Why did Studebaker make the Starliner/Starlight styling changes in 1955?

[northern]

Just wondering if anyone knows the reasons for the styling changes made from 1954 to 1955, specifically for the Starliner and Starlight models?

The 1953 and 1954 Starliner and Starlight models received glowing reviews for their styling, and they continue to be regarded by many as one of the best automotive designs ever. Yet, Studebaker made major changes to the design for 1955.

The most obvious exterior changes included changing the grille and adding much heavier looking bumpers. That changed the entire look of the car. Did the Loewy Studio participate in those changes, or was this something Studebaker on its own?

[DEEPNHOCK]

Reason?
Probably the '55 Chevy. '55 Ford, and '55 Dodge.....

[raoul5788]

The way I heard it there were those in upper management that wanted to "keep up" with the big three, like Jeff mentioned.

[41 Frank]

The trend in the industry by 1955 was towards more chrome so Studebaker simply did what everyone else was doing.

[Flashback]

The powers that be won the battle of "bling". Somehow, the thought of the day was MORE, Chrome, bulk, and busy. We all know that was a mistake.

[Chris_Dresbach]

Exactly what was said, the big wigs wanted more chrome because they thought it would sell better, which it didn't. Bob Bourke was very much so against the idea. So much so in fact that he went out with his own money and bought a '54 Commander and customized it to what he wanted to see produced for '55 and presented it to management. They turned down his styling ideas for that year in favor of chrome. Now Bourke's personal prototype is in the SNM.

[Dick Steinkamp]

Exactly what was said, the big wigs wanted more chrome because they thought it would sell better, which it didn't.

Actually it did...

27,528 Cs and Ks sold in 1954
34,621 Cs and Ks sold in 1955

(John Bridges, Studebaker's Finest)

We could come up with a lot of examples in the car industry where the first of a new body style from years ago is considered the cleanest and most desirable today. Car makers do not design cars to please the public 50 years into the future, however. They design to sell as many cars as they can NOW.

[PackardV8]

IIRC, it was the success of the Buick which should take most of the blame. Buick posted the greatest sales increases in the price range Studebaker had to be sold in. The Stude management, with some bad advice from dealers, decided the tons-a-chrome look was the reason and put as much chrome and stainless as they could find surfaces to apply.

jack vines

[northern]

That's a nice looking Buick; lots of chrome worked well on some cars. I had never noticed that, under all that glitter, the body shape looks much like the 1953-54 Chevrolet and Pontiac.

I do expect that many people preferred the look of the '55 Studebaker, as compared to the '53 and '54 design. It's a matter of personal preference.

[Corley]

Face it, the '53-54 design was so good, that no matter what, they couldn't improve upon it, so they were doomed to fail when trying. Add chrome, remove chrome, change stuff, whatever, it was screwed. Still, to just leave it alone wouldn't have helped sales at all either. JMHO.

[studegary]

The answer lies in posts #4-8.
Bob Bourke, the head of Loewy's South Bend Design Studio, was required to make a change like this. Bob was aganst it, but the change was dictated by Studebaker to make the car more like a Buick that the Studebaker was priced similar to.
This was near the end of Loewy's association with Studebaker with the exception of being brought back to work on the Avanti. Of course, the original Hawk (1956 model) cleaned up the C/K again and was also a Bourke/Loewy Studio design.
The 1953 Starliner was originally designed to be a show car and the 1955 was designed to be a car to bring money into Studebaker.

[8E45E]

I'm tempted to ask you your age! The best reason 'why' is everyone EXPECTED changes to be made from one model year to the next at the time; even if it wasn't for the better.

Craig

[warrlaw1]

Since I had my first 55 in the 70s, I see a lot of them still around. I'd love to bring back a 53/54, but I don't see as many decent candidates.

[qsanford]

Some of us even find the '55s attractive! <G>

[SN-60]

Some of us even find the '55s attractive! <G>

True!....The '55 President State Sedan is a much more attractive car than the '54 Land Cruiser ever was. (And those '55 President States sold pretty well!)