From Hemmings 1956-’58 Studebaker Golden Hawk Buyer's Guide

[bumpkinvilledano]

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2022/06/03/1956-58-studebaker-golden-hawk-buyers-guide

[PackardV8]

Much more accurate and more thorough than most. Congrats, Jeff Koch.

jack vines

[Hawklover]

Except the price listed to get one;-)

[Commander Eddie]

Nice read with solid data. Good photos as well. Thanks for sharing, Dan.

[BobPalma]

FWIW, Jeff Koch thoughtfully ran that article past me for proofing before it went to print, so I'm happy "you all" approve!

Also, that Cambridge Grey '56 featured is the factory stick overdrive/ red leather one my father's dealership [Palma-Rhoads Motors] sold new in Paris IL on March 31, 1956. BP

[StudeRich]

Looks like the Customer or maybe Palma/Rhodes picked it up at the Factory? Ship Via, is hand noted as: "Customer"!

That just goes to show Just HOW Far Studebaker would go to satisfy a pretty demanding Customer!
A Non-available Red Leather Interior?

Certainly not the first I have heard of this Hawk, but just amazing!

[BobPalma]

Looks like the Customer or maybe Palma/Rhodes picked it up at the Factory? Ship Via, is hand noted as: "Customer"!

That just goes to show Just HOW Far Studebaker would go to satisfy a pretty demanding Customer!
A Non-available Red Leather Interior?

Certainly not the first I have heard of this Hawk, but just amazing!

Yes, Rich; According to Dad, he had to pick it up in South Bend and take it to an upholstery shop in Niles (?) to have the seats redone in the red leather. If you notice all the special notes as to the interior, everything else was done at the factory...except the seats themselves.

The whole story was told here in my June 2019 Hemmings Classic Car column:

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/article/jaguars-and-hog-rings

Dad never said so, but I believe this was one reason he and Uncle Milt decided to bail out of the dealership 4 months later, auctioning off their share of everything on August 1, 1956, after it was obvious there would be no more "real" Packards. From invoices I have, I see where they were making good money selling quite a few Nashes and, especially, Ramblers, but this Golden Hawk deal had to be a real punch in the gut. Here's why:

At the time, there were three principals involved: Dad, Uncle Milt, and Studebaker dealer Harry Rhoads. They were each trying to make $75 per week for themselves; a tick over $300 per month for each principal. If you do the math, that means the $1,000 loss on this one(!) deal (This Golden Hawk) lost the equivalent of an entire month's pay for each of them! That sort of thing goes a long way toward making a decision to not continue in the business when their flagship marque, Packard, had died.

Again, that's just my opinion; Dad never voiced that to me....and, of course, he's been gone, now, for five years, come September 6, 2022. BP

[8E45E]

That just goes to show Just HOW Far Studebaker would go to satisfy a pretty demanding Customer!
A Non-available Red Leather Interior?

And then there was the lone 1958 Golden Hawk "400" with leather interior special ordered by Studebaker's VP of Exports, R.A. Hutchinson: https://forum.studebakerdriversclub....ghlight=husvar

Car is in Holland, last anyone heard.

Craig