Doing my part, with my daughter's help.

[Mark L]

I have a "Bail Out Studebaker" bumper sticker on the back of my daily driver, a 1994 Toyota Camry wagon, along with a SDC cling with the QR code right above it. Since one of our daughters has started driving, she prefers to drive my wagon than drive our larger Toyota Sienna van.

Her younger sister is the one who went with me to the Bell's Museum back in September:

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?84096-Starting-to-see-signs-of-quot-the-infection-quot-Is-there-any-hope

Every once in a while the older sibling complains about the number of people who ask her about the bumper sticker, particularly the students at her high school. She mentioned that the students keep asking her (even some who are "into cars"), "What is Studebaker?" She just says, " That's my Dad's", and "They use to build cars".

She wants me to remove the bumper sticker, but I like the feedback.

She keeps pestering my wife and I to help her buy a car (she's saving for one). I saw a nice Lark advertised the other day that seemed like a good deal...

Mark L

[Lou Van Anne]

My 18 year old grandson is looking for his first car. I agreed to help him buy it and then I ran across an ad for '61 white Lark just like the one I drove to college. When I showed him a picture of the car I told him that I just bought it for him....you should have seen the look on his face: something akin to "I wouldn't be seen dead in THAT!"....oh well.

[BobPalma]

Always found the "Bailout Studebaker" bumper stickers overwhelmingly unfunny, historically ignorant, and feel they reflect very poorly on the brand we love.

'Couldn't agree more, Brad; we're on the same page.

I still like the T-Shirt I saw at a MoPar Meet a couple months ago:

You don't have to drive a
MoPar
...but you'd be a lot cooler if you did.

Yeah, I know; it could be taken wrong...and in this day and age, everything is bound to be taken wrong by somebody as the country's aggregate sense of humor declines. But I still think it's pretty doggone cute, and I like it. BP

[JoeHall]

I am glad several Stude bumper stickers are available, to fit just about anyone's taste. My favorite is, "Keep America Beautiful-Drive A Studebaker". I have put one on the rear bumper of every Stude owned in the past 20 years or so. Beats a tattoo, which is more pernament.

[JoeHall]

For those who don't "Get It", the HUGE problem with "Bailout Studebaker" (lack of humor aside) is that it perpetuates the TOTALLY wrong belief that Studebaker went bankrupt. They didn't! They just stopped building cars. And BTW, their stock skyrocketed after that decision.

Perhaps you are the one who don't get it. The OP obviously has a sense of humor, and was relating a humorous story that mainly involved high school kids, who do not even know what a Studebaker is/was. Your intolerant, abrasive response of "unfunny", "ignorant" etc., and subsequent, out of context attempt to school us all with Studebaker trivia/history indicate you may be the one who don't get it.

[5brown1]

Each year at the Kool Deadwood Nights car show they hold a parade. While driving our 37 President in the parade my wife held the Bailout Studebaker sticker up so the spectators could see it. It brought a lot of smiles, laughter and thumbs up from the many of the spectators. Fun!

[Bob Andrews]

Mostly it's the error that made 'bail out' one word. Yikes. It would be like fingernails on a chalkboard for me to see that every day on my car.

While I agree with Stanwood, I try not to take it too seriously. I can't see how it is 'doing my part'. Just about everyone whoever sees it will have no idea what it means.

[sweetolbob]

Beats a tattoo, which is more permanent.

Where did you find someone to tattoo the bumper of the Studebaker?

[8E45E]

Always found the "Bailout Studebaker" bumper stickers overwhelmingly unfunny, historically ignorant, and feel they reflect very poorly on the brand we love.

I also fully agree with BP. It does not reflect well on the product, and would be historically incorrect as stated.

The only time the government ever got involved was awarding contracts for vehicles, GSA, military, and otherwise. In late 1956, the Eisenhower administration did back a merger of sorts with Curtiss-Wright with a guarantee of government contracts where they could use Studebaker-Packard`s losses as a tax credit while injecting funds into the ailing company, but it was no `bailout`in any sense of the word.

Craig

[tim333]

Lighten up people. At least it's gets a conversation started about Studebaker and I'm sure no one takes it that seriously in a negative ways except the guys on here that said so.

[BobPalma]

Gramatically, guys, both bail out and bailout are valid words with different meanings.

To bail out is something that is done; a verb. I.e., Bill had to bail out his daughter when she was upside down in her car payments and promised she would never again date boys driving Chevys if Daddy would make that payment.

A bailout is a noun; a tangible thing. When Bill then gave her the money to go make the car payment, he gave her a bailout; a thing. BP

[Noxnabaker]

Hey Mark L: why not ask her to tell the boys to google it?

[Corvanti]

i saw a couple of those bumper stickers around 5 years ago - right after the Gov't "bailed out" GM and Chrysler. i thought they were "cute".

with the short attention span some younger folks have, i doubt they remember back 5 yrs ago.

nowadays, i'd rather see something like: "Ask Me About My Studebaker". if that would fit on a bumper sticker that was readable...

[(S)]

Just this past weekend on a National talk radio show, they went into the topics of fading pensions , a (lack of) 40 hr week, healthcare, and how job markets have changed etc.

Politics aside, it started it off by describing some history of the the S-P Corp. and " how they went out of
business" and it prompted new laws of some sort regarding pensions and I tuned it out...... it was on KGMI , Bellingham I forget the name of the program but it is probably online on their website.

.

[Mark L]

I agree with Corvanti, I believe the bumper sticker has more to do with the federal government recently bailing out automakers who were in financial trouble/not profitable. It's not a statement that Studebaker received a bail out, but more like, "while we're at it, why not Studebaker, too?" I know some who frequent this forum may have benefited from the support our government provided to GM and Chrysler a few years ago, and so I'm not trying to be disrespectful to them. And even if the kids don't remember it, their teachers would.

Historically, and in a legal sense, Studebaker did not go out of business in 1963/1966, but the corporation's most visible product was no longer available. From a public perspective, they were as good as gone. Just like Pan Am. Pan Am actually continued for many years after 1991, and one of their small divisions is still operating, and their logo is still in use by the company that bought all the remaining assets. But from the public's perspective, Pan Am went out of business the day they stopped selling their most visible product (airline seats).

Any way, un-like many bumper stickers, this one extremely visible and easy to read from a distance (large block letters on black background). Considering how kids spend so much time texting, the fewer words the better. There are about 1,600 kids at the school, and they turn over about 400 a year. By the time our youngest graduates, several thousand young people will have seen the company name. The way my daughter tells it, she is constantly being asked by her peers, "What is Studebaker?", and she tells them.

It generates a LOT of conversation.

Mark L