Thanks to these images by William Oliver at the Cohort, here’s a rare find that was a rare sight in its day. A 1957 Studebaker Provincial, one of 3,995 built that year.
If the Hawks are taken out of the equation, Studebaker’s late 50s offerings are a mystery to most. Understandable, since the company was going through much turmoil at the time. The Packard merger was a bust, and the ’56 bailout courtesy of Curtis-Wright resulted in the reshuffling of corporate chairs. S-P’s planned lineup for ’57 got canned in the process, and new president Harold Vance ordered restyles of the existing models. Done on the cheap, of course. Hence, the ’57s as we know them. Or don’t, more precisely.
Designer Duncan McRae did what he could, but much of the ’58s lineup clearly shows late ’50s trends just tacked on to the old bones. Still, it was part of S-P’s intent to keep a full lineup, and thus the 4-door Provincial wagon. The model carried Studebaker’s 259 V-8, with 180 hp, and a price of $2561. Only the Broadmoor wagon was above it, with the 289 V-8 and a cost of $2,666.
From a styling viewpoint, it’s obviously a compromised product with some curious and jarring details. But I’m not gonna pile on its aesthetics much more. It’s a rare and providential survivor, a product of a painful transition just as terminal decline was setting in. I’m just glad this one exists, no matter its condition.
Regardless of the company’s ailing situation, there was goodness under the Provincial’s bones, as JP’s previous ’57 Commander post explains. To those who purchased one, this Stude provided a car that “gave their owners a very tough and long-lived car.”
Further reading:
I never even heard of one! Thanks for the introduction and history.
If you won’t pile on the aesthetics, I will.
Instead of “Provincial” it should’ve been called “Parkbench” because of the rear extension with its’ huge tailfins and set-apart bumper. At least being a ’57 it doesn’t have the ’58’s literally tacked-on quad headlights.
Maybe, but at least the 1958 got rid of the vent door in the front fenders. Neither one is pretty.
Yeah? I’m pretty okay with the fender vent doors. The proptosis-four-eyes look for 1958 is a bit harder to digest. It’s only outdone by the skinflint Champion’s four headlamp pods having two 7″ lamps jammed back in them with a goofy bezel to fill in the extra space. Ehh… I’ll just take a Scotsman in green or blue, please and thank you!
Yep, the only station wagon one can have a Tailgate Party with it closed!!
The ’58 wagons had tacked-on tail fins as well as headlamp pods, making the “park bench” effect of the extended lower rear overhang even worse.
That location always has something interesting. I’ve captured that vehicle on the way there.
Lotus Europa
NSU TT
Borgward Isabella
I’ve always been puzzled by the fact that the tailgate ends so far ahead of the bumper. I guess they just re-used sedan rear fenders tacked on to the shorter wagon body. It would make a great place to stick in a continental spare.
One truly has to wonder what the idea was behind that strange station wagon roof treatment. It’s like they just told the stylists, “Do something different, no matter how bizarre and it doesn’t cost much”. You just can’t beat Studebaker for having built the most goofy cars, especially towards the end of the company’s life. It’s like they were just throwing everything they could right into production, so long as the R&D money spent was minimal.
And, then, when they did come up with something actually feasible, it died on the vine. I hate to sound like a broken record, but Brooks Stevens’ 1963 Sceptre concept would have been so much better for the company’s bottom line than the money-pit Raymond Loewy Avanti.
It’s worth noting that many of the Sceptre’s primary design cues and elements look to have been cribbed by Chrysler directly to the 1966 Charger.
The Spectre was a knockout, and would have worked in a 4 door version almost as well, and better than the proposed Lark replacement Stevens also proposed at the same time as the Spectre. They would still need to modernize the chassis and revise the frame to accept recessed footwells for it to be competitive, no matter how great it looked.
I’m presuming you’re referring to the huge disparity between roof/tailgate and rear quarters? The overall shape of the station wagon’s passenger/cargo compartment was to harmonize with the rest of the Studebaker sedans that were launched in 1953; wagons arrived in 1954. Everything played reasonably well together for 1954-55, but then came the 1956 sedans, which were heavily face-lifted at both ends (butt-lift?) in an attempt to make them look as new and modern as was possible on a frayed shoestring budget… and the wagons had to come along for the ride. It worked out pretty okay for the sedans, given the limitations; the narrowness of the cars is more apparent in person than in pictures, and you mostly notice it from directly in front of or behind the car.
The wagons were stuck with the 1954-55 body intact, with new quarters grafted on to try and match up with the sedans as best they could. I’m pretty sure no one there was really keen on doing this, but a penny placed on the railroad tracks will only stretch so far. Studebaker again recycled the station wagon body intact for the Lark, where it oddly fit quite nicely. The (lack of) width even worked well for the smaller car. One other oddity was that they waited until 1957 to do a four door station wagon, took it back when the 1959 Lark came out, only to reintroduce it again for 1960-62.
or balcony.
I find the model name “Provincial” an interesting choice. I don’t remember ever seeing the name used by Studebaker. At least in Ontario, where I live, the word carries negative connotations of narrow-mindedness or lack of sophistication.
Dumpy and cool, at the same time.
The Isabella was nice to see after having owned 14 of them as founder of the West Coast Borgward Owners’ Club in 1982. Nowadays they are all gone from the junkyards apparently. Have been looking for one in the High Desert of SoCal for several years now….
If it was a “Renault” or “Peugot” , could a been a “Provencal”. The “privacy extenders on either side of the tailgate are “amazingly odd”.
Driving on Wisconsin Route 55 today I observed what appeared to be a 53-54 Studebaker 4 door sedan coming from the opposite direction. It did not appear to be in particularly good condition, but it was mobile.
Did any car have a worse relationship between window shapes and door frames/ shut lines?
Extend the roof, tidy up the above mentioned relationship, and de crease the fenders, and at least the side view is reasonable.
Given S-Ps financial situation, I’m dreaming.
This interesting wagon looks like it could easily be re spayed and re chromed to make a money making movie car….
I like the Borgward too, they’re interesting cars .
-Nate
I am late in arriving, but one of these is near the top of my dwindling bucket list of cars to own. I would actually prefer the one in the higher President trim, but someone who wants a 57 Stude wagon must take what he can get. I see one for sale every now and then and start wondering how I can incorporate it into my life.
I wonder if it is physically possible to replace that high-crown roof panel with the flatter panel that came on the Lark wagons. That roof panel bothers me more than the odd relationship between the rear fenders and the tailgate.
As I think about it, is there a single car that begs more for a factory Continental kit than one of these wagons? I don’t think I have ever seen one with that treatment, and maybe I would change my mind if I did, but there is certainly plenty of room to mount a spare out back.
I always try to keep in mind that back in those days, the industry was much more primitive than it is today, and the equipment and technology to build a more sophisticated car was beyond their reach, as well as beyond the comprehension of most automotive engineers. Their primary focus in those days was to try to build something that people liked, could afford, and was hopefully contemporary with the products of the other equally nearly-clueless builders. Sure, there were some exceptions. And those companies are still in business.
I love that wagon,Stud breakers rock and you are guaranteed unique. What about those sunbeams next to it?