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[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 12.31.99]
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Car of the Century
By Karl Ritzler
The Best-Looking Car of the Century is the Studebaker Starliner, which made its debut in 1953.
The choice of the Studebaker, nearly identical in 1954, may have come as a surprise to fans of more popular or well-known vehicles, but it was no surprise to Bill Tilden of Atlanta.
The consultant on the design and construction of auto dealerships once was considered for a job in design engineering with Studebaker. In addition, he owns two of the so-called Loewy coupes. One of them, a beige-and-red 1954 Commander, is his favorite among the dozens of cars he has collected over the years, and it's the one he drives the most.
The Studebaker Starliner finished first in a close race with the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air as Wheels readers' choice for the century's best-looking car, chosen from a field of 12 cars selected by a panel of automotive journalists and enthusiasts. Finishing third was the 1961-67 Jaguar E-Type, known in the United States as the XKE, followed by the 1932 Duesenberg SJ and the original Ford Mustang.
Many other notable cars did not make the list of final nominees, and a number of readers suggested alternatives to the top 12. A list appears inside.
"Perhaps the most beautiful of American designs" is how panelist Bill Vance, an auto journalist and historian from Ontario, described the Starliner. "When others were still tall and stodgy, it presented a daringly low European silhouette, a simple two-piece grille and a refreshing lack of ornamentation."
Panelist Paul Lienert, a syndicated columnist from Detroit, described the Starliner as "an absolutely breathtaking car that has moved me since I was a boy. It still looks sensational nearly half a century later."
Tilden and a number of readers echoed those observations.
"It doesn't depend on ornamentation," he said. "The long hood and long trunk, as well as the open greenhouse, give excellent balance. It's the nicest-looking car I'd ever seen in my life. After more than 40 years, it's a timeless design - clean, honest."
("Greenhouse" is the term for the area of a car's body surrounded by glass.)
Helen Travis of Jasper wrote that she remembers people talking about how good the Studebaker looked "but that it was too far ahead of its time."
W. Hoyt Scharff of Jonesboro praised the Starliner's timeless design that "in no way looks dated. Nearly 50 years later, it has most of the attributes of today's 'personal' coupes."
Jerry Peterson of Peachtree City remembers a used 1954 coupe as his first car. "Now, after many cars, none of them look as great or hold a place in my heart as that '54 Stude coupe."
"I owned a two-tone [dark green and light green] one and was driving it during the time I married my wife on July 2, 1954," wrote Burt Baggott of Smyrna. "The [car's] styling was years ahead of its time with fins, hardtop, wide whitewall tires, and it was as comfortable as automobiles of today in my estimation. If that car were on the market today I believe I would trade tomorrow."
The long, low look continues to inspire stylists today.
Tilden recalls meeting Robert Bourke, the designer for Raymond Loewy Associates who created the Starliner. The vehicle, particularly the hardtop (identifiable by its lack of a pillar behind the front-side windows), was recognized by the Museum of Modern Art as "a work of art." The museum also recognized another nominee, the Jaguar E-Type, which is part of its permanent collection.
The car has all its original upholstery and equipment, although it does have new carpet. With about 75,000 miles on the odometer, it still drives well, he said. It can easily reach 60 to 70 mph.
"She needs a coat of paint," Tilden said, but he still turns heads and gets thumbs-up signs when he takes his grandson, Daniel, for a drive.
His car has an original 232-cubic-inch V-8 engine. But he noted that many of the Starliners were modified with more powerful engines from other automakers as '50s and '60s hot rodders took advantage of the Starliner's slippery aerodynamics and Chrysler's powerful Hemi engines. Some combined the body with a Cadillac V-8 powerplant to create a "Studillac."
The Starliner was well accepted by the public when it was introduced.
"I was in my early 20s when this car came out, and the sensation it caused was something to see," wrote Donald A. Rosborg of Mansfield. "You could not get near one parked on the street for the crowds around it."
But Tilden noted that production delays limited the availability of the coupes. Demand for them was stronger than for the boxy sedan models introduced at the same time. About 100,000 coupes and hardtops were built.
Not that many are left today, Tilden said. The bodies were susceptible to rust. A top show car today will sell for $15,000 to $20,000; vehicles that are drivable and don't have any rust sell for around $10,000, depending on condition. New, the cars cost $2,500 and up, about $1,000 more than Chevrolet and Ford sedans of the time.
Because Studebaker was a smaller automaker, it had to be innovative to compete with the Big Three. Styling was what helped the marque stand out in the years after World War II.
"To fully appreciate the beauty and departure of this [Starliner] design, it would augur well to remember other cars of 1953 such as the incredibly boxy Chevrolet, the monstrosity that was a Pontiac and the bulbous tank that was a Buick," M.R. "Mickey" Roberson Jr. of Dunwoody wrote.
"Raymond Loewy's design is art itself, as the car seems to be moving while at rest," he added. "I remember telling my late wife that if I could have any recently built automobile, I wished it would be a 1953 two-door hardtop Studebaker. ... I would like to have it in yellow."
The 1947 Studebaker Starlite had an early wraparound rear window, and the automaker won notice for its bullet-nose cars in 1950. The Starliner's sleek lines were carried on in the Hawk series of the '50s and '60s.
Studebaker merged with Packard in the 1950s, and the last Studebakers were built in 1966.
"The Starliner is simple, yet elegant, like a beautiful woman at a ball. Ironic, isn't it, that a car with such graceful styling is one of the last from a dying company in a decade when styling became the major keystone, along with power, for American cars," noted Harry E. Fitch of Peachtree City.
The automaker's last gasp, the fiberglass-body Avanti, has been produced sporadically since the '60s by various entrepreneurs. There are plans to build them again beginning next year at a plant in Villa Rica.
Tilden, originally from Iowa, bought his 1954 Starliner Commander in the early 1990s from another collector. But he got his first Studebaker in 1958 both because he liked the looks of the cars and because his uncle "always drove them." In part, the cars inspired him to earn an engineering degree.
Now, he collects mostly "orphans," vehicles by automakers that have gone out of business. Besides his Studebakers, his dozens of vehicles include Kaisers, Willys and Nashes.
Many of them still run, although some are strictly museum pieces or parts cars.
"I like to drive them," Tilden said.
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