Studebakers boasted spectacular European-inspired styling for 1953 courtesy of designer Bob Bourke of the Raymond Loewy studio based in Studebaker’s hometown of South Bend, Indiana. The dramatically sleek car, astoundingly low by 1953 standards was just 56.3 inches high while accentuated by a long 120.5 wheelbase. What should have been a magnificent sales year for Studebaker, turned out to be a rather ho-hum one at-best. Studebaker focused more on sedans rather than coupes, and production ills developed as front end sheetmetal failed to fit the coupe body at first. Demand for the new coupes outpaced sedans four-to-one catching Studebaker product planners off-guard while a strike at the Borg Warner plant curtailed availability of automatic transmissions. The car received numerous design awards and today serves as a landmark of modern design. 19,236 Commander Starliner Coupes were produced for the model year of a total 151,576 Studebakers; fewer than the 1952 model year dropping the company to tenth in industry sales. Power is supplied by a 232-cid, 120-hp V-8 and automatic transmission on this original example.