Article: 1963 to 64 Studebaker Avanti: A classic failure

[Bob Andrews]

This turned up on Facebook, I have never seen it before. Even the most ardent supporter of the Avanti would have to agree with most of what was said in the article if they are being honest.

Pull quite: “The Avanti was sunk by a boatload of beginner’s mistakes”.

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.indieauto.org%2F2020%2F01%2F01%2F1963-64-studebaker-avanti-a-classic-failure%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3PslyReMYixNA7Co3v9bIAEpsweJFJ24EyefuOynFtOJBUfsw1E2HegXo&h=AT2tEMMXVX5i2SVTckYm-uXj1JHFS3Wn0yyGDsGRpqZbse3EGj9ZrQvaBndM81KG6A7R27f7bKB7mlMS2A_1ai7MDPI7lvYbjvSnSdDiHq8E-DGoj7b2VnVB67NpkPsoJE0i8fNw8MyXpoc&s=1

[Milaca]

I enjoyed reading the article. I have wondered what if Studebaker had continued manufacturing the 1953 line of cars into the 1960's, with only mechanical improvements made. Looking at a 1953 Studebaker, whether it be a coupe or a sedan or a wagon, they look so far ahead of their time when compared to the competition of that time. Would they have gained sales had they been on the market longer, to allow people to change their idea of what a car should look like? Just thinking out loud here.

[Bob Andrews]

More than that, I wonder what the C/K bodies would have done as a product of one of the big three manufacturers. From what I have gathered, that body style was very highly regarded both when it was originally released and even to this day. Yet, sales were nowhere near what Studebaker had hoped they would be. I wonder if they didn’t sell because although people like looking at them, Studebaker did not have much of a reputation by then.

[6hk71400]

Bob Bourke priced out what a Starliner in 1953 would have cost if GM had built the car. It was less than the 150 Chevrolet, but was priced at Buick levels. In one of my earlier response to a question about models, what happened to Studebaker goes back to the mid 20's to 1933. 1952 was a good year, but that was just about the last year government contracts for Jet Engine and other stuff were produced.

[Jessie J.]

In the '50s and '60s buyers did not want their new car to look like a year or two old model. What captured mass sales was "All New! Longer! Lower! Wider!" With the exception of recession years when being 'smart and frugal' they settled for less than what they really desired. Most who succumbed to the lure of the pretentions of frugality returned to the buying of 'full size' and 'intermediate' luxo land barges at their earliest opportunity.
Dad traded our last Lark in for a fully loaded behemoth 1968 Impala 4 door ht land barge.
Sales figures on all models of 53 thru 55 Studebakers sank lower with every year of production, which forced the introduction of the new but very main-stream styled '56 sedans.

.

[bezhawk]

I read too many errors to mention. First off, the Avanti was not ever based off any existing production car that Studebaker made. No cowl or substructure other than the frame was carried forward from earlier steel bodied cars. This author is way off base.

[Jessie J.]

The article spends a lot of time focusing on such vehicles as the Pontiac GTO and Mustang. As though Studebaker's Avanti should have been designed to match these.

The Avanti was designed and developed in 1961, when Pontiacs '61 to '63 Tempest was nothing more than a wimpy and mechanical failure prone swing axled piece of junk.
The Pontiac GTO was first introduced in September 1963. Ford introduced the Mustang in April of 1964.
Studebaker would had to have been in possession of a magical crystal ball to know what other manufactures were going to come up with years latter. Studebaker Avanti was there first. And with performance firsts that did not appear on other American cars till years latter.

[6hk71400]

Old news. Move on. I mean really do we need another post mortem? Most if not all of the people associated with the car are gone. If I was interested, I would rather have someone with the bona fides for Studebaker present an interesting history. Supposition when there are many facets of why things happened cannot be covered in a sentence or two.

When I was in the critical care medical field, the common joke was to put 5 cardiologist in a room with all of them looking at the EKG, you would get 5 different opinions of what was wrong with the patient.

Bob Miles
Move on

[Bob Andrews]

I can think of a couple reasons for repeating information. One, there’s always somebody new that doesn’t know the stuff and two, you never know when another tidbit will come along that you didn’t previously know.

[Milaca]

Old news?? That is stating the obvious! What current news do we have to discuss that pertains to Studebakers? Furthermore, it is enjoyable to play 'Monday morning quarterback' in that we can ponder what might have been had certain things been handled differently, simply for the sake of our entertainment which is basically what our Studebaker hobby is for!

[Captain Billy]

2015 Studebaker Veinte Victorias......love to have one in the stable

[Avantidon]

I favor continuing this thread. However, if it gets in the weeds, it'll be closed or deleted so please do not go in that direction.

[Dwight FitzSimons]

Sure, by definition, the Avanti was a failure in saving Studebaker. But, Studebaker went out of the auto manufacturing business for a number of reasons, not because of the Avanti. I wouldn't think that any specialty car could have saved Studebaker.
--Dwight

[Jessie J.]

I spend hours of my internet time reading about and being entertained by discussing matters pertaining to the products and history of a certain fascinating automobile company that went out of business 56 years ago, and has been a daily significant part of my life and experience for over 60 years.
If I had at any time ever 'moved on' from this life abiding interest and continuing examination of the details of all aspects of this subject matter, I would not be here.
I love reading about other people experiences, adventures, opinions and speculations about the various Studebaker products, ventures, and personalities.
I won't be 'moving on' until I am no longer able read or type.

[6hk71400]

I spend hours of my internet time reading about and being entertained by discussing matters pertaining to the products and history of a certain fascinating automobile company that went out of business 56 years ago, and has been a daily significant part of my life and experience for over 60 years.
If I had at any time ever 'moved on' from this life abiding interest and continuing examination of the details of all aspects of this subject matter, I would not be here.
I love reading about other people experiences, adventures, opinions and speculations about the various Studebaker products, ventures, and personalities.
I won't be 'moving on' until I am no longer able read or type.

'

Just to clarify: move on from inaccurate hatchet job of reporting again on a post mortem. Do people really need to be misinformed? I would rather be driving my Studebaker, or park it at shows and then correct any thoughts that are not correct. If someone is new, hopefully they will join the Studebaker Drivers Club and all it's rich resources of people and publications. I seriously doubt the author ever drove a Studebaker. In today's context of newer cars, it is with a jaundiced eye or hyper critical thinking of a car that many people bought and loved. If you look at the right side of the article, there is a critical headline about the 1948 Hudson. How about this: What would happen to auto history media if they outlawed clickbait? Well, I guess there would be less misleading information. IMHO.

Spend time with a good Studebaker book or others that have documented history of any auto marque. It must be true if it is on the internet right?

Bob Miles
Maybe other's may feel I should move on rather than express an opinion. Not gonna happen

[Milaca]

Thank you for clarifying. I too appreciate accurate information.

[Jessie J.]

Thanks for the clarification, Bob. My BP just went down 20 points.

[Jessie J.]

My second owned car was a 1946 Hudson coupe. Most people today have no idea of what one looks like or how it drove.

[Jessie J.]

I loved the Avanti from day one, but it has long been my opinion that Studebaker would have fared far better if they had built only a dozen Avanti's, and instead invested heavily in updating the chassis and drivetrain of the Lark type line.