The Studebaker Dictator was an automobile produced by the Studebaker

Studebaker

Studebaker Corporation was a United States wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 under the name of the Studebaker Brothers Manufacturing Company, the company was originally a producer of wagons for farmers, miners, and the...

 Corporation of South Bend, Indiana

South Bend, Indiana

The city of South Bend is the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total of 101,168 residents; its Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 316,663...

 (USA) from 1927-1937. Model year 1928 was the first full year of Dictator production.

In the mid-1920s, Studebaker began renaming its vehicles. The model previously known as the Studebaker Standard Six became the Dictator during the 1927 model year--internally designated model GE. The name was intended to connote that the model "dictated the standard" that other automobile makes would be obliged to follow.

The Dictator was Studebaker's lowest-price model, followed (in ascending order) by the Studebaker Commander

Studebaker Commander

The Studebaker Commander is the model-name of a long succession of automobiles produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana and Studebaker of Canada Ltd of Walkerville and, later, Hamilton, Ontario . Studebaker began using the Commander name in 1927 and continued to use it until...

 and Studebaker President

Studebaker President

The Studebaker President was the premier automobile model manufactured by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana from 1926-1942. The nameplate was reintroduced in 1955 and used until the end of the 1958 model when the name was retired....

 series. There was a Chancellor in 1927, too, but that year only. In June 1929, Studebaker began offering an 8-cylinder engine for the Dictator series (221 cubic inches, 70 bhp at 3,200 rpm), designed by Barney Roos

Delmar "Barney" Roos

Delmar G. "Barney" Roos was an American automotive engineer who served as Studebaker's head of engineering from 1926 to 1936, specialising in straight-eight engines. He later worked for the British Rootes Group in the design of Humber, Hillman and Sunbeam Talbot cars...

, though the old 6-cylinder option was continued for another year. Dictators were available in a full range of body-styles.

Consequences of the Dictator name

In retrospect, the choice of the model name might seem unfortunate. Benjamin L. Alpers begins his history of American perceptions of dictators, Dictators, Democracy, and American Public Culture: Envisioning the Totalitarian Enemy, 1920s-1950s, with the introduction of the Studebaker Dictator: "There were, of course, some political problems connected with the name 'Dictator'. A number of the European monarchies to which Studebaker exported the car were wary of the moniker. Diplomatically, Studebaker marketed its Standard Six as the 'Director' in these countries. In the United States, apparently, the name appears initially to have caused no problems."

At the time, the only dictator that would have immediately come to an American mind was Benito Mussolini

Benito Mussolini

Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....

, whose popular image was one of audacity and strength, in spite of well-publicized fascist violence. However the rise of Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler

Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 tainted the word dictator. Studebaker abruptly discontinued the name 'Dictator' in 1937, resurrecting the Commander

Studebaker Commander

The Studebaker Commander is the model-name of a long succession of automobiles produced by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana and Studebaker of Canada Ltd of Walkerville and, later, Hamilton, Ontario . Studebaker began using the Commander name in 1927 and continued to use it until...

 name which had been dropped in 1935. At that time, Raymond Loewy

Raymond Loewy

Raymond Loewy was an industrial designer, and the first to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine, on October 31, 1949. Born in France, he spent most of his professional career in the United States...

 and Helen Dryden

Helen Dryden

Helen Dryden was an American artist and successful industrial designer in the 1920s and '30s. She was reportedly described by the New York Times as being the highest-paid woman artist in the United States, though she lived in comparative poverty in later years.- Education :She was born in...

 were working on new concepts for body design and customer appeal.

Estonia

Studebaker Dictator was used as official state car

Official state car

An official state car is a car used by a government to transport its head of state in an official capacity, which may also be used occasionally to transport other members of the government or visiting dignitaries from other countries. On a state visit, the official state car might be transported...

 in the Oru palace

Toila

Toila is a small borough in northeastern Estonia. It is located in Ida-Viru county, some 10 km northeast from the town of Jõhvi. Toila is the administrative centre of Toila Parish and has a population of 896 .- Tourism :...

 from 1934 to 1939 by Konstantin Päts

Konstantin Päts

Konstantin Päts VR I/1 and III/1 was the most influential politician of interwar Estonia. He was one of the first Estonians to become active in politics and started an almost 40-year political rivalry with Jaan Tõnisson, first through journalism with his newspaper Teataja, later through politics...

, Estonian head of state http://eag.unicweb.ee/ew.html.