The name was intended to connote that the model "dictated the standard" that other automobile makes would be obliged to follow.

[2] In June 1929, Studebaker began offering an 8-cylinder engine for the Dictator series (221 cubic inches (3,620 cc), 70 bhp at 3,200 rpm), designed by Barney Roos, though the old 6-cylinder option was continued for another year.

[2] There was no 1933 Dictator due to Studebaker's bankruptcy, and a redesigned lower-priced model was released in 1934 with a 6-cylinder engine.

[3] Though it had not caused problems in the United States,[4] Studebaker discontinued the 'Dictator' name in 1937, calling it the Commander, last used by the maker in 1935.

At that time, Raymond Loewy and Helen Dryden were working on new concepts for body design and customer appeal.