Studes in Roadside Americana photos

[jclary]

Sorry , No turkeys in this pic . !

Yep...if this don't trip yer trigger...yer outta AMMO!

(There's a pill for that)

[8E45E]

Yep...if this don't trip yer trigger...yer outta AMMO!

(There's a pill for that)

**REALITY CHECK!!!***

Just HOW OLD will she be now??!?

Is she a long time Buick owner?

Craig

[jclary]

**REALITY CHECK!!!***

Just HOW OLD will she be now??!?

Is she a long time Buick owner?

Craig

Well...we're dealing with the moment of the photo...not the aftermath. Odds are, even with fortunate intervention, none of the subjects of the photo could strike the same pose today.

[Bob Andrews]

That has always been a classic lesson in something, Bill, although I'm not sure what.

Supposedly, when the '59s came out, Ford was scared to death of the sleek new batwing '59 Chevys and braced themselves to get slaughtered in the marketplace.

They immediately started styling the 1960 Fords to sort of ape the '59 Chevys, especially in the rear end with horizontal fins.

Well, lo and behold, the market liked the '59 Fords better and bought more of them! But Ford couldn't react fast enough to pull the plug and again redo the 1960 Ford, so went ahead and produced it and promptly lost their #1 sales position big-time because Chevy went the other way, softening the 1959 Chevy's lines for 1960 to have more market appeal than did the '59 Chevys! 'Talk about heads rolling at Chevrolet during 1959 and Ford during 1960, trying to second-guess the market.

Of course, Ford kinda got the last laugh when the new 1960 Falcon handily outsold the bizarre 1960 Corvair, so it kind of all washed out after all. 'Lots there to fuel armchair marketing quarterbacks for two model years, though.

I still remember climbing up on the roof of an adjacent building in Paris IL, with a couple friends, to peer down from the second-story windows of the service area at the Chevrolet-Cadillac dealer in Paris, to see the 1960 Chevys hidden in "the shop" before introduction day, which we did, and then running home to tell my Dad about the changes.

At age 13 in the fall of 1959, it really was the best of times. BP

I never heard any of this before. Great information; thanks for posting it! As you know, the late 50s to mid 60s is my all time favorite era in the Automotive world. I always love to learn more about it

[jclary]

The 59 Ford discussion reminds me...in the early '60's, as a rookie patrolman, my Brother-in-law's first S.C. Highway Patrol car was a 59 Ford. Back then, I frequently was invited to "ride-along" during night shifts. Exciting times for a latent maturing teenager, barely weighing over 100 pounds. By that time, the patrol car was a 1960 Ford. One night, my Brother-in-law came to pick me up in a '59 Ford. His '60 was in the shop and the '59 was a loaner.

The last "ride-along" I remember, was in a 390 powered 62 Ford. That thing was a rocket ship. Back then, our Carolina interstates were pretty new. During my ride-alongs, I recall two chases that covered over thirty miles. In one, we ran down a large block (don't recall exactly how big) '63 Fastback Ford Tri-power. The other, a brand new Corvette. In both instances, engaging the chase, required us to first cross the median, giving the perps a big head start. Still, we chased them down.

[Bill Pressler]

Regarding '59 Chevys--I'm sure some here have heard the old saw that the rear ends lifted up at speeds of 70 or more mph. Supposedly that was even a rumor when the cars were new. An old friend's Dad worked at Kimes Chevrolet in their old garage south of Mercer, PA on Rt. 19 at the time and any potential customer bringing that rumor up, my friend's Dad (a mechanic) was asked to take the potential customer for a ride down U.S. 19 to disprove that theory!

[8E45E]

Regarding '59 Chevys--I'm sure some here have heard the old saw that the rear ends lifted up at speeds of 70 or more mph. Supposedly that was even a rumor when the cars were new. An old friend's Dad worked at Kimes Chevrolet in their old garage south of Mercer, PA on Rt. 19 at the time and any potential customer bringing that rumor up, my friend's Dad (a mechanic) was asked to take the potential customer for a ride down U.S. 19 to disprove that theory!

The video link in BP's first post showing '59 Chevrolets on the track at high speeds confirm that! ----> http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...ghlight=nascar

Craig

[JRoberts]

[52-fan]

Interesting that in 2438 there is a 51 Stude on the car lot and a 50 just up the street. Must have been a few in that town.

[JRoberts]

[JRoberts]

[Bullet]

Love the picture in 3416, but would he 50 Champion Custom have a hood ornament. I did not think so. I also like 3431 that is so typical of small town Studebaker dealers.

mark

[kurtruk]

Love the picture in 3416, but would he 50 Champion Custom have a hood ornament. I did not think so. I also like 3431 that is so typical of small town Studebaker dealers.

mark

Interesting things in that photo. There is a Stude 2dr sedan right next to the subject car. Look beyond the model's left arm, and through the windshield. Clearly a Stude roofline. Are we seeing the hood ornament from the second car? Hard to make out the front bumpers. Also further back in the background looks like a '47 Commander hood ornament silhoutte in gray. And I see a fender top ornament back there that could be Stude also.

[Bob Andrews]

Wow; we hit 157,141 Views on this long standing String! I see that the normal 2 line header could not handle that many digits and had to go to FOUR! Probably quite a while ago, but it does really show up & look different in the current string list.

Look what you started Bob! This could be costing us Hundreds!

It really is something. Old photos of cars in every day scenes is one of my absolute favorite parts of the hobby. I never get tired of seeing them. I love seeing that so many others feel the same way, and find contributions to add. I don't get here as much as I used to, but when I do, the first thing I like to do is check out new pictures that have been added to this thread.

personally, I hope this goes on forever :-)

[aarrggh]