US Auto manufacturing deja vu.

[Willy]

Ballooning labor costs (workers and retirees were among the highest paid in the industry) and quality control issues wreak havoc on the company's balance sheet. Professional financial managers stress short-term earnings rather than long-term vision.


Sound familiar?






























Studebaker in late 1950s/early 1960s

[Blue Devil]

Studebaker in late 1950s/early 1960s

That would make it, ...Cryslobama...?

Heard he already ran them into bankruptcy, ...after another big tax-payer bail-out...

[Hans Jaeger]

Looking at the title, I thought it might be something like this... a car I saw in Stratford, Ont. just this week... caption says '56, but I think it's a '58 on second thought...

[Snuffy]

1956 http://www.web-cars.com/corvette/1956.php

1958 http://www.web-cars.com/corvette/1958.php

I'd guess you're right Hans.

[Foggy]

Studebaker closed and padlocked it's original factory by about 1956. It was combined with liquid assets from Willys and Henry J to become Rambler. The last "badged" Studebaker was the fiberglassed body Avanti - but it was not produced in the defunct Studebaker plant.

Rambler was consolidated with Jeep under the AMC (American Motors) Corporation. AMC and the Jeep Toledo Plant were then bought out by Chrysler Corp. Already by this time Chrysler was being run by accountants and not engineers.

Daimler Benz then bought control of Chrysler and added another layer of accountants. We all know that Benz had a recent fire sale of Chrysler.

BTW - Chrysler products themselves had no quality issues from the norm. The PT Cruiser suffered some issues because the lowest bid parts suppliers won out with the accountants.

[Hans Jaeger]

Without checking, I think Studebakers were produced until 1965 though - at least in Canada. The Avanti maybe a year or two longer?

[Hans Jaeger]

I have a few references here at home and I just checked one of them.

Studebakers were produced until 1966 - and only at the Studebaker plant in Hamilton, Ontario from 1964 onwards. The last ones were powered by Chevy engines including the legendary 283 V-8.

Avanti was produced only in 1963 (3,744) and 1964 (795), and ceased production after the 1964 production run.

I think some of the Studebaker Hawks were among the most beautifully-styled cars ever produced.

[CybrSlydr]

-cough- Aston Martin DB9\Vantage\Vanquish S... -cough-

[AckAck]

Cybr - you should get that looked at.

Brian

[CybrSlydr]

Nothing more beautiful than a new Aston Martin. :D

[Snuffy]

Nothing more beautiful than a new Aston Martin. :D

Oh Jordan ... please! please tell me you didn't just say that ...

:emot-angel:

[CybrSlydr]

Oh, I did 1 and I'll say it again and again! :D

The V12 Vanquish S is a drop-dead gorgeous car - best looking EVAR! :)

[Willy]

I have a few references here at home and I just checked one of them.

Studebakers were produced until 1966 - and only at the Studebaker plant in Hamilton, Ontario from 1964 onwards. The last ones were powered by Chevy engines including the legendary 283 V-8.

Avanti was produced only in 1963 (3,744) and 1964 (795), and ceased production after the 1964 production run.

I think some of the Studebaker Hawks were among the most beautifully-styled cars ever produced.


A couple of Studebaker dealers bought the rights and tooling to the Avanti when the main South Bend Indiana factory was shut down in 1964 and continued limited production of that model as the Avanti II well up into the 1980s. They used small block Chevys in the Avanti II as well.

Ditto on the Hawks. Very sharp looking cars for the time.

FWIW, my first car that ran was a 1960 Studebaker Lark VIII. Built like a tank, you couldn't kill that car.

[Foggy]

You guys are right on the Studebaker timelines - I didn't know about the Canadian Studebaker plant.

The original Studebaker V8 engine had valve guide issues that couldn't be addressed financially to update the production line. This is how STP oil additive came into existance - a can of STP was required at every oil change with the Studebaker V8 to keep from sucking oil down the intake valves.

The engine itself was a basically good design and they even put belt driven superchargers on some of them. After the Studebaker swap to a Chevy V8, Andy Granetteli marketed STP as a performance engine and high mileage engine additive - think he made millions on it.

[Hans Jaeger]

Aston Martin DB9... nice car design, for a modern car.

Studebaker Hawk... a distinctive classic.

Maybe just me, but I salivate more over a car from the 50's or 60's than ANYTHING they produce today. Not necessarily that Hawk; there are so many gorgeous designs to choose from in that time period.

[CybrSlydr]

Actually, that car isn't a DB9 - they labelled it wrong. That's the V8 Vantage. The smaller Porsche-killer.

Can't stand car designs from the 50s and around there. I find most designs pre-modern to be ghastly and hideous. :S

[Hans Jaeger]

Actually, that car isn't a DB9 - they labelled it wrong. That's the V8 Vantage. The smaller Porsche-killer.
Can't stand car designs from the 50s and around there. I find most designs pre-modern to be ghastly and hideous. :S

Blasphemer! :D

Some of them are pretty far out, granted, but there's such a wide variety that it's easy to find pleasing ones.

Everything nowadays looks pretty much the same. You have to look at the nameplate to find out what it is and who made it. Sports cars are no exception - aside from a few tweaks to grille and tail-lights you could almost clone most of them.

How 'bout this one--- looks like a whale shark about to suck all the plankton off the highway! :)


If ever there was an automobile that failed to capture the public's attention, the Packard Hawk was it. But time has a habit of changing people's perceptions. Even though it still looks homely after all these years, Packard's lonesome Hawk is starting to attract a new group of car collectors who want to stand out from the crowd with an automobile that indeed looks different. In fact, compared to many of today's new cars, which all seem to share an ubiquitous, melted-ice-cream look, the Packard Hawk looks downright attractive and in a very unique way. A more distinctively styled automobile you would be hard pressed to find.


... from Hemmings.

[Blue Devil]

Oh, I did 1 and I'll say it again and again! :D

The V12 Vanquish S is a drop-dead gorgeous car - best looking EVAR! :)

If you like that gaudy "Euro-trash" look...

Now, ...here's a car you can take home to meet your mother...

2005 FORD - GT

[CybrSlydr]

That car is hideous, Hans! Lmfao

As for the Ford GT, yes, that is a very nice car.

But calling an Aston Martin "euro-trash" is inexcusable!

Aston's have something few cars have - class, sophistication, presence, beauty; all rolled into one.

[Hans Jaeger]

But calling an Aston Martin "euro-trash" is inexcusable!

I kind of got a chuckle when BD called it "gaudy" and then posted a car that's gaudier! :D

Nice car, but there's nothing understated about a Ford GT.

I was thinking about your comment earlier about not liking 50s and 60s cars and wondering about it. I went to my books and yes, there are cars you can say are odd, etc. but there are some real beauties too. I think maybe that comes through better when you see them in person; have you been to some classic car rallies? Man, when you see all that chrome and the compound curved fenders and the sweeping lines, and when you get a look inside, I think you get a better apreciation for the smorgasbord of design - and distinctive design - that was offered up in those decades.

[CybrSlydr]

Sorry Hans. Been to car she's with numerous classics and the only ones I like are the Bullit Mustang and the Shelby Cobra.

All others are just hideous. They're gimmicky! Need I mention tail fins?? LOL

They have zero aerodynamics.

[Hans Jaeger]

Sorry Hans. Been to car she's with numerous classics and the only ones I like are the Bullit Mustang and the Shelby Cobra.

Then you're a hopeless case. :laugh:


All others are just hideous. They're gimmicky! Need I mention tail fins?? LOL They have zero aerodynamics.

Here's zero aerodynamics - the Honda Element and the Ford Flex.

... or of course a "zero aerodynamics" 50's car... :laugh:

[Willy]

Always did like the Raymond Lowe (sp?) styled Studebakers. And they don't get much better than that '53 there.

Hans, kids today just have no soul ;)

[CybrSlydr]

And I'll be the first to say the Flex and element, along with the Scion's are hideous boxes on wheels (sorry Mask!).

[Hans Jaeger]

Hans, kids today just have no soul ;)

I guess it all boils down to what you grow up with... though personally I'm also a big fan of 20s and 30s cars that were around long before I was born. :)

There are some nice designs around nowadays, but mostly in the sportier badges. Your average car nowadays, though, doesn't have much style. You get used to them, but they don't speak to the soul for sure, and they look too much alike - streamlined front, but high rear deck (look back-heavy), and with that annoying front-downward stance.

[bzhyoyo]

As for the Ford GT, yes, that is a very nice car.

I'm completely with you about the Aston Martin, but not with this car: brute force, yes, but style, none.

As for 50s design, I very much like the PT cruiser myself. I think it's very well-done in this neo-60s (or 50s) style. Pity it was not well-rated by second-hand users reliability-wise or I would have bought one.

http://www.dragtimes.com/images/8215-2002-Chrysler-PT%20Cruiser.jpg

[Hans Jaeger]

Re: the Ford GT...


I'm completely with you about the Aston Martin, but not with this car: brute force, yes, but style, none.

You must dislike many of the Ferrari designs too, then. Very similar but without the racing stripes.

I do like the retro look of the PT cruiser as well.

[Snuffy]

I got stuck in a rental cruiser ... one of the worst cars I've ever rented.

There was so much road noise in the car that I couldn't think half the time.

[CybrSlydr]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3rP7Bxgx3w

Mmmm....

Someday....

EDIT: However, I have to say this car is by far, the best sounding car I've ever heard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHGeZ45saKw

5.5L Supercharged V8. Mmmmm.....

[Snuffy]

You might have to get a real job Cyber ... :ugly25:

[Willy]

My brother owns a couple of PT Cruisers and swears by them. I never could get past the Chrysler name.

[Foggy]

The new domestic pony cars - Dodge Challenger, Ford Mustang and Chevy Camaro have about the best style and performance for the money - if anybody has some money to burn...