The Starlight coupe is a unique 2-door body style that was offered by Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana (United States) from 1947 to 1955 on its Champion and Commander model series. It was designed by Virgil Exner, formerly of Raymond Loewy Associates along the lines of the ponton style that had just gone mainstream after the WWII. Trunk The most striking feature was the extremely long (for a five-passenger car) hood-like cover over the luggage compartment of the sedan which was exaggerated on the Starlight. Critics of the radically styled models commented by asking the rhetorical question, "Which way is it going?" (Comedian Fred Allen quipped: "Next year Studebaker is coming out with a model that you won't be able to tell if it is going sideways".) The viewer's astonishment was compounded by the great expanse of the wrap-around rear window. Previously cars had tended to shroud back-seat passengers. Wrap-around rear window Unlike other pillared two-door sedans that use two side windows separated from the rear window by roof supports, Loewy created a roof rounded at the rear with a wraparound window system that provided a panoramic effect, similar to a railroad observation car. The curved window was achieved with four fixed panels of glass. The roof was supported by two wide pillars (sometimes called "B" pillars) immediately behind the doors and in front of the wraparound back window. The body style was originally named, simply, "5-passenger coupe"; however, for the 1949 model year it was renamed Starlight Coupe. The car's unique profile provided the Studebaker marque with an easily recognized body shape copied as soon as possible by the other US manufacturers in their 1949 models, and appeared to be influenced by the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, particularly by the shortened fuselage with wrap around canopy. Studebaker followed a styling trend soon after the war of adopting fighter aircraft appearances on their products, as demonstrated on Buick and Cadillac vehicles starting in 1948. Specifications V-8 introduced in 1951. Automatic transmission introduced in 1950. Facelift For 1950 and 1951, all Studebakers received a freshening of the 1947 design with the addition of the "bullet nose" (or "spinner") front sheet metal design, sharing a similar appearance with the 1949 Ford sedan. When combined with the Starlight body style, Studebakers looked comparatively futuristic at the time. This version of the Starlight body style continued until the end of the 1952 model year,