1964 Studebaker Line up

Studebaker's president, Sherwood Egbert, introduces the Studebaker line up; the Lark, the Wagonaire and the Avanti.

[@nemo-nb3gh]

The Avanti is a truly unique classic sports car .

[@nemo-nb3gh]

My dad bought a used powder blue Wagonaire when i was a child . It was standard shift . Had problems with the clutch sometimes . It took all 6 of us and my uncle 600 miles to stay with his mother in Brooklyn Ny and we went to the New York City World's Fair 1964 , saw the usual sights of the big apple and i almost fell off the top of the pedestal (150 ft) of the Statue of Liberty(155 ft). . Pizza shop in my once removed grandma's neighborhood in Brooklyn sold big square slices for 15 cents each .

[@dougfinlay7528]

The 1964 year was a big improvement in styling and I had hoped it would save them, but it came too late. Also, the Avanti was an advanced car in a day when tail fins were still seen on a Cadillac. But the Studebaker plant was old and the economies of scale didn't exist like they did with GM, Ford and Chrysler. In the 60's major body style changes happened often, sometimes in only 2 or 3 years, and the costs associated with design and retooling meant a lot of cars had to be sold. Also, the Studebaker dealership network slowly deteriorated with many dealers selling Studebaker as a secondary line. In our town the Pontiac dealer sold Studebaker and few were kept on inventory and only rarely in the showroom. Pontiac was starting to get hot and Studebaker was not, hence the dealer strongly favored Pontiac. Regardless, when I heard the news in 1963 (around Christmas, I think) that Studebaker would cease South Bend production, I was quite sad. They had been in existence so long and 64 was the best year--styling. AMC was essentially suffering the same economic fate, but it just took longer.

[@scootergeorge9576]

Brooks Stevens did a masterful job at Studebaker, doing for pennies, what would have cost GM much much more. His 1962-64 GT Hawk is a great example.

[@scootergeorge7089]

The Avanti was a radical fiberglass GT body on a Studebaker Lark convertible chassis. And the Lark chassis dates back to the 1953 Champion.

[@patriley9449]

Disc brakes in 1964 . Impressive !

[@scootergeorge9576]

Like Corvette!

[@KingRoseArchives]

Thanks for watching and for coming along on the trip. More to come.

[@neildickson5394]

Poor Sherwood Egbert. He tried so hard, up against a unsupporting Board of Directors that wanted one thing, to be a conglomerate and ditch the automotive division. Egbert had Cancer and the board finally got him replaced and closed Souh Bend. The cards were stacked against Egbert just as they were with Packard's James Nance in the mid 50's.

[@JeffDeWitt]

Very cool, never saw this one before. Wonder what difference it would have made if Egbert hadn't gotten sick.

[@christopherangel6690]

I had a 64 Cruiser. Best Studebaker I ever had.

[@sonicbeam100]

Mr. Egbert passed in November 1963 at the age of 49. Studebaker needed to sell 20,000 Avantis in order to survive. Unfortunately the body maker, it was fiberglass, could only produce 1200. Existing orders far exceeded Studebaker's ability to produce. If the Board of Studebaker had fully supported Egbert, and Egbert had not been battling cancer. I believe he would have saved Studebaker.

[@scootergeorge9576]

The Avanti was delayed by production delays. And it faced stiff competition from the all new 1963 Corvette Stingray. And Avanti was sitting on a Lark convertible chassis that dated back to 1953 and still relied upon an obsolete king pin front suspension and live axle in back. Sales were poor. Shortly, the South Bend plant closed and production shifted to Canada; Daytona (Lark) with Chevrolet driveline. At least it got a decent OHV 6...

[@seed_drill7135]

@showlogicprod The Lark was just a downsized version of the full sized '58 models, which were still riding the same chassis from '53.

[@robertmoney6662]

He was 49 when he died, but he died on July 30, 1969. He resigned as president of Studebaker Corporation on November 24, 1963. Serving a Board of Directors that had been aiming for years to get the company OUT of the car business could not have been an easy job, but he gave it his best.

[@slortchannel]

BTW thanks for posting this incredible body of work. I'm enjoying the trip.

[@KingRoseArchives]

Probably to see if I was paying attention.:-) With the jumble I have of material from different dates it's sometimes hard to get a fix on exactly when these things were produced. I'll give it a look and correct. Thank you.

[@6286668]

The boat in the Wagonaire is a scream...I'm going to try that! I'll let you know how it works out!

[@alanolson6913]

Advanced design, disc brakes and interior room. Studebaker was close to being “on the ropes “ by this time. They were over 100 years old when they went out of business here in the US. A truly proud marque and an innovator in advancements. They tried. Along with Hudson, Nash, Packard, Marmon and later, AMC.

[@KingRoseArchives]

Gave it a look. Sherwood Egbert says it's the 1964 line up and when you look at the license plate it's a 4. It's just the typeface they use, plus the lack of clarity makes it look like a 1. But thank you for alerting me to what might have been a mistake. I do make them. Far too often.

[@slortchannel]

Yes, you are correct, damn that Bodoni Poster Condensed! I always questioned that font's readability.

[@12345682900]

The mismatch fender paint on that 4-door sedan is real eyesore as it's quite noticeable. How is it no one else noticed?

[@wileycoyote64]

Mr Egbert was a hero!!

[@RTS222]

Wonder if that Wagonaire driver is going to try and put the car in his garage with the boat sticking up? Better order the disc brake option!

[@walterweddle7644]

When plant was moving to Canada the funds that had been promised to provide pensions for thousands of vested Studebaker employees were gone.

[@T-41]

All of the range of Studebaker products for 1964 were very attractive. Unfortunately the market didn’t care after hearing many years of unfavorable news convinced buyers that Studebaker was not going to survive.

[@KingRoseArchives]

Please post when you do:-)

[@5610winston]

Four across at 1:12. Try getting that past legal nowadays!

[@pl5624]

That front fender doesn't match in color...

[@scootergeorge9576]

I wonder if the South Bend Indiana factory was till operating when this commercial was shot. It was shut down in December, 1963. After that, Studebakers came from Canada, eh.

[@wileycoyote64]

Wonder Why no Hawks were in this ad?

[@sutherlandA1]

Marty Martinez the avanti replaced it I'm sure

[@seed_drill7135]

@@sutherlandA1 No, they were both offered in '64 but neither made the shift to Canada. Neither did the pickups or large trucks.

[@holmgrown]

I like my 62 Transtar by far

[@1518karen]

Eventually, if they had been able to hold on, all Studebakers would have been based on the Avanti

[@slortchannel]

Wonder why they put a 1961 model plate on a 1964 Lark (0:46 sec)??

[@garypaul1033]

The quality is rather fuzzy and it is actually a "4" but you are right, because of the lack of clarity and the design of the number, it looks like a "1."

[@jeffmorse645]

Last desperate gasp.

[@maryrafuse2297]

The Canadian plant existed before, well before, the US plant shutdown. It was not a case of shutting down the US plant and then moving to Canada. One might be suspicious that the US federal government simply made more room for Japanese auto sales in America. Both the US and Canadian governments should have made a greater effort to save Studebaker. Obviously when the US government made no real effort on behalf of Studebaker then the Canadian government could see Studebaker as simply a sinking ship. One thing is sure, Studebaker was not popular with the big three and the big three ruled American commerce.

[@waltpike3039]

Thought they went out of business in the usa in 1963 ?

[@bogee4u]

your new model year use to always comes out in the fall ...for the holidays. Why do it in January..the middle of winter??

[@gcfifthgear]

@@bogee4u Studebaker announced the closure of the South Bend plant on December 8, 1963. Production was transferred to the Hamilton, Ontario plant in early 1964; the Avanti, Hawk, trucks and all body styles except sedans and Wagonaires were discontinued.

[@scootergeorge7089]

@@gcfifthgear - Canadian built cars used Chevrolet motors, eh.

[@gcfifthgear]

@@scootergeorge7089 True! Wonder what could have happened had the Chevy performance options been available on the '65-'66 models!

[@scootergeorge7089]

@@gcfifthgear - Also unfortunate that Avanti, Hawk, and pickup production was stopped. The hydraulic cam L-79 would have been nice. I doubt the FI would have even been considered. It was a Chevrolet exclusive. And in '65 the Big Block 396 came out...

[@wileycoyote64]

Time for Glasses ,it says 1964

[@Pisti846]

They didn't give the 64s a chance.