I was a teenager (black light posters all over my room) I saw my first Avanti and had NO CLUE it was something Studebaker created. It was really " love at first sight." I pulled a couple of Revell models of the vehicle and built them. One stock and the other custom. I also built models of many George Barris creations as well. But the Avanti was absolutely beautiful.
I don't believe Revell made a model of it. You most likely had an AMT kit and they made a number of various releases. It also might have been Aurora's version. Palmer Plastics also made some variously boxed versions, including a motorized one (not slot car, just motorized).
Raymond Loewy also designed the Shell Oil logo, Lucky Strike cigarette pack (first to look the same on both sides), the Greyhound SceniCruiser bus, Pennsylvania RR's GG-1 electric loco and Broadway Limited, Northern Pacific Rwy's classy two-town green North Coast Limited color scheme, Studebaker Hawk--the list goes on.
We must remember, Loewy had the habit of claiming credit for the work of his employees as his own ideas. He had dozens of very talented artists in his design studios. He claimed credit for Virgil Exner's work on the '47 Studebakers, as well as Bob Bourke's '53 Starlight-Starliner models. He claimed disdain for tacked-on tail fins, yet he claimed credit for the fiberglass fins on the '56 Golden Hawk and the wonky bolt-on steel tailfins on the '57-'61 Hawks (copied from the Rambler Palm Beach show car). He was outraged when Studebaker brought Milwaukee-based industrial designer Brooks Stevens in to update the Hawk body for 1962, even though he had been asked to assemble the team for the Avanti flagship model.
Thank you for sharing this. I have always thought the Avanti was possibly the handsomest car ever built in America. It is a true masterpiece. Some years ago I considered trying to find and buy one but those pesky responsibilities to my family got in the way. At least I can still look at them.
Thanks, about the same here….I was a Junior HIGH SCHOOL, NOBLE COUNTY INDIANA (hooked on Cars/ Drag / ROAD & Track Mag) , when these came out: incredibly Beautiful, & RacY.. Actually, my GRANDMOTHER’s Niece traded her HAWK, IN FOR A 57:THUNDERBIRD (* & She lived in South Bend IN)……& PRETTY SURE CLASSMATES OLDER BROTHER, had a Super Lark, cruising thru Wolf Lake , 1964((?.)). Anyways, I Did default in *1976 , to ordering a TRANS AM HURST HATCH/ Special Edition,loaded(* not really SPECIAL, some 7000+ , & the SMOKEY BANDIT DRAMAS LATER on),….. I Even processed & checked the AVANTI 2 s…( pardon)…which not my preference.
My uncle had a '65 Avanti. The Avanti had a 300 h.p. engine, in 1965!!! He used to tell stories about having "so many speeding tickets, I could wallpaper my living room with them." If I ever see one for sale in my area, it's mine.
1963-1964 Avanti The engine came in five versions. The R1 was the basic Avanti with a Studebaker 289 cubic inch V8 engine producing 240 horsepower. The R2 added a supercharger for 290 horsepower. The R3 was a low-volume supercharged version with 335 horsepower. The R4 was experimental, a naturally-aspirated V8 with dual 4-barrel carburetors producing 280 horsepower. The R5 was a V8 with dual superchargers, fuel injection, and 575 horsepower.
The R4 was offered for sale and, other than not being supercharged and with the dual 4 bbls, was basically the same as the R3 where both were bored out to 304.5. (The R3 used for the many Bonneville records was bored out to 299 which was the top of the class they were running in). But no Avanti was ordered with an R4. I think one Lark was. Nine Avantis were ordered with the R3. The R5 was a factory engine only and not for sale and for Bonneville speed runs only. Andy Granatelli drove it himself to just over 196 mph. It was nicknamed the "Duo Cento" as they expected to break 200 mph but couldn't quite do it. One problem was that the salt surface was wet that day and that had a little trouble keeping traction.
One of my favorite cars and in a highly desirable color combination of white with a "dreamsicle" interior. You mention Raymond Loewy, but remember it was Andrews, Ebstein, and Kellog, who did most of the design work.
M Smith About a month ago I met one headon on a busy 4 lane interstate. It immediately got my attention when its appeared on the horizon. We were probably .75 miles apart and mergeing at roughly 160mph I knew what it was instantly. Its such a unique shape. Love it or hate it theres nothing like an Avanti. What a treat that was seeing one out in the wild!
It looks like the dealership put their own name plate on the trunk below the "Studebaker" emblem. I've never seen Avanti before that this was done to. Back in the day it was common for dealers to do this. One man I knew bought who REALLY had a pet peeve about that practice bought a new car from the dealer and warned him, "If you drill holes and mount your name, you will have to take $200 off the price to compensate me for advertising you."
my father had one of these before I was born. I would love of he still had it. interesting fact: the movie gattaca used these overlaid with an electric motor soundtrack for their sting around 30yrs in the future
Mr. Addison, the Post's neighbor in Mr. Ed drove an Avanti. When I saw it for the first time way back when I'd no idea what it was but I knew it was cool. Studebaker's product placement advertising worked with me, it's just too bad by the time I was in the market for a car they had been out of the business for almost 20 years.
The thing about "timelessly designed" cars is: they aren't. Immediately when looking at the thumbnail and before reading the title I saw it was a 60's car. It is definitely a design that has stood the test of time though, which is probably what is usually meant when the word "timeless" is used.
''Did you know'' Raymond Lowey designed the 53 Studebaker , and the new Stude Co. President Sherwood Egbert (sp) invited Lowey to design the 63........I know all this cuz my dad bought a 63 Avanti and I just happened to take my Drivers Test with it in 64.........I'm 75 now !
Beautiful design,even more wonderful in person.Timeless does not mean you cannot "date" it,timeless means it looks as good today as it did then and is not a product of a fad or popular creation....which lose their appeal as time passes and the "fad" is forgotten.
+Randy Gardner True Crosley had a lot of firsts ! Crosley built the first production post war American Sports Car. The Hot Shot came out in 1949, 5 years ahead of the Chevy Corvette. Crosley built the first Sport Utility Vehicle in late 1947. Well at least in name. They didn't think 4 wheel drive was needed for a SUV like todays definition seems to include. Crosley produced the first all new slab side style car that would become the standard, with the first car rolling off the line on May 9th 1946. They beat Kaiser Frazier by a few weeks, with K-F production starting in June. First full-bed or fleetside-style pickup, started shipping in late 1947. At 1/4 ton you need all the space you can get. The postwar Crosley engine had many firsts. The one that took a few years to catch on was an overhead cam in a low cost car. A block fabricated out of sheet steel. This was done by Crosley to save cost and weight. Years later the inventor/designer found that the improved cooling of the combustion chamber improved the emission numbers for the exhaust. GM played with the idea in the 70s but dropped the idea. Crosley changed to cast in early 49. A shaft driven cam for lower up keep. Direct actuated valves to eliminate rockers and save moving parts.
It is not a myth. The Crosley WAS the first American production car with disc brakes in 1949 (and on all their models, not just the "Hot Shot"). It was a caliper disc brake setup designed for airplanes. Crosley stopped using them in 1950. Chrysler had 4 wheel disc brakes on their Imperial from 1950 to 1954. But it was not a caliper disk brake style.
No. The descendent company that built the Kellogg-designed Avantis in Villa Rica, Georgia (based on the Pontiac Firebird) also built a prototype monstrosity (sorry, no other way to describe it) called the "Studebaker XUV (Extreme Utility Vehicle)", based on the Ford Excursion platform, and running either PowerStroke Diesel or Triton V10 power. The custom body work included a sliding roof section over the cargo bay and a grille reminiscent of a sixties Studebaker Champ pick-up. If I remember correctly, the Excursion platform was lengthened, and sliding doors like a full-size van were fitted as access to the second row seat. Also, I seem to remember (and I admit that I may be mistaken) that the front clip was hinged to flip forward to allow access to the engine and front suspension components. Interior appointments were as lavish as a $30,000 a night house of ill fame, and I don't remember if it was only one prototype, or if a couple were produced and sold. Finally, Chrysler sued Avanti Motor Corporation during the auto show phase, alleging similarities between the nearly four ton Studebaker XUV and the considerably less mighty Jeep Grand Cherokee. It was also about this time that designer Tom Kellogg died of injuries from a car accident, and another redesign for the Avanti coupe came about, basing the revised revision on the Ford Mustang space frame. A few of these Ford-based coupes (including the only V6-powered Avantis) were built in Cancun before Avanti's president suffered some catastrophic legal missteps, and the company folded.
@@5610winston Chrysler sued GM, not Avanti Motors. It was General Motors that sued Avanti Motors claiming the Studebaker XUV could be confused with the Hummer H2. Michael. E. Kelly (CEO of Avanti Motors at the time) wrote a response claiming no similarities and that no GM parts were used. He ended the response with, "Avanti believes that this frivolous lawsuit was presented to the small manufacturer by General Motors in order for GM to create a monopoly on the market of boxy, utility-type vehicles, thus preventing Studebaker, Ford, or even Chrysler from producing this type of vehicle in the future. The Hummer H2 is no stranger to legal action. Ironically, last year Daimler-Chrysler sued GM over the design of the vehicle, claiming the grill was a knockoff of the Jeep's classic seven-slot front." His "XUV" didn't go anywhere, but thanks to the GM lawsuit (and request for an immediate injunction) he gave Kelly's company some national publicity. On the Kellogg redesigned Avantis, at some point Kelly moved production to Cancun, Mexico and when the GM platforms became unavailable changed to a Ford Mustang platform for the final production before the company closed.
The competition was the Mustang. The styling was a polar opposite and we can see now which the market accepted. But it was more than the styling, this was fiberglass. Studebaker was a sturdy car, so it wasn't a good fit for them.
The Mustang wasn't really the competition. It was a different market. For example, the base price of a 1964 Mustang was $2,372.00 and the base price of a Studebaker Avanti was $4,445.00 (approaching the price of some Cadillac models). Also, the Avanti was released in 1962, well before the Mustang existed in the marketplace. The Avanti market niche competition was mostly the Ford Thunderbird and Buick Riviera.
@@trainliker100 Did Avanti sales drop after the Mustang was released? The Avanti was released in late 62 but as a 63 Model year and production issues kept it from being made in large numbers. The Mustang was 64, pumped out in large numbers. Ask yourself, with the limited chrome (keeping the Avanti from being in the luxury league, even the Thunderbird league...) if you wanted a cute and fairly quick coupe and you had the two choices you laid out... who do you think people chose. The Lark platform and the Falcon platform were evenly matched, the rest was just approach.
@@rogerrussell9544 You are still trying to compare eggs and apples with cars for different markets. Two completely different target markets. One was a luxury "halo" car, one was for "everyman" (and actually, and innovatively, "everywoman", too.). Ford Motor Corporation certainly thought the Avanti was competition to the the Thunderbird as well as the Buick Riviera. They made a movie to teach dealers how to compare the cars. It is on TH-cam in two parts. Part 1: th-cam.com/video/jD38XldkYbk/w-d-xo.html Part 2: th-cam.com/video/fqEw2LvTMYE/w-d-xo.html . So Ford Motor Company felt the Avanti was in the Thunderbird market area. I feel comfortable deferring to Ford as guidance for what cars were in what markets.
@@trainliker100 Charles, you pretend it was accepted as a halo car. That was the dream for it, but.... it never was. What were the sales figures for the Avanti compared to the Hawk in 1963?
@@rogerrussell9544 It was a superb halo car. It brought significant attention and excitement to the Studebaker brand at the time. It's primary goal was to get people into the Studebaker dealerships again and it accomplished that very well. The idea was NOT to sell Avantis, but when people came to the dealership, they would typically buy something in their price range like affordable Hawks and Larks and such. The Avanti did its "Halo car" job well and was probably the most buzz of any car at the 1962 New York Auto show. The failure of Studebaker was already handwriting on the wall and was neither caused in any way by the Avanti, nor could the company have been saved by it. But they tried. Companies that are over a hundred years old don't go away easily - and Studebaker had made a vast number of business mistakes. But the Avanti surely did get people into the showrooms, however, the public was already becoming nervous about buying Studebakers fearful that if they closed, who would repair their cars?
I was a teenager (black light posters all over my room) I saw my first Avanti and had NO CLUE it was something Studebaker created. It was really " love at first sight." I pulled a couple of Revell models of the vehicle and built them. One stock and the other custom. I also built models of many George Barris creations as well. But the Avanti was absolutely beautiful.
I don't believe Revell made a model of it. You most likely had an AMT kit and they made a number of various releases. It also might have been Aurora's version. Palmer Plastics also made some variously boxed versions, including a motorized one (not slot car, just motorized).
Takes me back. These were a favorite of mine when I was a kid. Still think it is as stylish now as when it came out.
Excellent video of the beautiful Studebaker Avanti!!
Thanks, great quick look at a Classic Studebaker……
Raymond Loewy also designed the Shell Oil logo, Lucky Strike cigarette pack (first to look the same on both sides), the Greyhound SceniCruiser bus, Pennsylvania RR's GG-1 electric loco and Broadway Limited, Northern Pacific Rwy's classy two-town green North Coast Limited color scheme, Studebaker Hawk--the list goes on.
We must remember, Loewy had the habit of claiming credit for the work of his employees as his own ideas. He had dozens of very talented artists in his design studios. He claimed credit for Virgil Exner's work on the '47 Studebakers, as well as Bob Bourke's '53 Starlight-Starliner models. He claimed disdain for tacked-on tail fins, yet he claimed credit for the fiberglass fins on the '56 Golden Hawk and the wonky bolt-on steel tailfins on the '57-'61 Hawks (copied from the Rambler Palm Beach show car).
He was outraged when Studebaker brought Milwaukee-based industrial designer Brooks Stevens in to update the Hawk body for 1962, even though he had been asked to assemble the team for the Avanti flagship model.
Thank you for sharing this. I have always thought the Avanti was possibly the handsomest car ever built in America. It is a true masterpiece. Some years ago I considered trying to find and buy one but those pesky responsibilities to my family got in the way. At least I can still look at them.
Thanks, about the same here….I was a Junior HIGH SCHOOL, NOBLE COUNTY INDIANA (hooked on Cars/ Drag / ROAD & Track Mag) , when these came out: incredibly Beautiful, & RacY.. Actually, my GRANDMOTHER’s Niece traded her HAWK, IN FOR A 57:THUNDERBIRD (* & She lived in South Bend IN)……& PRETTY SURE CLASSMATES OLDER BROTHER, had a Super Lark, cruising thru Wolf Lake , 1964((?.)). Anyways, I Did default in *1976 , to ordering a TRANS AM HURST HATCH/ Special Edition,loaded(* not really SPECIAL, some 7000+ , & the SMOKEY BANDIT DRAMAS LATER on),….. I Even processed & checked the AVANTI 2 s…( pardon)…which not my preference.
Nicely done video, keeps the pace admirably. I remember when the Avanti first came out, that is styling, and engine blew.
One of my favorite cars of all time!
My uncle had a '65 Avanti. The Avanti had a 300 h.p. engine, in 1965!!! He used to tell stories about having "so many speeding tickets, I could wallpaper my living room with them." If I ever see one for sale in my area, it's mine.
There were no 1965 Avanti's.
Altman and Newman put out the 1st Avanti 2 in 1966.
1963-1964 Avanti
The engine came in five versions. The R1 was the basic Avanti with a Studebaker 289 cubic inch V8 engine producing 240 horsepower. The R2 added a supercharger for 290 horsepower. The R3 was a low-volume supercharged version with 335 horsepower. The R4 was experimental, a naturally-aspirated V8 with dual 4-barrel carburetors producing 280 horsepower. The R5 was a V8 with dual superchargers, fuel injection, and 575 horsepower.
The R4 was offered for sale and, other than not being supercharged and with the dual 4 bbls, was basically the same as the R3 where both were bored out to 304.5. (The R3 used for the many Bonneville records was bored out to 299 which was the top of the class they were running in). But no Avanti was ordered with an R4. I think one Lark was. Nine Avantis were ordered with the R3. The R5 was a factory engine only and not for sale and for Bonneville speed runs only. Andy Granatelli drove it himself to just over 196 mph. It was nicknamed the "Duo Cento" as they expected to break 200 mph but couldn't quite do it. One problem was that the salt surface was wet that day and that had a little trouble keeping traction.
@@trainliker100 one Lark was equipped with the R-4 option it was a convertible and was in one of the car mags .
A customer came into the autozone I work at today. His last name is Studebaker, he is related to the founder of the company.
One of my favorite cars and in a highly desirable color combination of white with a "dreamsicle" interior. You mention Raymond Loewy, but remember it was Andrews, Ebstein, and Kellog, who did most of the design work.
M Smith
About a month ago I met one headon on a busy 4 lane interstate. It immediately got my attention when its appeared on the horizon. We were probably .75 miles apart and mergeing at roughly 160mph
I knew what it was instantly. Its such a unique shape. Love it or hate it theres nothing like an Avanti. What a treat that was seeing one out in the wild!
It looks like the dealership put their own name plate on the trunk below the "Studebaker" emblem. I've never seen Avanti before that this was done to. Back in the day it was common for dealers to do this. One man I knew bought who REALLY had a pet peeve about that practice bought a new car from the dealer and warned him, "If you drill holes and mount your name, you will have to take $200 off the price to compensate me for advertising you."
my father had one of these before I was born. I would love of he still had it. interesting fact: the movie gattaca used these overlaid with an electric motor soundtrack for their sting around 30yrs in the future
Mr. Addison, the Post's neighbor in Mr. Ed drove an Avanti. When I saw it for the first time way back when I'd no idea what it was but I knew it was cool. Studebaker's product placement advertising worked with me, it's just too bad by the time I was in the market for a car they had been out of the business for almost 20 years.
The thing about "timelessly designed" cars is: they aren't. Immediately when looking at the thumbnail and before reading the title I saw it was a 60's car. It is definitely a design that has stood the test of time though, which is probably what is usually meant when the word "timeless" is used.
Luv your channel. Nice guy interviewed :)
I like the styling
''Did you know'' Raymond Lowey designed the 53 Studebaker , and the new Stude Co. President Sherwood Egbert (sp) invited Lowey to design the 63........I know all this cuz my dad bought a 63 Avanti and I just happened to take my Drivers Test with it in 64.........I'm 75 now !
Beautiful design,even more wonderful in person.Timeless does not mean you cannot "date" it,timeless means it looks as good today as it did then and is not a product of a fad or popular creation....which lose their appeal as time passes and the "fad" is forgotten.
Great story !
I am also a 1963 model. ;-) ;-)
it was not the lark, it was the nightingale
Common myth. The Crosley Hot Shot was the first American production car with disc brakes.
+Randy Gardner True Crosley had a lot of firsts ! Crosley built the first production post war American Sports Car. The Hot Shot came out in 1949, 5 years ahead of the Chevy Corvette. Crosley built the first Sport Utility Vehicle in late 1947. Well at least in name. They didn't think 4 wheel drive was needed for a SUV like todays definition seems to include. Crosley produced the first all new slab side style car that would become the standard, with the first car rolling off the line on May 9th 1946. They beat Kaiser Frazier by a few weeks, with K-F production starting in June. First full-bed or fleetside-style pickup, started shipping in late 1947. At 1/4 ton you need all the space you can get. The postwar Crosley engine had many firsts. The one that took a few years to catch on was an overhead cam in a low cost car. A block fabricated out of sheet steel. This was done by Crosley to save cost and weight. Years later the inventor/designer found that the improved cooling of the combustion chamber improved the emission numbers for the exhaust. GM played with the idea in the 70s but dropped the idea. Crosley changed to cast in early 49. A shaft driven cam for lower up keep. Direct actuated valves to eliminate rockers and save moving parts.
Randy Gardner Crosley was a fringe car maker on it's last legs, not a major manufacturer.
It is not a myth. The Crosley WAS the first American production car with disc brakes in 1949 (and on all their models, not just the "Hot Shot"). It was a caliper disc brake setup designed for airplanes. Crosley stopped using them in 1950. Chrysler had 4 wheel disc brakes on their Imperial from 1950 to 1954. But it was not a caliper disk brake style.
*setting
Didn't studebaker also make a Chevrolet Suburban based SUV?
Yes, I saw it at the Chicago Auto Show about 2005. It never went into production.
no
No. The descendent company that built the Kellogg-designed Avantis in Villa Rica, Georgia (based on the Pontiac Firebird) also built a prototype monstrosity (sorry, no other way to describe it) called the "Studebaker XUV (Extreme Utility Vehicle)", based on the Ford Excursion platform, and running either PowerStroke Diesel or Triton V10 power. The custom body work included a sliding roof section over the cargo bay and a grille reminiscent of a sixties Studebaker Champ pick-up. If I remember correctly, the Excursion platform was lengthened, and sliding doors like a full-size van were fitted as access to the second row seat. Also, I seem to remember (and I admit that I may be mistaken) that the front clip was hinged to flip forward to allow access to the engine and front suspension components. Interior appointments were as lavish as a $30,000 a night house of ill fame, and I don't remember if it was only one prototype, or if a couple were produced and sold. Finally, Chrysler sued Avanti Motor Corporation during the auto show phase, alleging similarities between the nearly four ton Studebaker XUV and the considerably less mighty Jeep Grand Cherokee. It was also about this time that designer Tom Kellogg died of injuries from a car accident, and another redesign for the Avanti coupe came about, basing the revised revision on the Ford Mustang space frame. A few of these Ford-based coupes (including the only V6-powered Avantis) were built in Cancun before Avanti's president suffered some catastrophic legal missteps, and the company folded.
@@5610winston Chrysler sued GM, not Avanti Motors. It was General Motors that sued Avanti Motors claiming the Studebaker XUV could be confused with the Hummer H2. Michael. E. Kelly (CEO of Avanti Motors at the time) wrote a response claiming no similarities and that no GM parts were used. He ended the response with, "Avanti believes that this frivolous lawsuit was presented to the small manufacturer by General Motors in order for GM to create a monopoly on the market of boxy, utility-type vehicles, thus preventing Studebaker, Ford, or even Chrysler from producing this type of vehicle in the future. The Hummer H2 is no stranger to legal action. Ironically, last year Daimler-Chrysler sued GM over the design of the vehicle, claiming the grill was a knockoff of the Jeep's classic seven-slot front." His "XUV" didn't go anywhere, but thanks to the GM lawsuit (and request for an immediate injunction) he gave Kelly's company some national publicity. On the Kellogg redesigned Avantis, at some point Kelly moved production to Cancun, Mexico and when the GM platforms became unavailable changed to a Ford Mustang platform for the final production before the company closed.
The competition was the Mustang. The styling was a polar opposite and we can see now which the market accepted. But it was more than the styling, this was fiberglass. Studebaker was a sturdy car, so it wasn't a good fit for them.
The Mustang wasn't really the competition. It was a different market. For example, the base price of a 1964 Mustang was $2,372.00 and the base price of a Studebaker Avanti was $4,445.00 (approaching the price of some Cadillac models). Also, the Avanti was released in 1962, well before the Mustang existed in the marketplace. The Avanti market niche competition was mostly the Ford Thunderbird and Buick Riviera.
@@trainliker100 Did Avanti sales drop after the Mustang was released? The Avanti was released in late 62 but as a 63 Model year and production issues kept it from being made in large numbers. The Mustang was 64, pumped out in large numbers. Ask yourself, with the limited chrome (keeping the Avanti from being in the luxury league, even the Thunderbird league...) if you wanted a cute and fairly quick coupe and you had the two choices you laid out... who do you think people chose. The Lark platform and the Falcon platform were evenly matched, the rest was just approach.
@@rogerrussell9544 You are still trying to compare eggs and apples with cars for different markets. Two completely different target markets. One was a luxury "halo" car, one was for "everyman" (and actually, and innovatively, "everywoman", too.). Ford Motor Corporation certainly thought the Avanti was competition to the the Thunderbird as well as the Buick Riviera. They made a movie to teach dealers how to compare the cars. It is on TH-cam in two parts. Part 1: th-cam.com/video/jD38XldkYbk/w-d-xo.html Part 2: th-cam.com/video/fqEw2LvTMYE/w-d-xo.html . So Ford Motor Company felt the Avanti was in the Thunderbird market area. I feel comfortable deferring to Ford as guidance for what cars were in what markets.
@@trainliker100 Charles, you pretend it was accepted as a halo car. That was the dream for it, but.... it never was. What were the sales figures for the Avanti compared to the Hawk in 1963?
@@rogerrussell9544 It was a superb halo car. It brought significant attention and excitement to the Studebaker brand at the time. It's primary goal was to get people into the Studebaker dealerships again and it accomplished that very well. The idea was NOT to sell Avantis, but when people came to the dealership, they would typically buy something in their price range like affordable Hawks and Larks and such. The Avanti did its "Halo car" job well and was probably the most buzz of any car at the 1962 New York Auto show. The failure of Studebaker was already handwriting on the wall and was neither caused in any way by the Avanti, nor could the company have been saved by it. But they tried. Companies that are over a hundred years old don't go away easily - and Studebaker had made a vast number of business mistakes. But the Avanti surely did get people into the showrooms, however, the public was already becoming nervous about buying Studebakers fearful that if they closed, who would repair their cars?
stop playing that stupid jazz music and let us hear the engine
Oochy coochy coo
Love Studebakers but the Advanti was one of their worst designs-nothing flows, no elegance....just ugly