Studebaker made a 289 cu. in. V-8 that was the basis for the Avanti blower motor. It weighed almost twice as much as the 289 motor that Ford put in the Mustang. The company had been starved for cash for a decade before it finally failed; their little sedans weren’t comfortable, economical or pretty and the Hawk had turned into a fat junior T-bird. Raymond Lowey’s Avanti was not the first contribution to Studebaker but it definitely was his last.
“their little sedans weren’t comfortable, economical or pretty”
My first car was a hand me down from my Grandfather: a fourteen year old Studebaker Lark.
It was ugly as hammered sh*t.
It definitely wasn’t comfortable.
It surely wasn’t economical.
But I could fix anything on that vehicle, and for its time, it was a very reliable car. An old man who lived not too far from me had a whole field of old Studebakers and I bought parts from him for a song. I think he wanted to help a kid with his first car and he sure did.
I loved that car!