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November 25, 2010
East Main Street - 1951
Michael Paul Smith stages extraordinary vignettes using model cars and pixie dust. What I am after in this particular image, however, is a bit of automobile identification. If anyone can tell me what the car with the interesting grill might be called, I would be grateful.
Updating: Thanks to answers by comment and email the car is revealed to be a Studebaker Commander/Champion!
Posted by Ghost of a flea at November 25, 2010 01:28 PM
Comments
Hi! Happy Thanksgiving! The car looks like a 1950 Studebaker sedan...
Posted by: Marie Therese ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.ghostofaflea.com/nav-commenters.gif)
at November 25, 2010 02:37 PM
The purple car is a 1950 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe. If it were a Commander it would have a longer wheelbase and four doors, and if it were a 1951 model it wouldn't have the ornamental flashes on the fenders (which had lights at the front). It was also produced as a yadayada "Business Coupe", which didn't have the chrome strip below the doors or a back seat, a useful vehicle for traveling salesmen.
Studebakers were among the most interesting American cars of the 1950s. The company made the grave mistake of introducing new designs but not upgrading its production facilities, with the result that the car price wars between Ford and GM (primarily Chevrolet) in the late 1950s drove them out of business, along with Packard.
The green car at left is a 1949 or 1950 Mercury. The black one at right is a 1949 Chevrolet.
Regards,
Ric
Posted by: Ric Locke at November 25, 2010 11:01 PM