When Studebaker-Packard's financial situation worsened in 1955 and 1956, company leaders decided, rather than meet the "Big Three" automakers head-on, to compete with low-priced, basic transportation. Using the Studebaker Champion's two- and four-door sedan and two-door station-wagon bodies, the company created a vehicle which could undercut the prices of minimal-frill competitors the Chevrolet 150, Ford Custom and Plymouth Plaza. The Scotsman had features reminiscent of the "blackout" cars of the shortened 1942 model year, from which chrome trim was eliminated by war-materials rationing, though such refinements have been added by latter-day enthusiasts.