a problem with the new (and revolutionary, for its day) mechanical power steering raised its head. It only required of pressure to turn the steering wheel but it was noisy. Only 100 of these units were sold before Studebaker began using GM Saginaw type units. The Studebaker company had a problem with the Mercedes-Benz company. A few years in the future, Studebaker would be the American distributor for that brand, but in 1953, the M-B tri-star emblem was turned upside down and put on the front and rear of Studebaker cars, minus the encircling ring. (Mercedes-Benz cars were still relatively unknown in America at that time, so most people probably would never have drawn any connection between the two brands.) In the upper part, the Commander had a gold “8” while the Champion a gold “S”. The upside-down tri-star was used elsewhere in the car. The wheel covers, back-up light lenses, radio delete plate, horn button and the rear ashtray on the Starliner/Starlight coupe—all had this emblem. M-B complained and Studebaker hastily re-designed the emblems. On the hood and trunk, they removed the M-B look-alike and on the Commander, replaced it with a large gold “8” in the middle of a chrome “V” (basically they removed one of the three arms of the "star", changing it into a "v".) On the Champion, a gold “S” replaced the “8”. When the other items ran their course, they were replaced by non-tri-star items. These are now collectors items. The construction problems were corrected in the 1954 Land Cruiser models with heavier metal in the frames and an additional re-enforcing crossmember. The famous designer, Eleanor LeMaire was retained to brighten up the interiors of the new cars. She demanded 4 more colorful interiors than previously, getting away from the one drab gray pin stripe color of the previous year. These new colors included green, blue and tan as well as an opulent silver-gray. The front grille bars had 5 small vertical fins each to differentiate them from the earlier model. New, larger brakes were included in the package, shortening stopping distances by according to Motor Trend. Engine horsepower increased to 127 as the result of a 0.5 compression increase (to 7.5). There was also a smoother looking instrument panel, doing away with the individually hooded gauges of the previous year. The 1954 Land Cruiser sold for $2438. All in all, many people are