The Car: 1928 Studebaker Commander Roadster ; Commanding attention.(a history)(Brief Article)

The year 1927 was a special time for Studebaker. It was the company's Diamond Jubilee and Studebaker cars set records climbing Pikes Peak in Colorado and traveling from New York to San Francisco. In the 1920s, endurance tests of cars were big news. Rightfully so, as potential car buyers needed confirmation of reliability and performance. Thus three new and specially equipped Commanders-two roadsters and one sedan-went to the Atlantic City Speedway in October 1927 for a special demonstration: The cars lapped 25,000 miles in 23,000 minutes, said to be a record at the time.

The first Commanders were introduced in the spring of 1927 as part of the Big Six line. When Studebaker revised its model lineup for 1928-adding a new straight-eight model called the President-it kept the tried-and-true 75-hp, 354-cid six-cylinder from the old Big Six flagship and put it into a smaller, 120-inch-wheelbase chassis. This was the Commander. It was a mid-price car; the roadster was $1,595. Weighing about 3330 pounds-500 less than the equivalent President model-the improved power-to-weight ratio created impressive performance.

The L-head six was actually designed at the end of World War I by the Fred Zeder, Owen Skelton and Carl Breer trio that later made Chrysler engineering so famous. For 1928 the motor was fine-tuned, and the Ball & Ball 1 1/2-size carburetor was replaced with a 1 1/4-size Stromberg TX2.

The car's gear ratio of 3.31-by far the smallest number of any standard 1928 American automobile-stands out as a specification more similar to the venerable Locomobile 48 than the Commander's mid-price competition. Studebaker was a large manufacturer in the 1920s and therefore built most of its own mechanical parts. But this was the beginning of the transition toward outsourcing components. While Studebaker was still making steering gears for the Commander, it bought Ross gears for the new President models.

One of the Atlantic City Commanders survives at the ...