Here’s the story on the Studebaker line for 1955—the autos Car Life magazine called “the safest cars on the road.”    

As we often say here at Mac’s Motor City Garage, we have a special appreciation for the old vintage Studebaker promotional spots. Perhaps because the company knew it didn’t have much time left to fool around, the product presentations are simple and to the point, avoiding the romance and razzmatazz often employed by the big Detroit automakers in the 1950s.

The theme of this this little 1955 clip is “The Safest Cars on the Road,” as determined by the great old Car Life magazine. Of course, in these days safety didn’t yet mean seat belts and other active features. (Ford would take a cautious step in that direction a year later with its Lifeguard Design campaign—read about it here.) Instead, the focus is on competent steering, suspension, and braking systems and a responsive, powerful drivetrain. The automakers didn’t get truly serious about safety for another decade, with a healthy shove from consumer activists and the federal government.

The 1955 model year was the final season in the product cycle for the beautiful and distinctive Bob Bourke/Raymond Leowy design introduced in 1953.  Many styling critics will say that was one year too many, pointing to the heavy-handed use of front end chrome on the ’55 facelift. But on the plus side, MY 1955 also produced the glamorous President Speedster, which begat the Studebaker Hawk line (President Speedster feature here). Sales trended upward in 1955, too, to 116,000 units—a healthy although temporary increase. Video follows.