Life Imitates Tex

Tex Avery’s Car of Tomorrow (1951) made fun of the step-down Hudson and the wrap-around-window Studebaker; both were joked about on network radio comedy shows of the day. But there was also a gag where, eventually, life imitated art.

A small car appears on the screen, and narrator Gil Warren describes it: “The super-thrifty Scotchman model. This car uses absolutely no gasoline.” Dissolve to the gag.



It turned out someone actually made a “Scotchman.” Studebaker produced the Scotsman (scotch is a drink, not a nationality). Studebaker produced the economy car in 1957 and 1958.



No, it didn’t run on pedal power. But it got “25 to 29 miles per gallon,” according to newspaper ads in June 1957 (“Oil industry trembles,” the ad announced). The Scotsman came in two-door, four-door and station wagon models.You got a heater and turn signals as free extras.

By this time, Avery was in the cartoon commercial business, though he wasn’t animating a Studebaker.