1949. Studebaker coasted along with the old bodies until 1952. But 1950 saw the “Next Look in Cars" — Studebaker’s answer to the other manufacturer's 1949 models. Considered very radical for the era, it had three-point front styling, popularly known as the “bullet-nose”. Over 10,000 more Land Cruisers were sold in 1950 than in 1949. Studebaker Automatic Drive was introduced mid-year and was arguably the most advanced automatic transmission of the day. It featured reverse gear lock-out, hill-holder, anti-creep and a locking torque converter which allowed direct drive with virtually no converter power loss in high gear. The price of the 1950 Land Cruiser went down to $2187. Sales in 1951 skyrocketed, an increase of almost 12,000 over 1950. This can probably be attributed to the introduction of the lively new Studebaker V8 engine that year. The front styling stayed virtually the same, with a minor redesign of the three points. Once again, the Land Cruiser had its own wheelbase, at 119"; the Commander now shared the 115" wheelbase of the Champion models. The price was raised to $2289. The 1952 Land Cruiser was the last to use real glass for the tail and parking light lenses. Its grille, designated by some as the "clam digger", was actually a preview of the next generation. 1953–1954 models The 1953 Land Cruisers were complete departure from the ’47-’52 models. The 1953 model sold retail for $2316 ($ in dollars ). They were built on the same frame as the new Starliner and Starlight coupe models but, as with many new models, there were some initial problems, primarily with the fit of the front fenders. With the engine out of the car, they fit. With the engine in the car, they didn’t. This was found to be primarily the fault of using a thinner gauge steel for the frame. The theory was that if the frame could flex a little, the car would ride better. The problem was, it flexed too much. If you jacked up one corner of the car, to change a tire, for example, the frame flexed so much that you could either not open the door or could not close it. There were also fewer frame re-enforcements than in subsequent years. As you might imagine, this problem caused many a late night conference and hasty fixes and tended to give the new model a bad name almost immediately. Then