Roger Ebert: If You Were a Kid in the 1950s

A fun photo retrospective of the 1950s ... including a bullet nose Studebaker.

View Roger Ebert's full post here.

1958 Packard Hawk - Rare - For Sale

Super-rare find! Love the catfish nose. :-)

"958, the last year of Packard production, brought forth approximately 588 of the fastest, sportiest, Packard-badged Studebakers. Essentially a luxurious version of the 1957 Studebaker Golden Hawk 400, and powered with the same 289 V8 topped off with a McCulloch supercharger, the Packard Hawk's controversial styling may have been the reason only 588 were sold. Most of the Hawks were equipped with the Borg-Warner three-speed automatic transmission. This rare Hawk is one of approximately 28 produced with the B-W T85 3-speed w/overdrive manual transmission. There isn't enough to go around, don't let someone else beat you to this true collector car."

View the Packard Hawk listing on eBay.

New Family Member - 1942 Dodge Truck

We have a new family member! A 1942 Dodge pickup truck with modern power, brakes and A/C. And while I still hold out hope for "the Studebaker 2R in Curtis Park," I do love the nose and grill on this Dodge.

A bit of history on Dodge trucks:

"- First the engineering and design work to develop a light-duty Dodge military 4 wheel drive truck began in 1940.

- Second, the first light-duty factory built 4WD pickup was introduced in 1946 (The Power Wagon will be covered in a later segment).

- Third, these were the first pickups to be assembled in Dodge Truck's huge, new trucks-only manufacturing plant.

- Fourth, Dodge was the first of the Big Three truck manufacturers to offer a diesel powered truck. It was all the more remarkable because Chrysler engineered and manufactured its own heavy-duty diesel engine.

- And lastly, these pickups are the most popular pickup series with Dodge truck collectors."

More on this Dodge pickup model.

La Mesa’s Own Mile of Classic Cars - Studebaker

A fun Studebaker story.

"Gene Hamilton’s time machine transports lovers of Hudsons and Studebakers to the glory days of La Mesa Boulevard and 10-cent Evening Tribunes.

We come to the Studebaker lot, with weird cars designed like the hood ornaments on a Buck Rogers spaceship. Here is Carl Burger’s Dodge/Plymouth showroom, showing cars with stodgy breadbox silhouettes."

Read the full narrative on Mount Helix Patch.com.

1950 Studebaker Champion Starlight Coupe - $10,995

Is this car a steal? The price is very nice and the pictures are amazing. I realize that it's not a show car, but the resto. is really well done. I wonder what the undercarriage looks like.

See the full listing on Gateway Classic Cars dot com.

Karel Staple Chapter Meet-Up - Harry's Hof Brau

There were some new (to me), great cars at the Karel Staple Chapter of the SDC meet-up today. Here are pics of:

- 1951 Studebaker Commander
- 1963 Studebaker Avanti
- 1964 Studebaker Cruiser
- and a great Studebaker Power Hawk

The Quest to Keep Studebaker Alive in Payson, Arizona

Such a cool article. I'm headed out to buy the hard copy version!

"I have a phrase, ‘You can drive a Studebaker forever.’ My lifelong ambition is proving that’s true."

"During his 31-year career as a jet- and industrial-turbine repairman, Ken Michael started collecting, driving, and restoring Studebakers as a hobby.

Michael fell hard for the styling of the Raymond Loewy–designed Studebaker Starlight coupe he bought in 1959, as well as the six other Studebakers in his collection. After retiring in 2002, he expected to split his time between fishing and restoring his cars. But people with Studebakers started calling him to fix their cars. The Studebaker needy kept piling up; last summer, Michael hired two technicians to help him with the seven customer cars he’s restoring. For each job he takes, he has to turn down two. We visited his shop in Payson, Arizona, to find the secret of his prosperity."

Click here to read the full article and to see the photos on Car and Driver's website.

Pink Bullet-Nose Studebaker Champion Golf Cart

Below are a couple of fun photographs that came to me via the SDC Karel Staple Chapter email list. The workmanship on the cart is very nice. Would it rate a "4" or "5" at judging? It certainly would qualify as a modified Studebaker.

M2 Machines - Studebaker - Photos

M2 Machines is sponsoring a photography contest on Facebook. Among the entries are a few very cool photos of the new Studebaker truck line. For those that are not familiar with M2, they make Matchbox-style toy cars.

The link and a few photos are below.

See details about the M2 photo contest here.