Is there a Studebaker personality?

[jclary]

[sweetolbob]

John

I guess what you are suggesting that we Stude guys are just Rat Rodders with an adversion to tattoos.

Seriously, to answer you query, My involvement to Studebaker did not start with any knowledge of the marque nor any relationship with anyone employed by the corporation.

My involvement started in my youth (16) when I saw my first 53 hardtop and thought it was the best looking car in the world. It took a lot of years to afford it and my second love the Avanti. I never had a drive to be different but to build and drive what I liked.

That led me to Healey 3000's, Fiat 850's, 72 Bronco's for offroading, Spitfire gt-6's and a few street rods like my 39 Ford Standard coupe.

Not a need to be different just a desire to drive what I like, in spite of what others liked.

Bob

[PackardV8]

I'd say an inability to learn from experience. Ben Franklin defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again, always expecting a different result.

jack vines

[oldguy]

I'm with Bob. Was not a studebaker fan. Just fell in love with the 53 styling. All the other reasons and emotions mentioned came with time, involvement and appreciation. NOW I'm a stude nut.

[Bullet]

I always walked to a different drummer and did not like to follow the crowd in high school, when '68 Chevelle hardtops were the rage here in Calif. When I graduated from College in OR, I saw a salmon pink '50 Starlight from the back and it was love at first site. I bought my car, a different one, but still salmon colored, two months later and still have it. Although now it is '57 Chevy Blue, because of the movie, Stand By Me. Still love the car.

And daring to be different!

Mark

[8E45E]

However, as I proudly began to expose my newly acquired truck to friends and relatives, I was greeted with comments like “you can’t get parts”, “that’s ugly” or “why would you want that?”

Rather interesting thread, and it will only possibly make sense to those who have owned one for over 30 years when a lot of them were considered 'cheap used cars'. In the '70's, I had the same stigma of being asked where I could get parts on a fairly regular basis. Studebaker never really made a 'bad' car that had notoriety like a Chevy Vegrant, which had an inherently bad design/engineerig flaw. True, the OHV six got some negative press, but many have driven them thousands of miles without letup. My mom had a '50 Champion when I was a kid, and she spoke highly of that car. It made me want one when I got to driving age as I remembered the Larks/Lark-types when they were brand new, which I did, a '64 Daytona sedan.

Craig

[Sdude]

Studebakers ARE different. I love going to generic car shows and having the only Studebaker(s) there.

I also just happened to buy a Studebaker when I was looking for an old car. When I got involved in the club and with the people, I too became hooked on Studes.

I like the new advertising campign that "Studebaker Invented COOL". I believe that to be true and am sure glad I didn't buy something that would put me in the crowd of sameness that permeates most car shows.

I get off on being different and I always did. Being the "Studebaker Dude" is my new identity and I wear it with pride.

[Chris Pile]

I just got tired of the same old Ford and Chevy stuff, and since I feel like I am different - I went for different.
When my Blue Oval and Bowtie pals give me grief for my choice, I tell them I bought a Stude so I didn't have to fool with Ford and Chevy BS all the time.

I love the attention driving something different brings my way.

One year my nephew wanted to me to attend a show with him and his Dad.
So there we were, my '49 Champion, my brother's '99 Vette, and my nephews '70 Charger.
Guess who got all the attention? My nephew was upset! My brother just laughed - he knew the score.

[stall]

I own and love a Studebaker for its beauty but also for its great "different" factor. The following is from one of my writings and i think it defines the challenge a prospective Studebaker owner in the mid-fifties.

By 1955 one’s Father might be considering the purchase of a new car and had winnowed the choice down to a Studebaker Champion or a Chevrolet BelAir. His research would show that he could buy the BelAir fully “loaded” and sporting a V-8 instead of the Stude’s flathead 6 and have money left over. He would know from his friends that the Studebaker trade-in value in 3 years would be half of the Chevy’s. As he read his Sunday paper he might note that Kaiser, Willys and Hudson were on the financial ropes and Studebaker was no longer profitable.

On top of all this was the common old perception that Studebaker made cars for old people only interested in economy for Studebaker had never decided whether to tout stingy economy or elegance. You only had to look at Stude ads to sense the stodgy image. A “reasonable man” would probably deduce that buying a car noted for economy that was overpriced in relation to its competition made no sense, advantage Chevy again. A “reasonable man” would not buy the Studebaker and they didn’t in sustainable numbers. The “wisdom of crowds” is often cited as mass illusion but by 1955 the facts and perceptions of the buying public had doomed Studebaker and in fact all the Independent car companies.

You don’t have to dive very deeply into psychobabble to see the dilemma of the small car companies. In 1954 Chevy, Ford and Plymouth sold 3.2 million cars to Studebaker’s 161,521. That essentially meant that you would have 20 neighbors with a Chevy, Ford or Plymouth before you found another Studebaker. By definition you were an outsider with a minority opinion.

The human condition values conformance and buying a Studebaker or Nash et-al Independent branded you an outsider. It’s trite but “go along to get along” was a factor that determined many automobile buying decisions. If you purchased the type of cars your neighbor’s drove you were automatically validated, one of the gang, a regular guy. To be sure some cars thrive on different and quirky, think Porsche or even Jeep but they remained true to their niche reputations and didn’t suffer through a severely flawed product launch. Studebaker never developed a niche place in the market where they could prosper; instead they tried to compete with GM across the board on GMs terms. A “reasonable man” would think that to be silly.

[raprice]

I guess I've always marched to the beat of a different drummer. When I was young, my friends were into Fords, Chevies and Mopars, but I had a Studebaker. I wasn't kidded about it though. My love of Studes goes back to the late '50s and continues to this day. When I go to a cruise night, I'm usually the only Studebaker there, but it's interesting to watch the people looking at the cars. They almost always stop to look my Lark over and ask questions about it. It pays to stand out in the crowd.
Rog

[Bob Andrews]

Same here. It's just my nature to not be a sheep and just accept what the crowd thinks. I like something because it strikes a chord with me, and I have no problem enjoying it, regardless of its popularity. When people make fun of my Studes I feed off that for some reason. Head case, I guess

[FlatheadGeo]

Your answer from those that responded and from me is this simple fact: Studebakers are great cars, the company was a mainstay in American history, and I do not like to be part of the crowd. For years while I was a founding member in the LI Studebaker Club I couldn't afford a Studebaker. My daily driver was a 1960 Rambler. That turned a lot of the Studebaker guys against me; but, what the hell? Our founder Harry Barnes had no problem with me attending Studebaker activities with a Rambler. After thirty years and two more Ramblers and a Nash I finally could afford a Studebaker and, yes, the looks and 'what is it' is what sets me apart from the rest. Remember Ben Franklin, et al, were also following the beat of a different drummer! We, as Studebaker drivers and owners are continuing that American legacy which set us apart from the rest of the colonial empire!

[stall]

I think you said it best, when i go to a cruise in and see 14 or so 55 Chevys I'm so glad that I have my Speedster.

I guess I've always marched to the beat of a different drummer. When I was young, my friends were into Fords, Chevies and Mopars, but I had a Studebaker. I wasn't kidded about it though. My love of Studes goes back to the late '50s and continues to this day. When I go to a cruise night, I'm usually the only Studebaker there, but it's interesting to watch the people looking at the cars. They almost always stop to look my Lark over and ask questions about it. It pays to stand out in the crowd.
Rog

[monomaniac]

A very interesting thread. When I bought my first Studebaker a co-worker said to me, "When are you going to buy a car?"
I must admit that rebellion kicked in at that point and the more ridiculous comments I heard, the firmer was my convistion that I had made a valid choice. I must have fallen into a groove or rut. That was 42 years ago.
Would anyone here object if some of these quotes appeared in Turning Wheels?

[Flashback]

What sets us apart from the me too crowd? "STUDEBAKER" is the simple answer. Studebakers are like Harley Davidson
motorcycles, you either lovum or hatum. I rode Harleys since I was old enough for my Dad to hold the bike up and git
me started. I have owned a Studebaker since I was 11. I am now 66, and I don't have to ask what set's us apart. It's just
somethin about the Studebakers and the Harleys. You either have it or you don't. I feel sorry for the one's that don't. I got up
to 33 degree weather Saturday morning, and drove my Studebaker to a car show without the driver's side window and
the quarter windows, (no heater), and I still enjoyed it more than all the brand X cars I have ever driven to shows. I didn't
give up on the Harleys til a gun shot and lung surgery stopped me. I won't give up on the Studebakers til I have to either.
Maybe this is not the answer you are lookin for. If not, I can give you one other answer. Ther are people that thrive on th
"simple things in life" Studebakers are one!!!!!!!!!!!!!