envoy XUV in the model years 2003 and 2004. Promotional clips for the Envoy XUV incorrectly labeled the idea as new. However, GM offered this roof electrically operated, which was never available from Studebaker. This Envoy XUV was by no means more successful than the Wagonaire at the time, so GMC discontinued the model in 2005.
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.remarkablecars.com/main/prototypes/1959-scimitar.html ; here the 3rd section (accessed October 30, 2007)
swell
- Maloney, 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 .
- Gunnell, John (editor): The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975 , Kraus Publications (1987), ISBN 0-87341-096-3 .