Studebaker made an early and earnest attempt at the hybrid car/pickup market with the 1937-39 Coupe-Express.

Established in 1863 as a wagon and carriage maker, Studebaker was in the motor truck business almost from the beginning, first offering an electric truck in 1902. And with the aid of industrial designers Raymond Loewy and Associates, in the 1930s the South Bend, Indiana vehicle maker was producing some of the more handsome commercial vehicles on the market.

While the car/truck hybrid concept wasn’t really new at the time (Hudson and Chevrolet each had their own spin on the idea, to name two), Studebaker decided to try the market in 1937 with its Coupe-Express. Noting that half-ton pickups accounted for half the truck market, Studebaker chairman Harold Vance determined that dual-use car-pickups could click with small business people and become a lucrative new category.

The ’37 Coupe-Express shared its chassis with Studebaker’s lowest-priced passenger car, the Dictator, and its driveline, too, including the 218 cubic-inch L-head six with 90 hp. and three-speed Warner gearbox. (In 1938 the Dictator became the Commander; see our feature here.) The front end, doors, and rear fenders came from the Dictator as well, while stampings were tooled up to close out the rear of the cab. The package was not much of a departure: As we can see, passenger car and light truck chassis of the era were remarkably similar.

Priced at $595 in ’37 with a standard pickup box, the Coupe-Express was also offered as a chassis-cab, a fabric-top express, and a woody station wagon called the Suburban. As the passenger cars were restyled in ’38 and ’39, the hybrid pickup shared the sheet metal updates. However, sales never took off as anticipated: approximately 3,000 in ’37, 1,200 in ’38, and 1,000 in ’39, so the Coupe-Express was dropped for 1940. When the M series trucks were introduced in 1941. the term “Coupe-Express” appeared in Studebaker advertising, but it was no longer an official model designation.