Great Cars: ORPHAN CARS
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 พ.ย. 2017
- Edsel, Corvair, Hudson, Studebaker, Hupmobile, Crosley, Maxwell and more --- these are the Orphan cars. Every summer out on the edge of Ypsilanti, Michigan a group of car lovers gather for a car show that has been called eccentric, misguided or just fun. This passionate bunch of auto fanatics hauls out a group of ghost cars that they’ve nurtured for years. These are cars that fizzled and died out. Many of these “orphan cars” had unusual design and engineering features. They were created by people willing to go out on a limb. Unfortunately, the limb broke. But there are dedicated people who savor these marques and have turned these underdogs into show winners. It’s a salute to the fallen that intrigues everyone who attends.
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I really love the Studebaker Starliner-such a beautiful car.
My dad let me drive his 53 Studebaker ‘Commander’ to HS in the mid 60’s! 259ci V8 And I’d bury the Speedo at 110mph! What a beautifully designed car!💜
An excellent presentation. We all have favourites, Hudson Hornet, Kaiser Manhattan, Isetta 300, Nash Metropolitan, and of course the Studebaker Avanti which by design had been years ahead. Unusual in appearance was the attraction to these cars. Restored, they are still appreciated to this day. Much respect.
I remember many of these from my childhood. They each had their own personality.
In 1950, in a brand new Hudson, my parents drove us from Indiana to California. Even though I was just 7, I still remember wht an awesome cruiser it was. The back seat was as big as a couch.
My brother and I could not see over the front seats so my parents let us take turns setting on the wide, middle, pull down arm rest
My dad had a packerd all 5 of us kids in the back seat i remember the steering wheel seemed big as a hula hoop to me
The Studebaker was a Very Beautiful Looking Car. Its design was way ahead of its time.
I had a '53 Studebaker coupe. Gorgeous car and a great driver. Mine was painted Cadillac Blue Coral with hood louvers and spun aluminum laker wheel covers. Hot stuff in 1961...
jay capp The Studebaker? Studebaker made dozens of different models.
The downfall of studebaker came when it was unable to allow it's engine blocks to cure for the necessary time period. as a result they warped and caused the engines to burn oil. when Studebakers were common in the mid 50's almost all of them were oil burners.
Those orphan cars are today's treasures!
'53 and '54 Studebaker are one of my all time favorites!
Dcalhoun 38581 That's a particularly beautiful 54.
For sure the '53 and '54 Sudebakers were sweet rides!
I always wanted a 53/54 studey! Beautiful and way before their time. Never did luck onto one.
About sixty years ago, this guy in my home town had a Studebaker Golden Hawk. God, what a beautifulo car that was.
One of my favorite classic car shows.
It is great to see all these almost forgotten brands of cars.
I'd love to go to this car show at least once in my lifetime .
my Dad had a 53 starliner and I had a 64 gt hawk Loved the old Studebakers
The AMC car aimed at the Mustang and Camaro was the Javelin. The AMX was it's shortened 2 seater version. The Lark wasn't a new design. it was the sedan Studebaker had been building shortened by removing the body overhang
That 1954 Studebaker is a beautiful car .
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If you look at the other cars in 1954, it was so far ahead of its time it looks like a modern car. Other cars back then looked like bathtubs compared to it.
Beauty and engineering altogether. They were following a vision closer to the one in Europe. perhaps The Studebakers were he best US designed cars of the 50s and it is very sad that the market did not follow their sense.
A very European body design -- that's why it didn't sell. Low and aerodynamically "slippery", it looked good only as a 2-dr. -- the sedans were somewhat tubby-looking. Studebaker assembly quality was also spotty, despite the heavy involvement of "father-son teams" on the line. Studebaker assembly workers were the best-compensated in the industry, meaning the company didn't have the scratch left to re-tool often enough to keep up with the Big Three once the horsepower race got rolling in the mid-'50s. They had to stick with sixes and small V-8s for several years.
Grand old men and their grand old machines still helping maintain America's greatness.
As a kid, my friends and I couldn’t wait to go to the showrooms to see the new models and pick out favorites
Best video in a long time for me. A window into the past, before the little guy was trampled under by big corporations, who are in turn fighting for their lives against foreign competition.
Love Hudson's - great cars
My Aunt had a Metropolitan, they were built in the UK by Austin, she loved that car because they seemed so very modern & American looking in 50s Britain.
That Studebaker was absolutely georgous! Work of art
Russell Mostrom
I've been the the Studebaker Museum in South Bend Indiana twice and many of their cars were stunningly designed.
There was one car from the 60's that never made it into production as Studebaker went out of business, that surpassed most of the junk we see today.
Also there was a sign which touted their "Certified "vehicles, lest we think that's something new.
Spot on !
Been enjoying the watching of old cars Cool!!!
I miss the Studebaker. My grandparents had 3 of them, plus a Stude 1 ton truck for farming. The Studes were really wonderful cars.
Absolutely adore the CORD! =)
When I was a kid, the Avanti was my dream car. Unfortunately, I've never even ridden in one.
J Johnson They are a bitchen car, rumor has it the avant is coming back yet again but we will see this tomorrow has floated around since the 2002ish when avanti died the last time.
Atomic Reverend Alexander The last Avanti was built in 2007. But, it should come back, hopefully without a crook as CEO.
This brings back a lot of memories but more so the Studebaker. My father had a maroon 1948 Studebaker which had vacuum operated windscreen wipers, and a weirde "knee action" front suspension. Then in 1955 he got a blue Studebaker Champion 4 door sedan, which had the hill holder , now being fitted to lots of new cars known as Hill Start Assist. At least the 55 Champion was a much nicer car minus the vacuum windscreen wipers. It had the overdrive which was operated by a cable under the right hadn side near ones knee ( RH Drive Models ) . That was the first car I remember learning to drive. Dont make them as nice anymore
Loved the Hudsons!
Bottom line they still run and look great a testament to skill quality and craftsmanship awesome thanks
Studebaker Hawk was one cool car
I grew up with those cars. Fond memories.
The Studebaker Golden Hawk was pretty much a rocket ship! I worked part time with a Park Policeman in the early 1960's who told me about their inability to catch up with those Golden Hawks -- outran their cruisers every time!
My second son wants to witness a racing nostalgia at Goodwood in UK. My eldest son and I want to go to this place, Ypsilanti, MI. Of course we will all go, the rest of us, especially to the Hudson Dealer selling restored Hudsons because it is my father in law's dream car he never got hold of. Nice video. 👍🇵🇭🆗🇵🇭💯🇵🇭😎
The two that I know of in Reno, Nevada are remarkable cars. Raymond Loewy was famous for leading the design on them, as well as the Pepsi logo, Coca-Cola bottle, the Greyhound buss, streamliner locomotives, the AVANTI car, the interior of the SST passenger jet, and much more.
Beautiful cars with personality. Amazing.
you put a smile on my face today, thanx.
Thank you Orphan Car Show, Thank You ....
Love the old cars. 1984 my dad bought a 1961 Studebaker rumble seat hawk. ( only two were made ) we still take it out drive to a car show. Nov /2020 🇺🇸
Of all the disappeared brands, I think Studebaker is the biggest tragedy
PAVANZYL Yes, it was a big producer. When a poll was done in the mid 50's, the general public felt Studebaker was the only independent capable of successfully competing with the big 3.
Hi, I still have the airplane hood ornament of my dad's 1951 Studebaker 4-door Champion as well as the boot lid ornament and also the little original owner's manual. The car had a 2.8 liter side valve six cylinder engine, color was Reseda green.
Studebaker was sadly mismanaged. Too much power given to the union, not enough attention to quality control and backed the wrong designs at the end.
I had a Studebaker L ark and my aunt had one too. Mine was from the late 50,s It had a very plush and comfortable interior and aV8 engine.
indeed.i was a kid of 8 when this came out , and i thought "FINALLY" a not ugly american car................of course it failed
Believe it or not, I had a 1963 VW Beetle in the early '90's and some people didn't know what it was! One lady at the grocery store even called it an "ugly little car" ! One car I liked was the Checker.
They were called 'Krout' cars in the early '60's and it was considered anti-American to own a VW.
The Studebaker @3:26 is ome of the most beautiful and stylish automobiles america ecer produced! ... and it was so affordable!
Liche Christ price cutting is a tactic long past. Bottom line prices of standard cars don't vary more than a couple hundred dollars. When you are paying twenty five thousand for basic transportation, the two hundred dollar difference is insignificant. I'm old enough to remember when you could buy a brand new Cadillac off the show room floor for $4500. This was just post WW2.
@@timmayer8723 : Stop and think. What was the average income in those years? About $2,000. And what did the average low price car cost? About $2,000. So today, when the average annual income is about $36,000 what does the average low price car cost? About $36,000.
You can thank the Federal Reserve for this. From 1789 to 1913 ( when the Fed was created by Congress in the middle of the night) the inflation rate was 1/10th of 1%. Look what has happened since 1913.
My understanding is that the Studebakers with "the foreign look" (starting in 1953) actually did sell well. It was the company's inability to produce them fast enough that spelled the end.
I think, although the same body was used on the Hawks right up into the 60's, the 53 coup was the most beautiful production American car of the 50's.
53 Starliner Coupe one of my all time favorite car designs.
Your right about supply and demand...ever visit the Stude museum in South Bend Indiana?
The problem was the prototype was designed on the longest wheelbase chassis that Studebaker made instead of the standard chassis. This caused no end of problems because Studebaker had planned that the shorter wheelbase four door sedans would outsell the coupes. When the demand for the coupes came in, they were unprepared and had not enough long wheelbase chassis. Many orders for the coupe were cancelled when buyers got tired of waiting.
Studebaker, Duesenberg, Hudson, AMC, and Sunbeam are my favorite dead companies.
Sunbeam was an English car. We lost a lot, the English lost an entite auto industry. What we will never know - is how the Japanese have ''lost'' so little.
The first family car that I remember was a 1954 Studebaker. It was a white four-door. The styling was exactly like the one shown here. The starter was operated by a chrome toggle switch on the dash. I remember that, particularly. One day I missed the school bus, and Mom tried to drive me to school, but the starter switch broke. My father drove a '52 Studebaker pickup.
I greatly enjoyed this collection of cars. My daily driver, in fact it is my personal company car, is a 1955 Studebaker Pickup. It has been my old reliable for many years. I keep a spare V-8 engine, Transmission and rear end. I change these oit every 5 years and rebuild the old ones for the next time. I often drive her from Florida to Canada. My more formal car is a Miata that I like and when I get the restoration complete I will add my 1956 1/2 Studebaker Golden Hawk to my fleet. Looki g forward to driving that one again.
The '53 Studebaker was so far ahead of it's time stylewise. Absolute perfection.
Thanks for the auto history video, will watch it a few more times just for retention.👍
Learned to drive 3 speed column mounted manual transmission on a 54 Studebaker station wagon and automatic transmission on a 1955 De Soto Fireflite, with a dash board mounted shifter in my early teens using cushions to prop me up to reach the drive, brake pedals.
Wanna talk a about another real piece of real American steel. I had a 1956 DeSoto adventurer when I was in the air force this was the early 80s and that was a rare car even then .but I tell you that car had more steel in one front fender than most cars today have in their whole bodies when you so much as even sat in that car you knew you were in a car!
With regards the Studebaker Avanti, apparently the problem was not buyer apathy but lack of product availability at the showroom. It took Studebaker too long to get them into the showrooms after the initial announcement. The buyers went elsewhere. I had the station wagon with the sliding roof and the Studebaker V8. It was a good design, if not beautiful. It had power, economy (25 mpUSg at highway cruise) and the glovebox lid was something that other mfgrs should have copied.
Russell Dawkins The Wagonaire was the most significant wagon design since the all metal design. It should have sold like hotcakes, had it a Chevrolet name, it would have. Correct about Avanti, it created a sensation with many pre- orders that went elsewhere when Studebaker couldn't get them built fast enough. This was almost completely the fiberglass body builders fault. But, same scenario with the all new 53 Starliner. The public wanted it, not the over produced bread and butter sedans. Though over 100 years old Studebaker management never learned some lessons.
First look had me hooked. Had to have. Agreed, looked for one. Tried statewide - nothing available.
Avanti’s problem was that there was really only one source for high quality automotive fiberglass technology, and they were unofficially ‘locked’ down for GM’s Chevy Corvette. GM said “fine, go make bodies for those little guys...and you can forget about getting another job from US!” The fiberglass people knew which side their bread was buttered, so they had to stop servicing Stude. Consequently, there were all kinds of Avanti production delays and quality problems. They couldn’t deliver in time and when they did, the cars had problems so they lost the customers. A few independent companies have kept the Avanti name and iconic design going on and off over the ensuing years though.
My father mourned the loss of his 1955 Packard Caribbean until the day he died. For me it was my 1959 Triumph TR-3A. I love orphan cars they had a style of all their own!
This takes me way back. Tnx for the upload.
I love all old cars and trucks especially the less popular ones. My son actually discovered this show for me when he started his masters degree at Eastern Michigan. He found a job after getting his degree and still lives in Yippsi. We've attended the show together every year since he told me about it in 2011. He kept encouraging me to find and restore a car for the show. I found a 78 Chevy Monza about 2 years ago and have been working on it ever since. I consider the Monza an orphan (the Vega too) and hopefully I'll be able to my Monza in the show this year.
I know a guy in NC who specializes in Monza/Vega parts. He just redid a Vega Wagon and is now redoing a black Monza Spyder. He's not into drag cars; he restores them back to stock.
Should check out the Studebaker Big Boy. A beautiful beautiful truck
I've found only one for sale in autabuy magazine and its beautiful
Chevy isn't an orphan.
Worked for a Hudson /American Motors dealer in Clearfield Pa. 1954 to 1955 while in high school sweeping floors and mechanic helper many memories driving and working and learning about the brands. Loved this.
I'd take that Stude Skyliner over any of the "me too" 55-57 T-birds that are always for sale.
Ran across this and thoroughly enjoyed. Fixing up my newly acquired '66 Stude Wagonaire!
I had an orphan car in the not too distant past. Mine was a '92 Daihatsu Charade, the last year of a 5 year run Daihatsu tried in the USA. I owned it around 2002, a three cylinder, 5 spd., hatchback. I liked it. Sold it later on.
Thumbs Up here! In 1980-81 I bought a '67 Rambler American 2 door with a straight 6 and 3 on the tree for $300. It was extremely reliable except the shift linkage would always get jammed up between 1st and 2nd and then I had to pull over and pry it apart with a crowbar. That car ran so smoothly. Don't pass a truck in the rain; the vacuum operated wipers would slow down to a crawl and I could barely see. Rain-Ex wasn't invented yet as far as I knew. Mine lost 2nd gear so I sold it for $50. That car was built like a tank and good on gas. I always had Plymouth Valiants and still have one. Where do folks find parts for those cars? The Valiant parts prices are stupid high and I can't even find a decent rebuilt 1 or 2 barrel carb anymore; it's all cheap junk from China. Finding a competent mechanic is another challenge. I may have to give up the hobby because I can't afford prices of parts/repairs for my orphan '74 Valiant. Once the simplest, cheapest car for the masses on the planet it's becoming a boat anchor. Mine is a 4 door that's cut/sectioned into a El Camino style custom car, so it gets a lot of attention where ever I go. Finding parts or a reliable mechanic is a big disappointment. Even worse, when I get gas everyone likes it and I regularly get offers of $1500! The compliments turn into contempt when I say No! "It's just an old car!" Your right, but this one has nearly $8500 worth of new parts on it including a new engine, trans and paint. Go buy someone else's old car for $1500 and have a nice day.
Ramblers had the worst three on the tree shifting ever. I learned to drive on one. Once you could shift them then you could drive anything.
I have a great love for many an orphan car . AMC's , Packards, Hudsons , Tuckers , SAABs , Studebakers etc...
REO's , Kaisers , Nashs , Pontiacs and Oldsmobiles .
Panards , Lancias , Opels
@@blacquesjacques7239 Lancia and Opel are still manufactured. The Lancia line is a sad remnant of what it was.
@@AtomicReverend Opel is owned today by PSA Citroen. Its British equivalent, Vauxhall, was transferred to the French company at the same time.
@@blacquesjacques7239 Don't forget DeSotos and Imperials either .
Great cars, great vlog, thanks for sharing.
I've got an Avanti. I love the thing. It's surprisingly easy to live with too, about as easy as a first gen Mustang -- parts, and even trim pieces, which can be hard to find for some old cars, are very available, and the car runs very reliably. It really is a shame that the car didn't save Studebaker, but at least they went out with a bang instead of a whimper.
Fascinating but very sad to see so many great car manufacturers fade into obscurity. Thanks for sharing this terrific video.
The Henry J made a fantastic gasser with a few mods and a big, bad Ford power plant, and it's a seriously good lookin automobile....
I believe the Henry J was in the Sears catalog renamed AllState.
I used to ride in a 38 Terraplane, 4 door. A friend was a Studebaker guy :). I recall the Crowley!
I always pick up something new from the info films. But some of the cars shown are not orphans since their manufacturer is still in business. Corvair was built by Chevy, so it would be a discontinued model, not an orphan like a Rambler. Good job.
18:50 Studebaker couldn't build enough Avantis to meet demand.
great video, great show.
Thanks.
When I was a kid, a school friend of mine had an old Hudson Hornet, it was our go-to “bomb around town” car on the weekends. 308 ci six cylinder, hydromatic tranny. 400 k. miles on it. Bad paint job, slow to crank up, (6 volt system) but it was FUN! It would run over 100 mph on the highway. His family had the last Hudson dealership in St. Louis that closed in the late 50’s. I think that he ended up selling the car for $100 or so… you’d never find one for that now!
I used to own a 1962 Lark with the Mercedes grill. Studebaker spent their money on diverse things instead of making their plants more efficient. I understand they still had some dirt floors in their plants when they folded. The Avanti and STP oil additive were fine, but a waste of money in the long run.
Girlfriend's mom had a '63 Lark Wicked fast, smart lady wouldn't let me drive it.
I loved every American Motor car ever designed but my families Gremlin was plagued by rust from day one. The 66 VW Beetle that it replaced is going strong!!!
Not mentioned here, but a very important aspect of this entire story, was that cars whose manufacturers were known to be in poor financial condition would always be avoided by a large number of potential buyers. Few people will want to possibly get stuck with an orphan car, particularly because the dealer could also go out of business, and then who's going to repair the darn thing?
Someone should tell the Crosley owner that Crosley began building cars before WWII and not in 1946. Independents like Kaiser could not design and build cars less expensively than the big three. In fact, once the post war sellers market ended, Kaiser could no longer sell cars at a profit.
Great video for a Rambler owner.
The car called a Studebaker Lark was actually a 1964 Cruiser. The Lark went from 1959 to 1963.
I remember my Dad telling me that back in the late 50s, there were so many unsold Metropolitans that they were giving them away free to people who bought a full size Nash.
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Thanks for this
One glaring misrepresentation I saw was " American Motors jumping into the pony car race with the AMX". Not so, the Javelin was AMC's competitor in the "pony car" race. The AMX was built to compete against the Corvette.
I had a new 1970 Javelin, 390 and a 4 speed after 3 yrs in the army. I loved that car. The things they call cars today are nothing but tin boxes with plastic hung on them. There are no cars made today that can be loved like they used to make them.
Trapper John....this is correct ; The official model for American Motors WAS THE JAVELIN IN THE PONY CAR RACE , IN 1968 THE AMX WAS A ' SMALLER SPINOFF ' FROM JAVELIN SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED TO COMPETE WITH MODELS LIKE 'THE CORVETTE, MUSTANG-MACH I , THE BARRACUDA , ETC
EVEN THOUGH THE JAVELIN WASN'T A REPLACEMENT FOR THE MARLIN ; WHEN IT FIRST GOT TO SHOWROOMS , HOWEVER , RUMOR HAD IT THAT THE JAVELIN WAS A REPLACEMENT FOR THE MARLIN ; AND THAT COULDN'T BE FARTHER FROM THE TRUTH.
Lots of Chrysler parts too. Oh we don't have Chrysler anymore, I'm retired from the American co.
Sonny Haskins How old are you? You have to be at least 80 y/o to type in all capital letters.
The Nash Metropolitan was marketed in UK as the Austin Metropolitan and our GP (doctor) was one of the first to own one. I still occasionally see one at classic car shows I visit and I always look out for them. To a country still recovering from WW2, they must have seemed an exotic bird indeed.
Until American Motors dropped the Hudson name after the 1957 models, the Metropolitan could also be purchased in the US badged as a Hudson.
fantastic riley elf mk3(mini with tail fins and proper boot), not to be confused with a Wolsey hornet, these cars are my favourite classic mini body style.
for those that wonder the difference, the riley elf was cheaper though its trim level was still higher than the equivalent mini, the hornet was more expensive and had a higher trim level the highest of any classic mini ever made, leather seats wilton carpets woowhoo!.
i bought an elf in 1994, sadly it had been heavily modified with a 1300 mg engine, clubman style front(really), de-cromed de-seamed, it was fast and actually looked good, however it failed the mot, and upon stripping back for welding revealed more fiber glass and filler than metal.
i stripped the shell bare and rebuilt it on a mint body shell(clubman estate), that car is still in my family's possession, its kept in the garage at our holiday home in cornwall, its only run in summer but is getting ready for a restoration, it will do one more summer then i will re-build it i would love to buy a brand new heritage body shell (elf) to build it on, but its shell is good its mechanicals that need a revamp besides those heritage shells are silly money.
How could that Studebaker not sell? It's gorgeous.
Good question.
I've wanted a Studebaker pickup truck for as long as I can remember. Best looking truck ever made.
It's a viscous circle! Let a rumor of being discontinued or going bankrupt and people will have second thoughts about buying
A car is not like a box of cereal not only does it have to be sold but serviced a nd that's what can scare people away!
TYhe SDtudes were a bit old fashioned and underpowered by the late 50s. The GT though will always be a classic. And in the end used 283 Chev engines,, and Chevy were selling 327s. So behind the 8 ball.
And yes those Studes were really attractive cars.
@@michaelweizer7794 if people had more skill they could service their own cars, but still no parts.
Oldsmobile, Plymouth, Mercury, Saturn, and Pontiac join the ranks of orphaned cars... this video mostly about Studebakers/Hudsons...
@@timmayer8723 - Yeah, 85 brands of cars manufactured in Cleveland alone... a half dozen or so here in Toledo... several brands of motorcycles as well... Wrangler and Gladiator still made here...
I have 3 orphaned Pontiacs: Fiero, GTA, Astre Formula wagon... plus MG Midget...
REALLY ENJOYED THE VIDEO GREAT CARS
That car at 1:45 is probably the type I used to see driving around the neighborhood when I was a child in the early 1960's. I thought it was a motorized phone booth on wheels & was thrilled to see it go by.
My grandfather offered me his garage kept Metropolitan in 1975. I was a teenager and I turned him down because I thought it looked like a 4 wheeled refrigerator.
The 1953 Studebaker Starliner was actually designed by Bob Bourke, an employee of Raymond Lowey
he may have been a member of the team, no one man designed the car, any of the old studebaker fans know that, brook stevens had as much to do with it as anyone. we all need to understand that even if you were around at the time in history that events took place there were different opinions about any event, just like thomas edison, he had so many people working for him that he built an entire village for them to live in, the attached his name to all the inventions, not only an asshole but had communist belief's, almost ruined this country with his ignorance and ego trying to put dc current all over this country, the things he did were close to illegal, if not for tesla giving up his royalty's to George Westinghouse and his backers we might have battery's and the stations every few miles to make it possible for dc to be carried any distance.
The 53 Studebaker Commander was The First Car That would Do a 360 at 100 MPH and Not Turn Over , it Was it's Low Center of Gravity , I Had Several of Them . I Put a 55 Cadillac Motor and a 4 Speed Hydromatic Transmission in one , It Would do 150 MPH
And a great design too.
Raymond Leowy did NOT design the '53 Studebaker. It was designed by a member of the Leowy design team, Robert Bourke. Raymond Leowy was trying to get Studebaker to accept an alternate design but Studebaker opted for Bourke's creation. Soon after, Bourke was no longer on the Leowy team.
Actually, it was Loewy who presented Bob Bourke's design to Studebaker management. There were several competing designs under consideration, but most ranged from bland to bizarre. Loewy 's group receives credit for the '47 Studebaker, though it was developed by Virgil Exner. Ex was, from what I've heard, a Loewy employee, but also worked directly for Studebaker under the table. Of course, Loewy was furious over the matter, and vowed that Exner would never work in industrial design again. Accordingly, the 1955-1963 Chrysler Corporation models never happened. Also, Loewy went ballistic when he saw the Brooks Stevens redesign of the Studebaker Hawks in model year 1962.
I like the sarcasm. Exner did, indeed, work again in industrial design! I like the Hawk GT, too. Stevens did a great job ob the usual dollar and a half budget. A great designer.
By the bye, I have been given to understand that Mason did not have Studebaker in his grand plan for the American Motors mergers in 1954 owing to two factors: Studebaker's enormous costs and losses and the South Bend tie in. Apparently, he was of the opinion that closing the South Bend plant would have been made impossible by the intransigence of former Studebaker people who came to AM in a merger. There was a lot of loyalty there to Indiana and to Studebaker.
I would be interested to know if you have seen anything definitive on that. My understanding was that Mason wanted to build Packards, Ambassadors, and Hornets in Detroit. Statesman, Clipper, and Wasp models would be built in Wisconsin. Romney's elevation following Mason's death caused the focus to shift to the Rambler and the small car niche rather than using the Rambler as a lower priced car for the big car brands to use to supplement income. In the near term Romney was, clearly, correct. Had there been more emphasis on engineering and production efficiencies, Rambler might have survived as a stand alone make. When it proved necessary to add models for broader market coverage, the difficulty of doing so was exacerbated by the long term absence of larger models to accompany the Rambler.
james adams a
I am sad to remember how well the Hudsons did in Destruction Derbys in the 60s
I drove D derbys in the '60's I preferred early 50's chevy station wagons with the 2 speed powerglide and lo and reverse together on the end of the shift selector. My biggest thrill was defeating a guy name Boggs, and his mid 30's Hudson, Had to push him into an iron pile of lesser cars with the last gasp of my '54 Chevy wagon He got bumper trapped, I made it halfway across the infield on 3 wheels and a leaking radiator! Last one moving wins!
I recall the Studebaker "Golden Hawk " also Silver Hawk " not many made even then ! Must be rare find now ? Also remember 1950 Sudebakers had rear wheel bearings you could repack with grease as the front wheel bearings.
I had a silver hawk fast as lightning but would throw the freeze plugs out if you got on it from a stop .had two passing gears one come out at seventy mph.the other one didn't come out until you let off the gas.iI think it was a 57 modelbrown and off white loved that little car
@@davidraines940 Studebaker s were awesome cars, they had some good ahead of their time advancements .Yes, the good old days were really the good old days !
Emmett Rodriguez They were built in Canada independently after Studebaker went under.
Before the days of sealed bearings ALL cars had wheel bearings which could be repacked.
@@1951jmds You are 100% right on them being built in 🇨🇦 Canada as was the Avanti before they bought the farm. I had forgotten about that .
a bit of typical early sixties' humor can be seen at 12:51 ....the Amphicar's plate that read 'I SWIM'
Good catch. I never noticed that. But I think it goes without saying that you have a sense of humor if you buy an Amphicar.
Hope to make this show one day. Great video!
My dad bought some of the 'orphan' cars including the 1949 Frazer and 1955 Nash Rambler. I learned to drive in the '55 Rambler. I persuaded him to get the optional overhead valve 6 cylinder engine when he traded it in for a new 1961 Rambler American.
The red Hudson convertible is a knockout! My family owned a Hudson 4 door sedan in the late forties - it was built like a tank. We thought the step-down design was excellent.
Thank you for your memories. My Dad was a Hudson Man. His 1939 Super Six got him through the war and we kept it until 1954. We also had a '49 Super Six and a '53 Super Wa zzz p
Super Wasp .
Charles Webb the auto unions is what killed the American car. We can't compete with the asian in quality and price
A lot of people do not realize that the step down design had a built in roll cage.
What a amazing program
The cars wow
Very nice and I enjoyed it very much~!!!
Thank you.
I used to live in Ann Arbor, just adjacent to Ypsilanti...I'd like to go to this show, IF it is being held summer of 2020.
As a former Packard owner I thank you for this video.
A lot of people may not know that it was not until 1950 that Cadillac outsold Packard. What really hurt Packard was the styling of the "pregnant elephant" bodies in the late '40's. If they had stayed out of the deal with Studebaker they might have survived a few more years.
@@ksman9087 Nah. Packard was toast even without the Studebaker merger. An antiquated engine, poor capital, and ego-driven management (i.e. James Nance) doomed them. Also, I happen to like the styling of the '48-'50 "pregnant elephant" Packards. Apparently a good few people did as well, seeing as more than 300,000 units of that generation was made.
8:25 The Hudson was NOT the first step down car, the 1936 Cord 812 was.
After Kaiser ceased building cars in the U.S. the tooling was moved to Argentina where Kaisers were built until 1962.
Kaiser built Jeeps in the US until AMC bought them out in the seventies.
Would be interested to know if the old car hobby in Argentina has preserved some of those Argentina-built Kaiser models!
rayford21 And, Willys Aero being built up into the 70's when Ford took over, but still built cars for a time on the Willys plateform. With Studebaker's Avanti being built into 2007, the Kaiser and Willys surviving in South America and Jeep jumping from company to company, many margues survived in surprising ways.
Probably most don't know that the first reincarnation of the Avanti by former South Bend Packard (later Studebaker) dealers, Newman & Altman, was carried in the trim shop of the closed Studebaker plant, where production continued for several years.
Kubeck Jay Well, the new Avanti was built in South Bend in part of the old Studebaker plant for almost 30 years. It eventually ended production in a North American country other than the states, Mexico. Similar to parent Studebaker, which ended it's days in Canada.
Well done video, cars had more to offer sixty years ago. Big government and big business have made cars boring and way to expensive. It was better when we had dozen's of car companies instead of a car monopoly today, the big three.
Modern cars are the best ,in safety, performance,handling and efficiency.
In the cars of today I would give up all the safety, performance, handling and efficiency for cheaper, reliable, simpler, less regulated, and 100% made in USA cars. And Americans had employment opportunity, spending money and were not afraid or threaten by our own government.
Actually, with the enormous horde of import cars available today there are more to choose from than ever before. I drove my Fifties and Sixties cars without much worry about safety, @Thomas Sutherland, but I can understand your concern.
Who cares about safety if the manufacturing is regulated to the point where employment becomes too expensive and unfair trade policies make it impossible to export products. America, Canada, UK and Europe may as well give up die, because that's what is happening to our countries.
We are not sovereign countries, we are being lead by our pagan NWO leadership into a one world government that doesn't care for people and God's creation.
Well, the "big three" have given up plenty of their collective market shares to other manufacturers. Still plenty of choice in the market...
I am a Brit and no doubt about it American cars from the '50s were far better than European cars. Damn, they looked great.
I'm going to Ypsilanti this year!!
thumbs up...as usual!
Thank you.