Termite's delight. Would you have bought one of these in 1950?

[Studebaker Wheel]

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee285/studeq/newsgroup/bourke50woody2forum.jpg?t=12922878

Comments welcome.

[barnlark]

Yes! I want one right now.

[8E45E]

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/e...jpg?t=12922878

Comments welcome.

Ah yes, the 1950 Commander station wagon styling study! I've always like that one. Too bad they didn't produce it.

Craig

[Flashback]

I WISH I had

[Bullet]

I like it. There was a guy in OR that has produced a Champ version of this. It was on ebay, I don't have a picture of it, but wish I did. Wonder where it is now.

Mark

[StudeDave57]

Make mine a '51 or '52 Commander- with only two doors- and then we can talk!!!

I like it. There was a guy in OR that has produced a Champ version of this. It was on ebay, I don't have a picture of it, but wish I did. Wonder where it is now. Mark

There was (a rodded) one at the 2004 Pacific Can-AM Zone Meet. I remember it being from Washington State. Could that maybe be the one you mean? There are pictures of it around here somewhere...

[56H-Y6]

Hi

Yes, but only if it were all-steel with wood trim or at least faux wood trim. Station wagons were an emerging market with immense growth those years. Remember, the suburbs were exploding and the station wagon was just the car for all those new suburbanites. Overall station wagon sales doubled between 1950 and 1954, then doubled again by 1957.

Steve

[unclemiltie]

I wonder if you could take a wagon body from a brand x and make a 50 commander wagon? Also on this I see 50 commander headlights and bumpers but a 50 champion hood ornament . I think it would even be cool to have one without the wood trim.

Dick, do you have any more pictures of this? (like a rear end shot??) Thanks

[jclary]

Hi

Yes, but only if it were all-steel with wood trim or at least faux wood trim. Station wagons were an emerging market with immense growth those years. Remember, the suburbs were exploding and the station wagon was just the car for all those new suburbanites. Overall station wagon sales doubled between 1950 and 1954, then doubled again by 1957.

Steve

Of course, there is always the very dated joke applied to all woodie vehicles, regardless of brand, real, or fake wood...
"Hey! It will look better once you finish taking it out of the crate!"

Personally, I think that it would have been a great family car and a very good utilitarian multipurpose vehicle for farmers and the old general store delivery wagon back in the day when those type of stores made deliveries.

As far as fake wood goes...nothing looked worse than those fake wood decals slathered on the sides of some of the huge station wagons of the seventies and the Chrysler products of the eighties began to weather crack, fade, and flake off. Those cars looked OK when new but did not age well at all.

[rockne10]

Pretty darned sweet if you ask me. Nothing wrong with real wood if you stripped it and varnished every few years. Looks like sliding rear windows for third seat passengers. The '50 Commander was a great ride and, if this was on a Land Cruiser chassis, so much the better.
That said, I've always felt the '50 bumpers looked more encumbering than the '51.

[johnod]

I like it.

[Jim B PEI]

I'd buy one today, as long as its a 1950 4 door Commander on the Land Cruiser chassis, with 60/40 split bench front bench armchairs, (underseat) heated with leather, and factory trailer hitch. The two door wagons should have been Champion sixes, although with an optional V8 starting in 1951.

[BobPalma]

I'd probably want to lose the shag headliner; it looks distracting. Anyone else notice how the front end / grille area is "squished" to a profile considerably lower than a production 1950 Commander? An interesting study! BP

[Studebaker Wheel]

Sorry, but this is the only angle I have. I am thinking that this is a 1/4 scale and not a full sized car. Look for some clues and decide for yourself.

[Bullet]

I found this picture of a Champion. Must be fairly recent.

Mark