Quick Digression - 1946 -1949 Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine - Sacramento

There I was admiring a friend's Pontiac Silver Streak 8 and only 50 paces away sat this prime 1940s Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine. Gorgeous.

Read more on MotorEra.com.

Quick Digression: 1949 Pontiac Silver Streak 8 - Sacramento

A friend owns this Pontiac Silver Streak 8. The car is in amazing shape and is prime for a restoration ... though the patina paint contrasting the great chrome and white walls makes for a nice mix.

Read more about the Pontiac Straight 8 engine.

Studebaker Commercials - Duke University

What a find!

"Nearly 50 television commercials created for Studebaker from the D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles advertising agency archives held in the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History at the Duke University Libraries. The TV ads were digitized from the 16mm preservation film prints in 2009, as part of the AdViews Collection."

See the full archive here.

Ode to a Studebaker Lark - The Truth About Cars

"So stylist Duncan McRae walked into the studio and hacked off the hideous front and rear ends he had grafted onto the 1953 sedan body two years earlier. The result was a drastically shorter and cleaner car, but the passenger compartment was unchanged. A “compact” with the interior space of a standard size car; what a brilliant concept! The result was the exact polar opposite of the long and willowy Starliner coupes; Studebaker was going for the extremes. The new Lark shed several hundred pounds on the cutting room floor , allowing it to use the same little 170 CID flathead six that had powered the ‘39 Champion. Another twenty-year cycle repeats itself."

Read more on The Truth About Cars.

Studebakers and Packards Rally - Ohio

"On Aug. 28, Summit Racing Retail Store and the Ohio Region Studebaker club will hold their 18th Studebakers and Packards rally. The event will include all other brands of independent car companies. The show will run from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. rain or shine.

The event will include a car corral, show cars, special attractions, food vendors, event shirts, awards, 50/50 drawing and music by a disc jockey with 50s and 60s style tunes."

Get full details here.

Woodward Dream Cruise - 2010 - Studebaker

Will you be there? The SDC is meeting at "Hunter Blvd. (S. Old Woodward Ave) between Maple & Lincoln in Downtown Birmingham."

"Today, the Woodward Dream Cruise is the world’s largest one-day automotive event, drawing 1.5 million people and 40,000 classic cars each year from around the globe—from as far away as New Zealand, Australia, Japan and the former Soviet Union. North American cruisers from California, Georgia, Canada and all points in between caravan to Metro Detroit to participate in what has become, for many, an annual rite of summer."

Read more about the clubs attending the Woodward Dream Cruise here.

Hemmings Classic Car Magazine - Studebaker Lark Story

Count 'em ...

Four pages and 16 pictures of Dennis Gajda's classic 1962 Studebaker Lark in Metallic Green in the October issue of Hemmings Classic Car magazine. Outside of the SDC Turning Wheels magazine, when do you see this much attention paid to Studebaker? Thanks Hemmings!

Classic 1968 Porsche 912

Quick digression: A friend just bought this sweet 1968 Porsche 912. While I'm an Avanti man, I have to admit that a vintage Porsche is a very nice machine.

Read more about the Porsche 912.

Did You Know? The Avanti and Lark Share a (Modified) Platform.

There are some great tidbits of information in the October 2010 issue of Hemmings Classic Cars magazine, including the one about the Avanti and the Studebaker Lark.

"The Avanti was built on a modified Lark platform, a car that debuted in 1959. Later Avantis were based on the GM-body (Monte Carlo) rear-drive platform." I had no idea that these cars shared anything!

Check out the October 2010 issue of Hemmings Classic Cars for other great stories, e.g., the Checker Marathon, Ford Model T, etc.

See the Studebaker Avanti page on Wikipedia here.

See the Studebaker Lark page on Wikipedia here.

Radnor Concours - 2010 - Studebaker

This year, the Radnor Concours d-Elegance in Pennsylvania will feature the Studebaker mark, as well as Triumph motorcycles.

From their website:

"For our fourteenth year, we have a unique grouping of cars, carriages and motorcycles to present. Our main feature will include cars of Studebaker, one of America’s oldest names in the automotive industry.

The featured coachbuilder this year will be Pininfarina, perhaps best known for their work on some of the most beautiful Italian automobiles, such as Ferrari.

Our motorcycle field this year will feature British manufacturer Triumph as well as an outstanding selection of other vintage motorcycles. You may read more about these bikes on the Motorcycle page of the website.

If you would like to nominate your car for inclusion in the 2010 event, please download and send in the Nomination Form as quickly as possible."

Read more about the Radnor Concours here.

1961 Studebaker Hawk

Jalopnik featured the 1961 Studebaker Hawk in its article, "What's The Most Retro-Looking Car?" (image below)

"Whether it's a new car meant to look old, or an old car desperately trying to look new, we'd like to know what car looks the most retro in 2010. Our answer? The early 60's Studebaker Hawk. No doubt, they're awesome, but the late 1950s and early 1960s designers employed so many then-hip design cues in an attempt to look like the future it now looks hilariously old fashioned. Gun sights? Check. Dagmar-esque bumpers? Check. Fins out back? Check. Throw in two-tone paint and white-wall tires and it's more retro than Dick Van Dyke flying Pan-Am."

I must add that I love the Hawk models ... with a special place in my heart for the catfish-like Packard Hawk.

See the Jalopnik article here.

See Automotive History Online here.