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Studebaker in the news"WHAT THE BIG 3 CAN LEARN "

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  • Studebaker in the news"WHAT THE BIG 3 CAN LEARN "

    [urlhttp://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081123/News01/811230361/-1/news][/url]

  • #2
    Lester Fox is right. In many ways, the situation is apples and oranges. And Studebaker was an isolated case in a small state with little National consequences. Studebaker was big, but the future of the industry was not on the line.

    The situation today clearly revolves around the viablity of an entire industry. The 35 MPG CAFE law means a technological breakthrough that does not exist has to happen between now and 2015, or you won't be able to buy anything much larger than a Ford Focus. Not only are we about to lose the ability to buy a Ford Explorer or Chevy Tahoe, but also a Toyota Land Cruiser or Nissan Pathfinder. This isn't just about the Big Three or the UAW. It's about our way of life, and whether we want to regulate it away. I hope all this noise results in a focus on what's really at stake this time.

    Comment


    • #3
      quote:Originally posted by 556063


      The situation today clearly revolves around the viablity of an entire industry. The 35 MPG CAFE law means a technological breakthrough that does not exist has to happen between now and 2015, or you won't be able to buy anything much larger than a Ford Focus.
      I think you are overstating your case. Current standards are 27.5 for cars and 22.5 for light trucks (we're not even talking anything over 8500 GVWR). Although the standards for trucks aren't set yet, you can bet they will be less than cars in the future...always have been.

      In addition, forward thinking automakers have had no trouble beating CAFE standards.

      My wife's Jetta diesel wagon gets 50 MPG highway. The new ones get more. Toyota and Honda Hybrids getting 45+. Even the Ford Escape Hybrid gets 34 already. The Volt goes on sale next fall. The Audi A2 4 door (sold in Europe for the last 2 years) gets over 65. The technology is there now to do it...10 years ahead of schedule.

      Keep in mind too, that we are a pretty short term thinking bunch. At $2/gallon gas, 13 MPH SUV's look fine. When gas was $4.50 a few months ago, dealers couldn't GIVE AWAY a full size pick up or SUV. When we start coming out of the world wide recession, where do you think the price of gas will go? What type of vehicles will we be demanding? Who will be positioned to provide them?



      Dick Steinkamp
      Bellingham, WA



      Dick Steinkamp
      Bellingham, WA

      Comment


      • #4
        Jesus, Kevin. Will you stop with the knee-jerk anti-regulation talking points again? The CAFE standard, unpleasant as it may seem is like your parents making sure you ate your vegetables before you got your dessert. Industry leaders have been at the sundae bar for decades.

        It's especially ironic on a Studebaker Forum, as Studebaker prided itself on fuel efficiency!

        Regulation = standards, put in place to ensure the industry progresses to a sustain for its own FUTURE and, in the larger sense, our own energy independence.

        This meme that we'll all be relegated to tiny cars is false. Insecure guys will still be able to buy a big Yukon to compensate because there will be thousands more driving Volts we've been wanting for a decade. Mid-sized cars like the Pontiac G6 and Saturn Aura get 34 mpg already, and those are larger than a Lark!

        Dick is spot-on in noting the 'short term thinking' of the average U. S. consumer. The same might be applied to the corporate culture that deems their own multi-million dollar bonuses today more important than r&d that will ensure that they'll be competitive tomorrow.

        Survival of an innovative American auto industry is absolutely critical to our future as a nation. The notion that we can't obtain 35 mpg CAFE by 2015 is absurd.

        [/rant][}]

        Andy
        62 GT
        Andy
        62 GT

        Comment


        • #5
          "Survival of an innovative American auto industry is absolutely critical to our future as a nation."

          Since when have they been "innovative"? Besides seeing how monsterous a "personal vehicle" could be built? I think I met an appropriately-sized conveyance when the wife and I went to an auto exposition two weeks ago..........



          1957 Transtar 1/2ton
          1963 Cruiser
          1960 Larkvertible V8
          1958 Provincial wagon
          1953 Commander coupe
          1957 President two door

          No deceptive flags to prove I'm patriotic - no biblical BS to impress - just ME and Studebakers - as it should be.

          Comment


          • #6
            On this I would agree with you entirely, Andy:
            quoteick is spot-on in noting the 'short term thinking' of the average U. S. consumer. The same might be applied to the corporate culture that deems their own multi-million dollar bonuses today more important than r&d that will ensure that they'll be competitive tomorrow
            Spot on![^] You've definately hit the nail on the head! Our corporate management in this country has been depending on a short-term, self enriching, strategy for too long![V]

            Whilst I'd agree with you in many concepts you mentioned, Andy, I wouldn't about the size of modern cars to the Lark. It's funny though, the filter here turns d-a-m-n-e-d into darned yet allows people to use the Lord's name as a swear word. Go figure.

            As to the size of the Lark compared to modern cars? I can't, comfortably, drive any new car smaller than an SUV where I can drive a Lark, comfortably. Granted, it's tight, yet still in the relm of comfort. Being six-foot-four, a Lark is tight, but quite do-able. The rest of the econo-bubbles are way too small. These designers in Detroit seem to be bitter, sadistic, midgets the way they design cars! I really get tired of having to drive vans and trucks.[V] These new cars may be the same length as a Lark, but they are shorter in the ceiling height and leg room area. Also, with all the crap loaded on the steering column, there's more leg room lost there as well! It gets tiresome driving in a prone position. I'll take the ergonomics of the Lark over the sado-nomics of modern cars any day. It gets old being punished for being taller than thou.


            Home of the famous Mr. Ed!
            K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Studebaker!
            Ron Smith
            Where the heck is Lewiston, CA?
            Home of the famous Mr. Ed!
            K.I.S.S. Keep It Simple Studebaker!
            Ron Smith
            Where the heck is Fawn Lodge, CA?

            Comment


            • #7
              quote:Originally posted by Mr.Biggs
              I think I met an appropriately-sized conveyance when the wife and I went to an auto exposition two weeks ago..........
              I hate to say this, Biggs...but that Hummer fits you just right.

              You look good in it! [8D] (or you make the Hummer look good...one of the two [)])

              Dick Steinkamp
              Bellingham, WA



              Dick Steinkamp
              Bellingham, WA

              Comment


              • #8
                Thanks Dick. You can plainly SEE the sort of attitude that thing inspired once I was locked and loaded!

                "Awwwwwwww. That's TOO BAD! You say I RAN OVER your "lowboy"??? Maybe you's oughta drive somethin' a fella can see from up here!"

                1957 Transtar 1/2ton
                1963 Cruiser
                1960 Larkvertible V8
                1958 Provincial wagon
                1953 Commander coupe
                1957 President two door

                No deceptive flags to prove I'm patriotic - no biblical BS to impress - just ME and Studebakers - as it should be.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Ron S's statements about head and leg room left me questioning this, so I looked up a couple of examples. I used two four door sedans, a 1961 Lark and a 2008 Honda Accord for comparison. Front seat head/leg room in inches: Lark 35.25/44 and Accord 41.4/42.5. That shows what you call "ceiling height" or head room to be more than a half a foot larger in a Honda than in a Lark. The Accord is not work by Detroit designers, but I am sure that there are many big three cars with as much room in them as a Honda.

                  Gary L.
                  Wappinger, NY

                  SDC member since 1968
                  Studebaker enthusiast much longer
                  Gary L.
                  Wappinger, NY

                  SDC member since 1968
                  Studebaker enthusiast much longer

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    To Ron and any others whose religious sensibilities I may have offended, I offer an apology for having done so. Next time I'll remember to just use the grouchy emoticon.

                    Interesting to note the interior design of cars. I LOVE bench seats and the flexible seating options they afford. New interiors on most cars are a bit coccoon-ish. I will concede that the greater headroom of newer cars might be partially attributed to a lower seat height.

                    The higher, flatter seats similar to older cars are to be found, of all places, in smaller, efficient cars like the Toyota Scion xB and Honda Element. Both vehicles have the headroom SUV proponents crave, yet sip gas.

                    Heck, my parents of generous proportions did a cross-country road trips in an early Saturn S-series and lauded its comfort, power and efficiency. Shame GM execs didn't let Saturn stay Saturn. They ruined a good thing, reducing it to a badge. Saturn, like Studebaker, had an enthusiastic and loyal club while they were still producing cars. Now they're just another brand.

                    The demographics I observe around the Bay Area driving these are: A) Young drivers who like to customize a "base" model and; B) Senior citizens, as the dimensions/seat height suits their mobility. Likewise, the cost is compatible with their fixed incomes (at least while their pensions hold out!).

                    With the boomer population (those that don't wrench on cars) boosting that demographic in the coming years, the move to efficiency and ease of entry/egress is a smart direction to take.

                    Some fear that regulating us out of "our way of life". The "way of life" that prides itself on hauling our fat behinds around in a gas-guzzling monster is going away with or without regulation. CAFE standards on modern cars will do more to preserve our way of life, as the demand for the fuel our Studebakers need won't be as high.

                    Andy
                    62 GT
                    Andy
                    62 GT

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      quote:Originally posted by Mr.Biggs


                      Since when have they been "innovative"? Besides seeing how monsterous a "personal vehicle" could be built? I think I met an appropriately-sized conveyance when the wife and I went to an auto exposition two weeks ago..........

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        The expression on Bigg's face seems to indicate the salesman just told him the purchase price of the Hummer.[)]
                        Frank van Doorn
                        Omaha, Ne.
                        1962 GT Hawk 289 4 speed
                        1941 Champion streetrod, R-2 Powered, GM 200-4R trans.
                        1952 V-8 232 Commander State "Starliner" hardtop OD

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          quote:Originally posted by A1956GoldenHawk
                          Promotion is everything in the auto industry! That would have been a bargain compared to what a MOTORAMA show would cost today!![:0]

                          Craig

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Mr. Biggs, you'd look much better in this unit...



                            <h5>Mark
                            '57 Transtar Deluxe
                            Vancouver Island

                            Are you planning to attend the NW Overdrive Tour in Parksville, BC
                            May 23 & 24, 2009?
                            </h5>
                            Mark Hayden
                            '66 Commander

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