1948 Studebaker Champion Convertible. This Studebaker was in a junk yard in 1968. That's where Daryl Hemken found it. He had the 170ci, 80 hp engine overhauled once he got it back home. Just under 10,000 of these models were built with a $2,059 price tag. Studebaker was the first major U.S. manufacturer to introduce redesigned cars after World War II. Raymond Loewy and Virgil Exner were the force behind the dramatic streamlined forms that set Studebaker on a path similar to the groundbreaking Chrysler Airflows of the mid 30's. Soundly conceived and competently executed, they were design leaders in the postwar market. The 1948 was very similar to the 1947 models that were Studebaker's first foray into new styling concepts in the post-war era. Introduced on April 30, 1946 at the posh Waldorf Astoria Hotel on Park Avenue in New York, the 1947 Studebaker was indeed the first new postwar car from a major U.S. automaker. So yes, the company's tagline, "First by far with a postwar car" was entirely appropriate. The rest of the nation's automakers, busily churning out mildly facelifted versions of their 1942 models into a seller's market, wouldn't have their new offerings ready until the model 1948 and 1949 model years. Studebaker beat them all to the punch. Studebaker built on this styling while staying with its tried-and-true powerplants. The Champion line used "A new kind of motoring" as its marketing theme this year. And it still is...a nice running and driving Studebaker with brakes needing work.