2012 Cavalcade at the Cal Auto Museum

News Alert! "California Automobile Museum to feature classic Studebakers in January Car Club Cavalcade Exhibit - The California Automobile Museum will host the Karel Staple Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers' Club in its Car Club Cavalcade Exhibit for the month of January. From January 7 through February 4, visitors will enjoy an array of cars from one of America's earliest automakers."

Click here for the Cal Auto Museum website.

Click here for pics from the January 2011 Cavalcade. Different cars are being featured this year, so check it out.

New Studebaker Gear - Vent Screens - Glove Box

A added a few new "brightworks light' accessories to "Doc" this past weekend. Here are photos of the new glove box, vent screens, vent seals, and a license plate frame that was given to me as a birthday gift.

Muppet Movie - 1951 Studebaker Commander

The Studebaker National Museum is looking to raise $40,000 to restore one of the 1951 Studebaker Commanders used in the Muppet Movie. Here's a fun clip of the car in action.

1962 Studebaker Champ for Sale

There is an amazing fully-restored 1962 Studebaker Champ pickup truck on eBay. From grille to back bumper this is a great looking truck. Click here to see this truck.

We're in the SDC's Turning Wheels!

What an awesome surprise. "Doc" was featured in Turning Wheels' roundup of International Drive Your Studebaker Day 2011 photos. TW is the official publication of the Studebaker Drivers Club - 12,000 members strong. This is a great honor - many thanks to TW editors' for choosing our photograph.

November Studebaker Meet-Up

We had a great meeting of the Karel Staple Chapter of the SDC in Sacramento, CA today. We had three Bullet Nose Studebaker Champions, Hawks, and many other wonderful cars in attendance.

1953 Studebaker Commander Starliner Coupe

Another great "My Ride" story.

"I bought this ride in the fall of 2010 because I wanted to indulge my lifelong passion for everything automotive and because I (and many observers) consider the Studebaker Commander Starliner to be the most beautiful American car of its era. Originally conceived as a concept car by the design studio of Raymond Loewy, the coupe received so much attention that Studebaker decided to make it a production vehicle."

Read more at SFGate.com. Photo copyright SFGate.com.

1951 Studebaker Champion Convertible - Sacramento, CA

Well, well. Look what turned up at my local car museum! A nice 1951 Studebaker Champion convertible automatic. Pretty rare feature combination for a 10G model.

View this car on auction at eBay.

Studebaker Pickles - Oakland, CA

I've seen Studebaker cars, Studebaker pies, and an effort to revive the Studebaker automobile. Now, I've been given Studebaker pickles! The Oakland company features handmade pickled goods - labels to letterpress to spicy picked epicure foods. Find them at Studebaker Pickles dot com.

Trapped by Genius - Studebaker

Sad to hear about musician Sly Stone's hardship. Hopefully he can create music from this challenging experience and get back into a home, some counseling, and (as he requested) a new paint job for his beloved Studebaker.

"Over the years, Stone has dropped tens of thousands of dollars on his other hobby: automobiles. In his early days, he drove a Jaguar XKE he painted purple. There were Hummers, a London taxi and a beloved Studebaker, which Stone asked to have painted in exchange for this interview."

Read the full article here.

History of Suicide Doors - 1951 Studebaker Commander

A great explanation of why "suicide doors" were invented.

"These front suicide doors were a common practice from the late 1920s and into the 1930s. My 1931 Hupmobile four-door had these doors, and my dad's 1951 Studebaker Commander had the rear suicide doors."

Read the full article here.

Valve Cover Races - 2011

We had a great first annual Karel Staple Chapter Valve Cover Race today in Fair Oaks, CA. "Doc Junior" won "Best Boy's Car." I think we had the sympathy vote ... or we won based on the two little helpers I brought with me, ages seven and three.

Hot Chili And Cool Cars Come To Rocklin, CA - Packard Hawk

"Hot Chili And Cool Cars Come To Rocklin" takes place on Saturday, September 17th. L.C. of the Karel Staple Chapter of the Studebaker Drivers Club will be showing a rare 1958 Packard Hawk - only one of 100 still in existence - at the event.

See the video at KCRA.com.

International Drive Your Studebaker Day 2011

It's International Drive Your Studebaker Day! It was a beautiful drive to Clarksburg with one frustrating moment of vapor lock that almost got me towed. All in all, a great time out with a great result; "Doc" made it home sans tow, and we met some kind folks in Freeport and Clarksburg to boot.

Richard Carpenter's 1963 Studebaker Avanti

Interesting factoid: Richard Carpenter of "The Carpenters" music duo is a car lover. Richard has 25 cars including this beautiful 1963 Studebaker Avanti.

See Richard's Avanti here.

See Richard's full car list here.

2011 California Automobile Museum Car Cruise Photographs

Dad with Dr. Brown, a beautiful group of Studebakers from the Karel Staple Chapter of the SDC, and more.

Photographs from the 2011 California Automobile Museum Car Cruise

Additional photos:

1950 Studebaker Champion - 1942 Dodge Pickup

On our way to the 3rd Annual California Automobile Museum's Car Cruise.

Stolen 1955 Studebaker President - Sacramento, CA

Our dear Sacramento Studebaker (Karel Staple) Chapter member Stan H. passed away a short time ago. Adding to his family's grief is the theft of Stan's 1955 Studebaker President. Someone broke into Stan's garage and stole the car! If you see this car anywhere, please report it to your local police and cc: HawkTalks.com.

Details:

Make: Studebaker
Model: President
Doors: 4
License Plate: EHH525
VIN: 7808209
Colors: Sea Foam Green and White

*** UPDATE ***

WIth help from the owner's son-in-law, who scoured Craig's List, the owner's tools and the 1955 President were found. The thieves were arrested and half the tools and the car were recovered. The car repairs will be covered under the homeowner's insurance policy.

Photos:

Oldsmobile Holiday 98

My coworker's mom spent eight years restoring this beautiful 1954 Oldsmobile Holiday 98. She sourced, installed, buffed, cleaned, directed, and put a lot of emotion into restoring her dream car. Here it is at the 2011 Oldsmobile National Car Show in Reno, NV. This was the car's debut, so a pretty special time was had by the owner.

Read more about this model car.

Top 50 Pizzas - the "Purple Pig" from The Rolling Stonebaker

The Food Network ranked the "Purple Pig" from The Rolling Stonebaker - a retrofitted 1949 Studebaker firetruck - as one of the Top 50 pizzas in the USA!

Read the full article here.