bolinotoyou
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This was a last ditch effort by Studebaker to save the company with a COE configuration to maximize load capacity and simple flat panels to simplify manufacturing and stamping expense.
SirBobby98121
Looks like Johnny cab in Total Recall.
Trinik
*sniffle* It's... beautiful.
derekjohn
The original Landrovers were designed with the same constraints; all flat panels and glass.
Crokkodrill8
Q: "How did you approach the areodymamic of this vehicle?" A: "We are against it"
Copperbrat
This is my aesthetic. I guess it's no wonder my mom still wonders if I'm a lesbian.
writerbuddy
Still cooler than a cybertruck. Plenty of room in that cab for romance.
thatwoodguy
My uncle owned a 3R. His widow offered it to me as the kids didn't want it but I passed as getting itfrom Winnipeg to Vancouver would be costly.
blanksmom
If the front was reversed 180 the slope would have made sense and shortened the roof reducing top heavy by 15-20lbs?
BeanMugged
Still better than a cyber truck
at1cad
Given a choice of cybertruck or this, I'm pretty sure the majority would take one of these.
phlebaspho
It's a jpeg of a parked truck, but somehow I can still hear the oil canning from the roof and doors.
NecrophiliacBear
Here you go , live version
ziralien
Looks like someone turned a public transport bus into a truck.
AzgarOgly
It's just public transport design is stuck in 1960s
OddlyPacific
They were offered a distribution deal with VW before the Beetle became popular. They would still be around if they had taken it.
mike1dog
They distributed Mercedes cars for a time and didn't do a good job at all. The Studebaker executives evidently just wanted to have something more luxurious than their own products to drive.
spidermenz
I would absolutely have that. Safety issues be damned!
OliverOtter
The Jeep FC with a similar layout was quite popular worldwide at the time (the Indian auto industry was mostly based on license-built Jeep FC chassis with new bodywork well into the 2000s), so this was actually a very smart move. It just wasn't enough.
apocalypse910
I love any vehicle that makes my pinz look aerodynamic.
ironwill2008
I bet it would sell like crazy today.
DonkeyGoat
Neat
wadenelson1
For $4999 I would buy it just for Home Depot Lumber runs.
Iaimtomisbehave
The seat is right over the wheels and the whole thing is going to be wonky when you brake.
RainierCamino
Nah, COE's are not looney tunes unstable like that.
Iaimtomisbehave
Yeah, maybe the CG is low enough to compensate, still a rough ride over those wheels.
lessthen1337
I actually love this? Just something about the super simplicity
GoodGuyGonzo
bogdog799
oh man...
AnUpvote
CheeseborgarSoop
As an avid odd car lover, I absolutely love this. And I wish I was a millionaire, so I could add it to my collection.
spontaneous9
It hurts just to look at that design. I mean, I WANT one, but still...
agonarch
It's the Cybertruck but for the right reasons, built in the right way (optimization, not.. for.. whatever the cybertruck is. To make the DMC Delorean look even more impressive?).
vegivamp
Honestly it's not ugly, but they clearly never heard about aerodynamics. Incompetent management overriding knowledgeable subordinates is from all ages...
spontaneous9
It occurs to me that the forward-leaning windscreen was likely designed so it wouldn't blind other vehicles and bystanders with a huge flat reflective surface so I understand that, a couple degrees past the vertical and that problem is solved whereas the flat windscreen on old VWs definitely does that because it's tilted back for improved aerodynamics. And interior space is maximized in this design. But it does make it look really off-balance that way somehow.
Barantor
I could see it for a city delivery hauler where parking a large vehicle means you need to get really close to whatever is in front of you, so the windshield like that could be beneficial, but yeah it's a weird design. Otherwise I like the simplicity, but I also like the little japanese kei trucks/vans.
JoeT85
Less aerodynamic than a cow, but is cow colored. well done
oaberbyamd
Is perfect!
Poppypoppoppop
I just want a Japanese Kei car https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kei_car
spontaneous9
Long as it's not a 2-stroke, I wouldn't mind either. I like the look of the Subaru Sambar.
3006mv
Aerodynamic as a brick
marsgoose
Makes fuckall difference if you drive it slow. Kinda how fedex and ups trucks are giant jenga blocks while both companies are trying to minmax their profits. Brick speed limited to 65 and spending most of their time driving 25 in residential , aero doesn't matter much.
Somnophobe
Gas was on average about $0.30 a gallon back then.. about $2.80 adjusted for today’s prices. As for the mpg, it looks like that model got anywhere from 17 to 22 miles per gallon, according to people that owned/own them.
marsgoose
You will notice that commercial trucks and vans are still very often bricks. For the type of driving they do, aero makes very marginal difference.
justsomepunk
Less than a brick it has a forward leaning window to add to the air damn.
t00tie
beat me to it lol
MediocreExtremist
but why the protruding windshield? It is not even enough to help make parking easier
michiyl
Otherwise it'd go too fast, so this was additional drag
MediocreExtremist
Or maybe for when you brake and it tips over : so it does not keep rolling
GermanSausagesAreTheWurst
Even so, I'd be willing to bet that it gets better gas mileage than most of the trucks today.
marsgoose
No idea, my 70 year old and my new truck both get 18mpg. The old one makes you dizzy if you spend time behind it while it idles so I'm sure it's emitting some lovely carcinogens and neurotoxins. Old one makes about 100hp more power but is also about 1000lbs lighter so that evens out somehow.
GermanSausagesAreTheWurst
I want a Kei Truck. It would be perfect for my job, but they aren't legal in my state.
marsgoose
Drove one for work in not America, and a few other things, like a 1 ton kia bongo. They are designed for countries where highways are sparse, where both urban and rural roads typically max out at 80 km/h. It'd be a pain to have one in traffic in US where we run 75+ mph highways even in cities. Yes, I know the spec says it can do 70, but you are maxing it out at that point and wrecking the tiny engine at high load and rpm.
GermanSausagesAreTheWurst
I try to avoid the expressway unless it's absolutely necessary anyway, so I rarely go faster than 65. A lot of my stops are out in the country, and a Kei truck would save me a lot of gas money.
marsgoose
It was a honda acty specifically. Think of them as a better(and cheaper) version of UTVs, not as a car replacement. Similar even to the original military jeep. It can do a lot relatively slowly. They should still be legal. States that cite safety concerns seem to forget motorcycles are legal.
RainierCamino
Eh, maybe. It's a lot smaller/lighter than modern trucks. But came with a 289 V8 originally designed in '51 and a three-speed automatic. Probably would've gotten low teens mpg.
GermanSausagesAreTheWurst
A 289 is kind of small compared to some of the engines now. An F-250 Powerstroke has 444 cu in that gets about 13 mpg. I used to have a 62 Buick with a 215 V8, and I got about 23 or 25 mpg. Of course that was a car not a truck, but one would that 60 years of progress would have come with slightly more improvement than that.
RainierCamino
I mean lets be fair. That Stude 289 made maybe 200hp/300lbft. And that's rated under very favorable conditions. Ford's 6.7l turbodiesel makes 500hp and 1,200 fucking lbft of torque under realistic rating conditions, with emissions controls. While returning similar mpg. That's a fucking hell of an improvement.
GermanSausagesAreTheWurst
I guess it depends on what one means by "improvement". If you need 500 HP and 1.200 lbft of torque to take your kids to soccer and grab some Crispy Cream Donuts, then I suppose that's a kind of improvement. But for me, after 60 years I would want a bit more than that.