Great Cars: AVANTI 

Great piece of history. Thanks.

One of these was the star prize on a T.V. show? Boy would I have liked to have watched THAT!

Me too!

Thank you.

@@KingRoseArchives IT'S A SHAME THE EDITOR CHOSE TO DROWN OUT THE PEOPLE SPEAKING WITH MUSIC.

No, the meeting worlds of two true car lovers.

Tommy...Tommy ... Tommy... are you Ol' Binyon's long lost bro?! Because you said it ALL. (Especially the Jensen...)

@@binyon7 Ehh... I think both the Studebaker and the Jensen are knockout designs as well. They both did their jobs and did them well.

Also the PRR locomotives and many corporate logos.

Jeff King My thoughts exactly. American Motors would have been awesome with Studebaker-Packard.

I could have seen AMC as having this hierarchy: Rambler = compact; Nash = mid-size; Hudson = large; Packard = luxury; Studebaker = performance.

Well first off the rambler was out before the lark . So compact yeah that was all AMCs market to start with... Secondly George Mason tye king pin of the deal that would have made them part of AMC died in 1954!! George Romney was guy who said no!!

I remember how the Nash factory on Capitol Drive in Milwaukee had to close for a while because some dope sent a burning smudge pot up the elevator. What? Don't have a job? You Asked For It.

They had 327 Chevy engines

thanks for the corrections.

David Owen the Avanti and the 1968 to 70 AMX by American Motors what a pair!

1947 amigo!! Mustang is a great car too! i was born in 1974 never drove any of those... only an old 1972 datsun in my life!

I'm looking still.but like the r-2 and r-3 original stude.

Mr_Wizard I want one so bad back then. I wanted the white with black interior. Wound up getting a 69 Charger instead, Daytona Green w/black interior, but I think I still want one. Just too retired to let my wants lye.

@@fidelcatsro6948 and if South Bend hadn't cancelled the talks, Studebaker Canada would have been importing the Datsuns in 1962 or 63, maybe even manufacturing them for the NA market.

I'll never understand people who do that.

No question, but I would add "American"....

A cop pulled me over on the autostrada north of Genoa Italy just so he could inspect my 1954 Studebaker Champion coupe. Probably the only stude in Europe in 1958.

WAY WAY ahead of anything on the road at the time! One of the few cars around then that didn't look like a giant chrome grin saying "cheese" for a photographer.

I personally disagree. The Gran Turismo Hawk is the finest car Studebaker built in my mind.

Robert Mission Would like a Bullet Nose STUDE inserted. Great program.

Yeah, holy shit what the hell was that?

Thanks for the deep understanding of their performance capabilities.

In the late '70's a friend had one with the 289 Super Charger. He put in an Offenhouser intake and bigger carb. None of the muscle cars at that time could touch it. On the highway it would easily get upto 120MPH and felt planted to the road. It was an amazing car for its time!

@Jack Flash, that is cool! thanks for the info. in the 90s, i saw an ad for 2 studebakers for something like 500.00. they seller didn't really know what he had. i forgot to call him & when i remembered about a week later he had sold them. when i asked him if they were avantis, he said "yes, i think that's what they were. i just wanted to get rid of them". i am still kicking myself in the a$$ over that.

mjt; That's a BIG 'ouch' there. One of those, 'Ah, if only ...' memories. Probably an estate inheritance. Oh well, eh?

@starmanskye, as someone we all know would say, SAD. VERY SAD memories.

many cars suffer this fate: becoming Trailer Queens. if i had money for a collection, my daily drivers would be an original Avanti and a 1934 Packard Twelve Victoria Convertible. the Packard is a three-quarter-million dollar car, but so what? it's MEANT to be driven! if i've got pockets deep enough to afford these classics, i certainly have enough scratch to have them repaired if damaged... and having spent my career as a machinist, i know that while original replacement parts might no longer be available, any new part can be made to original specification if you're willing to pay for it. there is literally nothing that's ever been made that can't be reproduced.

I interpreted what he said as "when i used to drive it as a daily driver."

@@mindeloman Same thing: Drive 'em, don't hide 'em.

@@myrryxmas : "IF?"

@@donaldhenak4585 yes, "if". Few machinists ever make enough money to afford a car like I mentioned.

Michael Powell

.I haven't seen one since 1966. I still have a fantasy of owning this car someday. It needs to be soon I'm now 68.

@@darrellblake799 love this car, first saw one in San Fransisco in the late 60's. I'm 70 and still in love with the Avanti 😏😏😏😏

@@darrellblake799 You don't see them because in the two years Studebaker made them, they only made 4600! Have faith, I'm 70 and have had my '64 for 2.5 years.

@@riffkid But it has been made in every decade since Studie died.

rizzle razzleuno I would love to visit South bend Indiana Someday and I'm a big fan of Ray Lowry he's designed work was cutting edge way ahead of its time and design and execution

@@rodferguson3515 Studebaker ended it's manufacturing life in Hamilton Ontario Canada.

I agree with stopping after the avanti II

Great story. Thanks.

Oh, and that worked out really well, didn't it? ;-)

@@herrunsinn774 wasn't the carriages fault

No kidding. Studebaker, which is undoubtedly the single most important automaker in American history, never deserved to die. It's a rotten deal all the way around.

I'm proud to say that I own a '62 GT Hawk as my first car! It took me seven years to get her and I'm grateful for her!

I especially love the low finned '56 Hawk and the 60"s Grands Turismo. Next fave would be the '59. However, if I could afford it, an Avanti with or without the supercharder would be in my driveway!

@@jakekaywell5972 The removal of the fins made it look as elegant as the original design!

Suit yourself!

Hell you mean British Leyland !!!

Tell me about it! The Avanti is indeed a stunningly beautiful and unique automobile, a real bit of desperate creativity. However, I found that the interior was too uncomfortable for my needs. That's why I went with the GT Hawk. I'm proud to say that I own a '62 model as my first car! It took me seven years to get her and I'm grateful for her. Cheers!

Have you notice those wide keys on both sides of your keyboard with an "up arrow" on them. They are called "shift keys" and actually allow the typist to type upper-case letters. Give them a try sometime.

@@herrunsinn774 DO YOU MEAN LIKE THIS? :-)

Make that age 12

I agree 100%, everything on the road today looks the same! That's why I still have my 07 FJ Crusier.

Was Dad's car Twin Traction?

That's the joy of this car: very few "oddball" parts, especially in running gear. Even the Studebaker-powered cars are easily maintained.

He finally got one! Glad to hear it. The pace car was a Lark and I thought that was sad.

Thanks for watching.

Yes

Loewy was the greatest. Met his daughter. She was lovely and so admired her father. Also, had the chance to interview Kellogg. What a great opportunity it was for him and one he cherished.

5610winston I had the pleasure of meeting Bob Andrews about 35 years ago. It seems that although Mr. Loewy leaned Andrews heavily, Loewy did not like sharing credit. The film showed clearly that the team designed the Avanti, and it Andrews who headed the team. Andrews told me that the team agreed to take on the pressure cooker project only if Loewy stayed away from the studio until the team was finished with the design. You comment is the first mention of Bob Andrews I have ever seen since I had dinner with him years ago. Not a single publication I have found on Studebaker, Loewy, or the Avanti has ever mentioned Andrews. Thank you for remembering one of men behind scenes.

Thank you for sharing that. As I said, Loewy was well-known for surrounding himself with talented designers, and that while he was highly talented, he often claimed full credit for many designs to which his connection was rather tenuous. I have read that Loewy went into a ballistic rage over the Brooks Stevens design for an angular roofline over the '56-vintage lower body for the Hawk in 1962. I had always heard that Kellogg was chosen not only for his sense of line and form, but also because he had experience with Fiberglas speedboat hull design, and I remember the name Bob Andrews from the time when I was a car-crazy high school kid who loved the Avanti design, though Studebaker was long-defunct. Come to think of it, I don't recall the last time I saw an Avanti article that didn't name him. I do recall that one of the earliest issues of COLLECTIBLE AUTOMOBILE magazine (possibly Vol. 1 No. 1) included an in-depth article about the development of the Avanti design, and other articles in that publication including an in-depth biography of Tom Kellogg including his reminiscences of the Avanti team's work, and his work on the AVX-Avanti reboot. I happen to have the December 2017 edition of CA in hand (if you're not familiar with that magazine, it is among the most beautiful publications on the newsstand), and on page 62, included in an article about the cars of 1963, authors Kit Foster and the Editors of COLLECTIBLE AUTOMOBILE present a brief, but highly informative description of the Avanti design team's work: "Loewy...put Tom Kellogg, Bob Andrews, and John Ebstein to work on the project...." (CA, Vol. 34 No. 4). If you're not familiar with COLLECTIBLE AUTOMOBILE magazine, swing by a bookstore or newsstand. The December issue has been out since early October, and the February 2018 issue will probably be out by the second week of December.

Didn't Lowey design the "Chrysler bldg:. In NYC?

Had the pleasure of working with John Ebstein on a transportation design project in the early 80's after he had retired (from Gabriel Industries). The prototype appearance model that was shown at the New York show was hand formed from sheet aluminum using roll forming techniques to create the compound curved panels. There were no completed chassis or running gear available, so it was just a hollow shell with 4 tires on a simple frame. Lowey hired John for his New York office not for design, but because he was a skilled airbrush renderer, airbrushing was key for presentation at that time. He recalled that several month period in the rented house as being extremely hectic. He said in general, Lowey would take credit for other designer's work, and would give clients the impression that he was the designer on a project, when in fact it was in most cases, a team effort. Lowey used to sign presentation renderings, that he had no part in creating. I found Ebstein was great to work with, had a good instinct for design and engineering, very professional. He would drive his white Avanti to the office on Fridays where we got to have a close look. I think it was an early 60's production unit, very impressive, with chrome bumpers, and 350 chevy V8. Couldn't stop raving about it. The offset hood strake, slightly oval wheel openings and subtle coke bottle pinched waist made it appear lighter and as if the car was in motion. A unique look and ahead of it's time.

It looks like the 1954 Alabama v. Rice game, not Notre Dame.

No. The car division of Studebaker died because its management SPECIFICALLY WANTED it to die in order for the Corporation as a whole to concentrate on its other holdings. In fact, the whole reason why the Board of Directors brought in Egbert in the first place is because they trusted him to immediately wind down automotive operations.