'58 Commander Starlight - caught between rock and hard place?

[StudeDave57]

There's got to be a very sad story there....




StudeDave '57

[packard352]

Hope the Insurance Company didn't give anyone the run-around. Without even reading the 'story,' I doubt the owner was driving the car... and if parked in legal circumstances, should not be held to account. Looks like a very sad story, and having had a car incinerated by someone else's stupidity, I know of all the aggravation that can come from something like this happening.

[Studebakercenteroforegon]

I finally found out what happened to this poor car.
I stopped by a Portland shop that works on older cars. They buy parts from me on occasion and I had known that they worked on this very car. I asked if they knew about the severe damage, and yes, they told me it happened right in front of their shop.
The owner wanted to pick the car up after their 5:00PM closing. They have a fenced and locked area for their customers cars so they parked it out front on SE Milwaukie Ave. a two lane but busy street.
For whatever reason the owner did not pick up the car that evening.
At 1:30AM a very sleepy driver, driving a rental box van - a pretty big truck - ran into the back of the car at whatever speed he had been driving - no braking involved - and this was the result.

[BobPalma]

Thanks for the report, Jerry. As sad as it is/was, at least no one was injured in the Studebaker. Being a rental truck, we would hope some insurance was in place, but there aren't enough 1958 Commander Starlights around to sacrifice any of them to a distracted/sleepy/drunk driver. BP

[8E45E]

: but there aren't enough 1958 Commander Starlights around to sacrifice any of them to a distracted/sleepy/drunk driver. BP

That's just it!

Try and find another one that's in similar original condition that this one was.

Craig

[Michidan]

Sure is a shame, I was also very curious as I used to try and track these 58 hardtops.
I can't imagine what the owner thought when he got the call.

It reminds of the movie vacation.
"Bring Mr. Griswold's car back out here"

[RadioRoy]

It's also reminiscent of the car wash scene in the original "gone in 60 Seconds" movie.

[Lou Van Anne]

You got that right!

I didn't think that any styling could be worse that the '58 Studebaker sedans, but these pictures prove that it can be worse.
-Dwight (soon to "Ralph" or something after the '58 loyalists chime in)

[Studebakercenteroforegon]

For the critics of 1958 Studebaker styling....you need to take yourself back to 1958 and compare to other cars.
I've always felt that the 1958 Buicks and Oldsmobiles were much less attractive. Don't like the dual headlights? Look at a Mercury Turnpike Cruiser.
I once did own a '58 President hardtop and loved it's looks.

[Dwight FitzSimons]

I'll agree that it's hard to find a good looking 1958 American car ('58 Ford, maybe), and Studebakers looked better than most, except for those tacked-on headlamps. American cars hit their nadir in '58. Aside from that, why did Studebaker spend precious money for the '58 restyling when they must have been already looking ahead to the new '59 Lark? The '58s were a one-year, interim product. The '57 Studebakers, and especially Packards, should have been simply continued through 1958. Still, debating Studebaker's decisions is an academic exercise. It what it is. They made a great recovery in '59, with a very pretty car that sold well.
-Dwight

[Guido]

I always thought the '58 Borgward Isabella was a nice looking car. But it and the Mercedes Benz 220 were older designs.

[studegary]

I always thought the '58 Borgward Isabella was a nice looking car. But it and the Mercedes Benz 220 were older designs.

A local secretary bought an Isabella new. By the mid-1960s it looked like a dated design to me.

[Guido]

A local secretary bought an Isabella new. By the mid-1960s it looked like a dated design to me.

I would agree, but the lines were clean without huge fins or massive front bumpers (think Imperial Southampton).

[Jett289]

The best looking 58 Automobile was by far the Hawk IMHO.. Good thing the guy that came up with the weird quad lights didn't put them on the hawks .
Can you imagine ? yikes .. lol

[8E45E]

I always thought the '58 Borgward Isabella was a nice looking car. But it and the Mercedes Benz 220 were older designs.

Please clarify that it's the Sports Coupe you are referring to, correct? The 'sedan' was rather ordinary in appearance next to it.

Craig