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Closing 'em Out: $1,629 Brand New!

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  • Closing 'em Out: $1,629 Brand New!

    I posted this some time ago, but not before the new scanner made it better.

    This had to be one of the very last advertisements from Company-Owned Studebaker of Indianapolis before it was sold to a group of "investors" who used it to lose money under the name Meridian Motors for a year or so while Studebaker's Automobile Division finished dying.

    The $1,629 advertised cars had to be leftover Challengers from South Bend production after South Bend shut down.

    I ran into an older gentleman some time ago who claimed to have written this ad when he was Sales Manager at Studebaker of Indianapolis, but I do not remember his name. He said that when the Meridian Motors "investors" bought Studebaker of Indianapolis, they were paying just under $1,300 apiece wholesale for however many leftover 64S-F2s (Challenger Six 2-doors) they wanted to buy from South Bend storage lots, that Studebaker was so hyper about getting South Bend-built cars out of South Bend.

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    I wouldn't get too excited about that price, I'll bet they even tacked on $30+ for freight...and who knows how much for "prep!"

    Too, the 64S-F2 was the only 1964 Studebaker on which undercoating was not a delete option, so they could have hit you for undercoating unless it was specificed and priced out as a separate option at extra cost on the window sticker. BP

    (I'm ignoring the ad's "Daytona discrepancy" so Gary Lindstrom will have something on which to comment...)
    We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.

    G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.

  • #2
    I'll take 2 ....I can get the Cdn ones here <g>
    sigpic

    Home of the Fried Green Tomato

    "IF YOU WANT THE SMILES YOU NEED TO DO THE MILES "

    1960 Champ , 1966 Daytona , 1965 Daytona Wagonaire

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    • #3
      I'm getting a kick out of the ad layout. Once upon a time, the local ad salesmen did a layout (as opposed to national ads which were done by the pros) and then sent it to the composing room for insertion in the next edition. They used art services and rubber glued everything (like the guy's picture) to the layout before it went to the compositor who did the type. If a salesman showed promise, they would invest in him or her and send them to courses, which would have made them so much more effective. They were taught to incorporate an "armiture" that would lead the eye through the copy, use fewer copy starts and use "white space" to enhance and emphasize certain elements of the layout. But if you just started, the more line space you sold, the happier the publisher was. This guy, sold the ad, did the layout and did a lot of things right, probably by intuition, without ever being trained. If the customer was happy, so be it. Neat stuff, Bob. Memory lane!
      Dave Warren (Perry Mason by day, Perry Como by night)

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      • #4
        Mr. Palma: All things considered, just how much did it cost South Bend to produce a new '64 Challenger Six 2-door (64S-F2) ?


        Bill Sapp
        Hamlet, NC

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        • #5
          Originally posted by warrlaw1 View Post
          I'm getting a kick out of the ad layout. Once upon a time, the local ad salesmen did a layout (as opposed to national ads which were done by the pros) and then sent it to the composing room for insertion in the next edition. They used art services and rubber glued everything (like the guy's picture) to the layout before it went to the compositor who did the type. If a salesman showed promise, they would invest in him or her and send them to courses, which would have made them so much more effective. They were taught to incorporate an "armiture" that would lead the eye through the copy, use fewer copy starts and use "white space" to enhance and emphasize certain elements of the layout. But if you just started, the more line space you sold, the happier the publisher was. This guy, sold the ad, did the layout and did a lot of things right, probably by intuition, without ever being trained. If the customer was happy, so be it. Neat stuff, Bob. Memory lane!
          That's an interesting analysis, Dave; thanks.

          The ad does say it's "A Once-in-a-Lifetime Event!" I guess that part of it is exactly right. BP
          We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.

          G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Mr. Bill View Post
            Mr. Palma: All things considered, just how much did it cost South Bend to produce a new '64 Challenger Six 2-door (64S-F2)? Bill Sapp Hamlet, NC
            'Good question, Bill, and one for which I have no certain answer.

            If someone knows how much they were supposed to make on a given car, I guess you figure it backwards from the figures issued on Studebaker Sales Letter #178, dated September 21, 1963:

            We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.

            G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Mr. Bill View Post
              Mr. Palma: All things considered, just how much did it cost South Bend to produce a new '64 Challenger Six 2-door (64S-F2) ?


              Bill Sapp
              Hamlet, NC
              Not Bob P., but my guess is $1248.
              Gary L.
              Wappinger, NY

              SDC member since 1968
              Studebaker enthusiast much longer

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              • #8
                Thanks, Mr. L., I was just curious as to what the actual production cost might be.


                Bill Sapp
                Hamlet, NC

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                • #9
                  FWIW, that $1629 is equal to $12,058.70 in today's mini-dollars.

                  Another FWIW, the lowest current MSRP of which I'm aware is the 2012 Nissan Versa at $10990.


                  jack vines
                  PackardV8

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                  • #10
                    Howdy All - Bob, thanks for the very interesting information and insight into the last years of Studebaker. I did note that Avanti prices were not on the 1964 price list: glaring omission or a portend for the future of the corporation and Avanti? Especially curious as the GT Hawk was listed. Any idea why there is no Avanti pricing or is there another list? Curious minds....Bob

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by AnAvanti4Bob View Post
                      Howdy All - Bob, thanks for the very interesting information and insight into the last years of Studebaker. I did note that Avanti prices were not on the 1964 price list: glaring omission or a portend for the future of the corporation and Avanti? Especially curious as the GT Hawk was listed. Any idea why there is no Avanti pricing or is there another list? Curious minds....Bob
                      Good point, Bob; I hadn't noticed that.

                      No particular reason I can think of why Avanti prices were omitted. Perhaps they were unchanged? BP
                      We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.

                      G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I bought a wooden pencil case off of ebay a couple of years or more ago. It has the same Daytona picture on it. Now I know where it came from. I'll bet that Daytona picture is in the big book of pictures (I'm not sure what the proper name is) that they would supply to dealers for ads. I bought what I thought was a 64 book a few years back but it turned out it had mostly 63's in it.

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                        • #13
                          Real cool ad! Thanks for sharing! I miss the days when, as a teenager, I could look in the Seattle Times classified under "Studebaker" for good used cars at reasonable prices (not that I couold afford anything...).

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Bordeaux Daytona View Post
                            I bought a wooden pencil case off of ebay a couple of years or more ago. It has the same Daytona picture on it. Now I know where it came from. I'll bet that Daytona picture is in the big book of pictures (I'm not sure what the proper name is) that they would supply to dealers for ads. I bought what I thought was a 64 book a few years back but it turned out it had mostly 63's in it.
                            Those are generally called clip art, John, or were at one time. BP
                            We've got to quit saying, "How stupid can you be?" Too many people are taking it as a challenge.

                            G. K. Chesterton: This triangle of truisms, of father, mother, and child, cannot be destroyed; it can only destroy those civilizations which disregard it.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by BobPalma View Post
                              Those are generally called clip art, John, or were at one time. BP
                              Ok, thanks Bob!

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