Studebaker Champion Deluxe, 1950, Starlight Coupe

The Studebaker, a popular car of the 1950s, was an important example of post-war styling. Studebaker opened a Canadian plant in Walkerville, Ontario in 1909, and manufactured hundreds of cars for Canadian and Commonwealth sale before it closed in 1936. The post-war demand for cars led Studebaker to open a Canadian facility at Hamilton in 1948. The first car to roll off the assembly line was a 4-door Champion Deluxe. This series included the 2-door Starlight coupe, built from 1948 to 1952. Studebaker's design team, led by Raymond Loewy, based its designs on Aerodynamic motifs. The 1950 model included styling similar to a DC-3 in the shape and detailing of the front end. In 1964, "Track and Traffic" magazine voted Studebaker Car of the Year. Two years later, the Hamilton factory closed.