Secret influencer
Dear Classic American, I was on a long bike ride with a friend around the back lanes of Cheshire and we came upon a pub outside Macclesfield which had been closed down, but its car park had been transformed into a classic car sales pitch. The variety of cars was the usual classic British fare: old MGs, Jags, the odd big Mercedes Coupe from the Nineties and of course, a Silver Shadow. Hiding in the back, however, I spotted what I at first thought was an old Vauxhall from the Fifties… Closer inspection revealed that it was in fact a Studebaker! I was quite taken aback, as I’m usually very good at identifying cars. It surely must be the case that Vauxhall was very heavily influenced by Studebaker designs from this era, wouldn’t you agree? Stephen Harcourt Congleton, Cheshire
Your discovery appears to be a 1949 Studebaker Champion… Whether or not its styling influenced Vauxhall is a moot point; it’s highly unlikely that they would ever admit such a thing, although the designs of Raymond Loewy, who worked for Studebaker during this era, are recognised as some of the finest automotive designs of the period!