My Father the Car - Studebaker - Canada

The Internet makes for some winding roads. I found this commentary/synopsis of the new book, My Father the Car, by way of TreeHugger.com > Canoe.com > Autonet.ca. Endemic to Canadian audiences, this quick article provides for an interesting, alternate entry into Stu Chapman's book.

"With a workforce of 1,200, the Hamilton plant produced cars that were sourced almost entirely in Canada, including locally produced Stelco steel and Firestone tires. Since South bend was no longer manufacturing engines, they were obtained from General Motors’ plant in nearby St. Catharines."

Read the full article on AutoNet.Ca.

Featured on Mike's Show N Shine

I want to thank Mike's Show N Shine for featuring our Studebaker Champion today. The article struck a nice tone, and I also appreciated Mike's inclusion of my photographs. Thanks Mike!

Read the full article on Mike's Show and Shine here.

1950 Studebaker Champion Regal DeLuxe Fully Restored

"Murray Welsh has no explanation as to why a 1950 Studebaker Champion Regal Deluxe sedan is parked in his garage – other than its peculiar appeal."

"The bullet-nose Studebaker was built in the automaker's South Bend, Ind., factory in August 1950 and was then shipped to Philadelphia, Pa. Welsh and his wife, Linda, encountered it more than 45 years later when they went Studebaker-shopping about a decade ago."

"During the eight years that Welsh has owned his Studebaker, he has driven it about 12,000 miles. He wanted a distinctive car to drive – and that's exactly what he got."

Read the full story on the Palm Beach Daily website.

1955 Studebaker President

"I used to own this car so I can tell anyone interested that it is a 1955 Studebaker President State Sedan. It was the top of the line 4-door in 1955 and very few have survived due to lack of collector interest. About 14,500 were built. There was also a detrimmed Deluxe sedan of which only 1,019 were built.

The President series included a 2-door hardtop coupe that was specially trimmed and badged to become the President 'Speedster' Special, the originals of which were trucked around the country for the Autoramas in late '54. They were popular enough that Studebaker put the car into Production, originally only in Green & Yellow with a Yellow leather interior, and later in Black & White, Gray and White, and Pink and Gray all with an Ivory leather interior. 2,215 were built and they survive in a very high % due to brisk collector interest.

The President in this pic is all original but should be on wide whitewall tires."

See photographs of the 1955 Studebaker President here.

1950 Studebaker Champion - Wedding Present

Charlotte Goldberg fondly remembers her wedding gift - a 1950 Studebaker Champion (the photograph corrects the author's error). Goldberg and her husband will be married 60 years this month.

"My husband, Harold, and I became engaged on March 5, 1949, and the following Dec. 18 we were married. I had always thought to have a large wedding, but my parents gave us a choice. They said, "Would you like a large wedding or would you rather have a smaller one with family and close friends?" They added that if we chose the smaller wedding, they would order a brand new car for us as their wedding gift. We didn't hesitate and chose the smaller wedding. This is the cute little 1950 Studebaker we received."

Read the full article on the St. Petersburg Times website.

Hemmings Classic Car Magazine - February 2010

Studebaker-Packard fans will enjoy the February 2010 issue of Hemmings Classic Car Magazine; the entire issue is dedicated to Packards. There is an interesting feature about the Studebaker President/Packard Clipper.

More about the 1957 and 1958 Packard Clipper.

There are also some shots of the Packard Clipper on Jalopnik.

Life in 1950 - Studebaker 1950 Champion

What was life like in 1950? Here are a few facts from the year in which my Studebaker was built and sold.

Finances:
- Average income: USD $3,216
- New car cost: $1,511
- Loaf of bread: .14c
- Gallon of gas: .18c
- Pound of coffee: .70c
- Gold per ounce: $35
- New house cost: $8,450
- Dow Jones Average: 216
- Minimum wage: .75c

Life expectancy: 68.2 years
US Census reports population of 150,000,000 people

Sports results:
- Ben Hogan won the US Open
- The NY Yankees won the World Series
- The Cleveland Browns won the championship
- City College of New York won the championship

Top music:
- Mona Lisa
- Good Night Irene
- Music, Music, Music
- Guys and Dolls

1947 Studebaker M5 Pickup Truck - Well Said

You don't have to be rich to have fun.

"It wasn't the Studebaker's inherent beauty that motivated me to shoot this feature on Bruce Johnson's '47. Sure, it's a neat ol' truck but what motivated me is the fact that it's a low-buck owner-built one that exemplifies something I've been preaching for years: You don't have to be rich or a mechanical whiz to enjoy the fruits of the classic truck hobby. All one needs is the desire, some free time, and a few stray bucks here and there to end up with something that'll be worth its weight in gold in self satisfaction and a whole lotta fun."

Read the complete article on Classic Trucks.com.

1964 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk - SF Gate

Great new article on SF Gate about a 1964 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk, GT Hawk.

"The previous owner was the original owner. He was losing his eyesight, and his daughter was anxious to see this rare Studebaker with 130,000 miles on the odometer find a welcoming home. So I carefully drove it home to Oakland and parked it in my driveway. It sat for months under a car cover, and the restoration of the car proceeded slowly.

Since the engine runs hot and burns oil, I drive the car sparingly. My last "long" trip was to Half Moon Bay, where it navigated Highway 1 over Devil's Slide. Before that, I drove it to a Studebaker club meeting in Turlock held in conjunction with the annual auto parts swap meet. Everywhere I go in the East Bay, pedestrians and motorists stare at the car."

Read more from this article at SFGate.com.

Studebaker Scotsman - Popular Mechanics

Popular Mechanics had no love for the Studebaker Scotsman ... nor the Rambler in 1958. Read the full article by clicking on the image below. Quote, "It's a plain Jane -- a dull, unexciting machine."

Many thanks to my friend at eichlerific.blogspot.com for the article.