Studebaker’s big cars, the stately Commander and President, remained in the lineup through 1942. But when production resumed after World War II, everything changed.

1942 Studebaker President Eight Deluxstyle Sedan Coupe

Introduced in 1939, the Studebaker Champion gave the Indiana automaker a valuable entry in the low-priced field and added much-needed production volume. (See our feature on the Champion here.) Meanwhile, Studebaker’s traditional bread and butter, the full-sized Commander and President models, continued on.

Comfortable and well-equipped vehicles, these big Studes competed against Nash, Oldsmobile, DeSoto, Packard 110, and the rest in the $1,000-$1300 range. With their up-to-date mechanical features and fresh styling by Raymond Loewy and Associates, they sold in fairly respectable numbers in that tough and crowded category, all things considered, but 1942 would prove to be their final year.

Comprehensively redesigned for 1941, the ’42 Commander and President were largely carryovers with only detail changes. The two models shared similar underpinnings, with the Commander built on a ladder-frame chassis with a 119-inch wheelbase and the President on a 124-inch wheelbase. Both used the novel transverse-leaf independent front suspension designed by Delmar G. Roos and conventional Hotchkiss drive at the rear with parallel leaf springs.

The L-head straight six that powered the Commander was a continuation of the 1932  Rockne engine developed by Roy Cole and Ralph Vail. With various refinements and a bump in displacement to 226 cubic inches, it now produced 94 hp at  3,600 rpm. This engine would remain in production at Studebaker for decades.

Under the hood of the President, meanwhile, was a 250 cubic-inch straight eight. A classic L-head Roos design with nine main bearings and cast-iron pistons, in its ultimate state of tune for 1942, the inline eight was rated at 117 hp at 4,000 rpm and 200 lb-ft of torque at 2,400 rpm. It was noted for its silky smoothness. But as things turned out,  this would be the last straight-eight engine ever produced by Studebaker.

1942 Studebaker Commander Deluxstyle Cruising Sedan

One advanced feature attempted by Studebaker in ’42 was a semi-automatic transmission called Turbo-matic Drive. This setup was essentially a conventional three-speed transmission and overdrive unit combined with a fluid coupling, a vacuum shifter, and a vacuum-operated automatic clutch that eliminated the clutch pedal. Reportedly, only a handful were produced for evaluation and none were sold to the general public.

The 1942 model year proved to be a short one for Studebaker, as it was for all the U.S. automakers when, shortly after Pearl Harbor, the federal government ordered the industry into war production exclusively. Before the car lines in South Bend stopped on January 29, 1942, approximately 17,500 Commanders and 3,500 Presidents were produced. For the final two weeks, the cars were assembled with painted rather than bright trim as chromium and stainless steel were declared strategic materials.

When World War II ended in August of 1945 and civilian production resumed for the 1946 model year, there was just a single model in the Studebaker lineup, the mid-size Skyway Champion with 110-inch wheelbase. The Commander name would return in 1947 and President in 1955, but on very different cars.

1942 Sudebaker Commander Skyway Land Cruiser