Annoying Studebaker label

[LeoH]

Ok, we went on our first Hot August Nights cruise tonight with a coworker of my wife
and her 2 young boys and I know we have a not new car, BUT, we're waiting at a light
and I don't see her, but with the windows open I hear the driver next to us tell her kids,
"Look it's your great-grandma's car"


My wife and I both turn around to look at her, and she realized what she sounded like
and I couldn't help say, "HEY! WE both learned to drive in this car!"
That one stung.

There were a lot more Studes in the cruise tonight than I expected. '57 original pickup,
an earlier 50s heavily modified pickup rod, '53 coupe, a late 30s 4 door sedan, two 57
golden hawks and it was good to hear a lot of people recognize not only a Studebaker,
but that it was a Studebaker Lark when we drove by.

[Bob Andrews]

Honestly, that's part of loving Studebakers; especially my favorite Studebakers, the Larks.

I've told this story before, but a couple years ago I drove my Oasis Green '60 Lark VI to my Linda's softball game. The girls are mostly all mid-20s to mid-30s. They all came over to see it and fawned over it and made comments like "Aw, it's so cute!" So I put on the charm and said, "So, ladies, would you go out with a guy that drives a Lark, they laughed loudly and said, "Eww, no way! I wouldn't get in that silly thing!" I took it in good humor because I know it's not exactly high style. Like my niece said, I'm secure enough in my manhood to drive a Lark

Since May my daily driver has been a '62 Cadillac. The difference in how that is received is amazing. Old folks fawn over it, young kids want to customize it, people love the styling and the sheer size, and oh, those fins! That's just how it is.

I know the Club motto is 'We Invented Cool'. But the general public does not agree. Kind of like the nerd kid telling everybody how cool he is, hoping if he says it enough, people will start believing it 'Cool' or not, I love the silly things. My favorite Stude is my '62 Daytona 2dr. HT, followed closely by my Wagonaire. But the hobby at large does not agree. And, we are in a hobby that the majority of the world doesn't 'get'. That doesn't leave me any energy or room to get annoyed. I'll just keep on loving the Larks. Somebody's gotta!

[Kurt]

I went to a large cruise in last Friday night. It was at least 1000 cars. My daughter and I drove the Champ. Now, I really like my Champ truck, with it's short wide bed that doesn't match the cab..... But the general public thinks it "looks funny", "did it come from the factory that way", etc. When one guy asked me about it, I said yes it came from the factory that way, he chirped back I couldn't stand to look at that I would have to narrow it up to fit the cab. I said one of the reasons I liked it was because of the cobbled together look. He just stared at me in disbelief. I guess I am just weird!

[8E45E]

I went to a large cruise in last Friday night. It was at least 1000 cars. My daughter and I drove the Champ. Now, I really like my Champ truck, with it's short wide bed that doesn't match the cab..... But the general public thinks it "looks funny", "did it come from the factory that way", etc. When one guy asked me about it, I said yes it came from the factory that way, he chirped back I couldn't stand to look at that I would have to narrow it up to fit the cab. I said one of the reasons I liked it was because of the cobbled together look. He just stared at me in disbelief. I guess I am just weird!

I often wonder what many thought when they saw a Dodge Sweptline for the first time. It was Chysler's rather hasty answer to the Chev Cameo and possibly the Ranchero, which used Dodge 2-door station wagon rear side panels to a regular truck cab.

If I had to give an answer of the box being wider than the cab, I would have told them it was necessary to offer a pickup box that was a standard size to accept aftermarket toppers and pipe racks, etc.

Craig

[jclary]

Exactly why I had ball caps made up with this logo. But, as I have posted before...part of the "Studebaker Personality" is developing a "THICK SKIN" regarding our cars. I was a teenager when Studebaker announced the end of auto production. At that time, there was a tremendous stigma of failure attached to the name Studebaker. Except for a few loyal diehards (and at that time, I was not a Studebaker fan), they were looked upon as odd outcasts of the automotive world. You could hardly give them away, let alone think of them as a desirable collectable.

Over the years, I have seen attitudes change. Those of us who remember those days are fewer, and the "failure" stigma is fading like the color of our hair. One thing about human nature is that we tend to frame our attitudes and opinions by what our eyes take in and our values reflect. Just because we are enamored with cars in general and (in our case) especially, Studebaker... There is a massive population of folks who view old cars with no more thought than a discarded candy wrapper.

I enjoy my cars for what they are. Just like many of the other old relics I have collected through the years. If I happen to receive a compliment or a broad smile form others, so much the better...but approval from others is not required.

Just yesterday, Jock (the poodle) and I, fired up my old bouncy riding, hot, noisy, 55 Studebaker truck for a 25 mile "Studebaker shortcut" ride on the local Cherokee Scenic Highway. We made a run to a mountainside orchard for some fresh peaches. Why drive to the peach orchard that's only 3 miles away, when we can extend the fun by riding a little longer in a Studebaker?

[62champ]

Wasn't there a slogan back in the '70s of something like "I'd rather fix than switch"? Or something like that.

[Bob Andrews]

Wasn't there a slogan back in the '70s of something like "I'd rather fix than switch"? Or something like that.

No, I think it was: STUDEBAKER: The Leader in Automotive Birth Control

[stude1964]

Yes there was a bumper sticker offered that had that slogan "fix than switch. A few years ago my Dad had 2 styles made up. One was "Studebaker-solid steel not solid state." The other was borrowed from my buddy's old sticker which said" Studebaker-Remembered, Not recalled!" I still have a few left. I've laid them on the rear package shelf at shows to hear people chuckle as I'm not a fan of putting them on the bumper. Rob in PA.

[Commander Eddie]

I too was around when Studebaker stopped making cars. I was sixteen and just starting to learn to drive. My dad had 8 or 10 Studebakers in various stages of restoration and I had my eye on the one I wanted. It was a beautiful 1955 Commander with a balanced and blueprinted 289 V8 bored to 304 cu. in. It had a modified Borg Warner automatic transmission and was a real screamer.
When I first started driving it to school I got some ribbing. "Why don't you drive a real car?". "Does that thing run?". I heard it all. But I usually got silence after I whipped their butts on the deserted street we called "Little Lyons" in the San Fernando Valley. After a while I got accepted into the high school car culture and earned Studebaker some respect.
As the years have gone by I seldom hear those old remarks. Even from guys I know were around then and probably made some of them. I have only heard one negative remark in the last 4 years and it was from someone who had no idea what he was talking about.
So, I drive my Studebakers with my head held high, a smile on my face, and say "thank you" to everyone who pays my ride a compliment.

[DEEPNHOCK]

(circa 1970)

[JimC]

Jeff, I'm pretty sure I have one of those bumper stickers in the box of memorabilia I inherited from my grandpa.

The positive side of a generation that never saw a new Studebaker is that a lot of the less than positive (and false) perceptions about them are being lost, and Studebakers are being seen as just another old car. I've said it a million times here, but the campus I live and work on has about 400 youth, mostly in high school with a few in junior high. I have yet to encounter one who didn't think my '63 is "cool", and all of them would gladly go on a cruise in it if company policy allowed such a thing. Beyond that even, the kids are telling others about the car. I'll have staff members or teachers or parents ask me "oh, you're the guy with the car?" when we meet. "The car" is being talked about, and in a very positive light it would seem.

So if we could get all those grumpy old codgers that are still upset because Studebaker went under to shut their mouths, my belief is that there's a next generation just waiting to get their hands on these cars.

[Pat Dilling]

Leo,

A comment like "Look it's your great-grandma's car" can be taken as a compliment too. The fact that they recognize the car is a good thing. One of the most common comments I hear is "They were ahead of their time." And, in many cases Studebaker was, including the Lark. The big three had nothing like the Loewy coupe or the Hawks. Think about the Lark coming out in 59, then came the Falcon in 1960, the Chevy II in '62 and the Plymouth Valiant/Dodge Dart (There was an odd duck if ever there was one). Most of the comments about Studebakers I have heard over the last 10 years have been complimentary or nostalgic.

[LeoH]

Yes there was a bumper sticker offered that had that slogan "fix than switch. A few years ago my Dad had 2 styles made up. One was "Studebaker-solid steel not solid state." The other was borrowed from my buddy's old sticker which said" Studebaker-Remembered, Not recalled!" I still have a few left. I've laid them on the rear package shelf at shows to hear people chuckle as I'm not a fan of putting them on the bumper. Rob in PA.

I like those, and if they were a window cling type, I'd have to consider it. Another possibility though, is there are bumper sticker sized flexible magnets and you affix the sticker to the magnet, then the magnet to the car.

[LeoH]

You're exactly right Pat, and I did think that same thing. Whether it's my grandpa, my uncle or my dad had one, I expect to hear that...it's just hearing GREAT grandma apparently caused an involuntary reaction. I mean, it's a 1960! fer cryin' out loud. If I had a 30s or 40s car, I would expect to hear that.

Funny thing is, my wife sort of reacted the same way as I did

It's hard to convey emotion in an email, I didn't get a tone when I said what I did, but I couldn't help saying SOMEthing after hearing GREAT grandma.

[LeoH]

(circa 1970)

Slap the SDC url on the bottom of that. Either a window cling style, or, you can sell these aids: http://www.supportstore.com/bumper-sticker-magnet.html