SIMPLY TOO, TOO BEAUTIFUL FOR THE COMMON TASTE

VERY RARE 1937 STUDEBAKER PICKUP TRUCK...

...NOTE THE CLASSY SIDE-MOUNTED SPARE..

...A REAL BUMPER..

...AND NO IRRITATING, DISTRACTING HIGH TECH STUFF ...

Friday, 9:00 AM.  Wind variable, light with stronger gusts.  The sky is clear, the humidity is down, at 74%.  The barometer is also trending down, currently at 30.00".  The Farmer's Almanac predicts wet weather the 28th through the 30th of September.  I guess rain is in our future.
   If you're a regular Bayfield Almanac reader you probably know that I love old cars and trucks.  I'm not a collector or mechanic, I just appreciate them...at least what I consider the classics.  You also probably know by now that all sorts of oddities...human, natural, artistic, and automotive...show up in and around the odd little town of Bayfield, Wisconsin.
   I thought I had seen all the classic pre- and post-war pickup trucks, so imagine my surprise and delight when we spied this 1937 Studebaker pickup truck sitting outside The Hitching Post wood carver and gift shop on Hwy 13, less than a mile form our home, yesterday.  Joan saw it too and pronounced it a pre-war Chevy, which wouldn't be so rare around here, but it struck me as something entirely different.
   Turning the truck around and pulling into the parking lot, I thought at first it was a Plymouth, but I  was also pretty sure Plymouth never made a pickup.  Upon closer inspection we saw by the hood medallion that it was a Studebaker.  I have seen other Studebaker (the brand went out of business in the 1960's) trucks, which were OK but pretty utilitarian.
   This vehicle is right out of a pre-war Art Deco studio!  It's classic lines flow effortlessly, and it appears to be in motion even when  standing still.  The windshield angle gives it a feeling of speed, as does the chrome strip that leads back from the grill on either side of the hood. The entire front end reminds me of one of those iconic "streamliner" railroad locomotives of the 1930's.  The hood and engine compartment, by the way, are far longer than necessary for the six cylinder engine, which creates the impression of great power, even though it isn't there.  The headlights can only be described as sensuous.  It has classic touches such as a side-mounted spare tire, and little details here and there not expected in a work vehicle of the era.
   I owned two Studebakers when I was young; a '53 Starlight Coupe, which was a beautiful little thing, and a diminutive 1960 station wagon that came standard with a small-block Chevy V8 engine under the hood, and was simply a hot-rod in drag.
   Studebaker was famous for its beautiful and original vehicle designs, which are now great collector vehicles. There are several '60's era Silver Hawk coupes around town that are real show stoppers. I don't know why Studebaker couldn't keep up with the competition of the day; perhaps it was because they were simply too, too beautiful for the common taste.