Like newish: ’63 Studebaker Avanti
On March 18, 1933, Studebaker entered receivership. The company had been struggling with its debts, exacerbated by the problems of the Great Depression, but would manage to make a resurgence. It would, however, be dogged by financial problems until its final demise in 1966. Sherwood Egbert arrived as Studebaker’s new president in 1961. Egbert’s halo car was the Avanti. While Brook Stevens was updating bread & butter models, Egbert recruited industrial designer Raymond Loewy who had considerable auto design experience. Egbert knew what the new car should look like. Loewy took Egbert’s vision and sequestered his highly talented team in a rented desert ranch house near Palm Springs. Loewy gave his men instructions that established the Avanti’s design theme, such as “Coke-shape a must” and “wedgy silhouette.” Egbert wasn’t a “car guy,” but knew a winner when he saw one. He was delighted with the car, and Studebaker’s board approved its construction just five weeks after Loewy’s team began work on it. Read More