In 1941 Studebaker has made a decision to concentrate it’s commercial offering to pickup’s and light-duty trucks. The M-Series is release in ½ ton (M5), 1-ton (M15), 1 ½-ton (M16). Experts think the M10 number may have been reserved for a ¾-ton model which was never released. The M5 and M15 used the 170-ci 80-hp engine, while the M16 gets the 226-ci Commander Six. The trucks would come in either standard or DeLuxe trim. Standard trucks has painted grilles and black fenders. Deluxe models had stainless steel grille bars, bright metal side trim moldings, body colored fenders and a hood ornament.
Shown in the ad at the left is the 1941 M5 DeLuxe, note that while it is still called a Coupe Express, it has nothing in common with the earlier car based Coupe Express pickups.
The DeLuxe packages were not available in 1942, this may have been because of war material shortages or simply because the DeLuxe packages did not sell well. The M-series has quite a few parts that are borrowed from the 1941 Champion car line and in a unique design have several parts like fenders and running boards which are interchangeable from side to side or from front to back. Production of the M5 Starts in November of 1940 while the M15 & M16 would not start until December of 1940. From Skip Lackie’s Truck History, there were 1,085 M-series truck built in 1940, 9,215 in 1941 and 1,515 in 1942. There was no break-down of these numbers by model. From Richard Quinn’s May/June 1999 article in the Antique Studebaker Review, there were 4,685 M-5’s built in 1941 model year and another 174 built in the shortened 1942 model year.
| Year | Model | Model Description | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | M5 | ½-ton Coupe Express Standard 113wb | Pickup | $664.001 |
|
1941 |
M5 | ½-ton Coupe Express DeLuxe 113wb | Pickup |
$689.001 |
|
1941 |
M15 |
1-ton Standard Express 120wb |
Pickup |
$815.001 |
|
1941 |
M15 |
1-ton Standard Truck 128/152wb |
Truck |
? |
|
1941 |
M16 |
1 ½-ton Heavy Duty Truck 128/152/195wb |
Truck |
? |
|
1942 |
M5 |
½-ton Coupe Express Standard 113wb |
Pickup |
$695.001 |
|
1942 |
M15 |
1-ton Standard Express 120wb |
Pickup |
$846.001 |
| 1942 | M15 |
1-ton Standard Truck 128/152wb |
Truck | ? |
| 1942 | M16 |
1 ½-ton Heavy Duty Truck 128/152/195wb |
Truck | ? |
|
1Turning Wheels – October 2005 Page 9 & 10 Fred K. Fox feature article. |
||||