Stude's Truck Plans for '62

[2R2]

For you truck lovers...from the October 2, 1961 edition of Automotive News

[showbizkid]

You have to admire their chutzpah, but saying that Stude's choice of two pickup beds was good competition for the Econoline and Corvan was stretching the possibilities a bit, methinks!

[Warren Webb]

Thanks Eric for posting these. I wonder how many Champs were made with the 5 speed overdrive trans that I have in my 62.

[Skip Lackie]

Chutzpah is right. With all due respect to Sherwood Egbert, that was just the usual advertsing hyperbole. Yes, the introduction of the diesels was a decent gamble, but it did not pay off. The market for diesels in medium-duty trucks was still 20 years in the future. And the real reason that Stude wasn't selling many trucks to commercial customers in 1961 was because both the styling and chassis of their bigger trucks was 13 years old, with only the fiberglass grille as a 1957 update. And although the Champs looked more up-to-date than did the Transtars, under the skin, they were still 1948/49 designs. (And the styling was already four years old, too.) The 1962-64 7E/8E series Champs did finally get some improvements (ie, brakes), but by that time it was too late.

Several histories have mentioned that Egbert had authorized the development of a completely restyled truck line (a la what was done after the War to produce the 2R series) -- but it wouldn't have been ready for production until 1966 or later -- if the the money had been available (which it wasn't).

[qsanford]

Perhaps if the new '64 sheetmetal had been adapted to the Champ, the pickups could have held there own until Egbert's new design trucks were introduced for 1967?

Chutzpah is right. With all due respect to Sherwood Egbert, that was just the usual advertsing hyperbole. Yes, the introduction of the diesels was a decent gamble, but it did not pay off. The market for diesels in medium-duty trucks was still 20 years in the future. And the real reason that Stude wasn't selling many trucks to commercial customers in 1961 was because both the styling and chassis of their bigger trucks was 13 years old, with only the fiberglass grille as a 1957 update. And although the Champs looked more up-to-date than did the Transtars, under the skin, they were still 1948/49 designs. (And the styling was already four years old, too.) The 1962-64 7E/8E series Champs did finally get some improvements (ie, brakes), but by that time it was too late.

Several histories have mentioned that Egbert had authorized the development of a completely restyled truck line (a la what was done after the War to produce the 2R series) -- but it wouldn't have been ready for production until 1966 or later -- if the the money had been available (which it wasn't).

[Milaca]

Studebaker needed a larger displacement gasoline engine at this time to be competitive too. Too bad they didnt continue the production of the Packard engine.