Twofer Tuesday returns with 2 freaking supermodels

GOING OUT WITH A BANG

Can we take a few minutes to admire one of the most beautiful automobiles ever created? How about TWO of the most ultra-rare, ultra-sexy, powerful and elegant last-gasp hail Marys of all time? Behold:

In the parking lot of a Scranton, PA train museum of all places I ran across two examples of the mighty Studebaker Avanti.

Just look at this thing! 

This is a Studebaker Avanti from either 1962 or 1963 in Velvet Black. This car was built by a company that was 110 years old at the time. Studebaker was founded in 1852 as a producer of wagons. To think that a company that made wagons for the Oregon Trail was also responsible for a vehicle that looks like it came from outer space is remarkable.

This example was fitted with the optional Paxton supercharger from the factory.

The Avanti is a design from the great Raymond Loewy. His list of successes is staggering; the Shell, Exxon, TWA, and BP logos were all his work as were Coca-Cola vending machines, Lucky Strike cigarette packaging, and the Greyhound Scenicruiser bus. He started his relationship with Studebaker by creating the Bullet Nosed coupes of the early '50s with the wraparound rear window. 

This is one of the very few cars that I love every inch of. You can stare at this for hours and continue finding details. The angles of the front bumper are so complicated and subtle in their beauty. That tiki style S on the hood is nestled within a chrome detail that mimics the bumper edge.

Well this happens to be a former National First Prize car show winner which is pretty much the only reason you would bolt anything to the outside of this ride. Can I get a shout-out for that Avanti emblem?

One of the most unbelievable facts about the Avanti is that it went from design to fully realized clay model in 40 days! Legend has it that the president of the company doodled some sketches on a napkin during a flight and handed them to Loewys team as inspiration. You know what other iconic design was scribbled on a napkin? The VW Beetle! Bring napkins back people and lets design the future!

This car has the automatic transmission but with the supercharger I'll allow it. Look how pretty the interior is on this thing.

This font just makes me want to sip on a Mai Tai and eat a Pu Pu Platter.

If the body looks impossibly swoopy and elegant for metal stamping that's because it is. The body was made from fiberglass by the same Ohio company that made bodies for the Corvette.

The rear speaker was in itself a rarity for any car from the era.

Studebaker built the Avanti to save the company from its downward spiral. Unfortunately it didn't work and so after 1963 all domestic automobile production ceased. Trucks continued to be made and their Canadian division built cars through 1966 but for the U.S. this was the last gasp.

Before we hold a funeral for Studebaker let's check out the Blue car.

This is another '62-'63 in Riviera Blue.

The lines on the Avanti seem to come down to this; it it's made of metal the lines will be sharp and creased. If it's made from glass or fiberglass it will be rounded completely.

Every once in a long while you might see one of these at a show but this was ridiculous.

When Studebaker ceased production of the Avanti it was already regarded as one of the most elegant designs in history. Two Studebaker dealership owners bought the Avanti design, tooling, and plant where it was manufactured in order to continue producing examples. They built the Avanti (known as Avanti II at this point) with a Corvette engine through 1982. The next buyer ruined the design in my eyes by replacing the round headlights with square units. Ownership changed a couple more times with different iterations like a convertible and even a 4 door before stopping for good in 2006.

I like both wheel treatments equally.

Bringing the air for the engine in through this lower scoop was revolutionary for the time. Under the skin this was a traditional front engine V8 powering the rear wheels. Not having a big grill in the era of gargantuan grills was bold.

The staggered hood bulge and passenger side vent adds to it all for me. The fact that the hood bulge continues through the windshield as the top of the dashboard is just cool. By the way notice where the windshield steps up at the bottom for that bulge. Replacing any of the glass on this car would be crazy expensive!

While I wish they removed the GPS for my viewing pleasure this interior is amazing. This is fitted with the 4 speed manual trans which ought to be a lot of fun. The gauges are like beautiful watch faces. Even the steering wheel is classy.

Both Studebaker and Packard were highly respected automakers in 1954 when they combined forces to briefly become the Studebaker-Packard Corporation. However the finances of Studebaker were woeful while the designs of Packards were very long in the tooth. For the 1957 and '58 model year there were Packards available that were really rebadged Studes. Unfortunately they added an elongated nose to the grill that the public referred to as the Fishmouth. Ask Edsel how they did with a maligned front end design. 

I've never been in an Avanti or even heard one run but I would love to at some point. They manage to look fantastic and modern even 54 years after their introduction which is no mean feat.

Twofer Tuesday/Wednesday returns with 2 1970s cars that couldn't be more different

TWO SIDES OF THE 1970S COIN

I was on my way to drink these delicious watermelon tequila drinks on the sunny rooftop of Brooklyn Crab in Red Hook when I spied this little punk through the bars of the Fairway parking lot:

SWEET! What we have here is a beautiful 1977 Honda CVCC Civic in Forel Blue. We know it's a '77 because the grill and hood design only lasted from '75-'77 and this great color was introduced in 1977. This is the car that really put Honda on the map. The CVCC stood for Compound Vortex Controlled Combustion. Basically the design of the heads and fuel mixtures burned so efficiently that these cars passed stringent emissions without a catalytic converter.

They are also so tiny and cute that parking was easy and the fuel economy staggering.
One great anecdote about the CVCC is that the CEO of GM was asked about the technology and why it wouldn't be used in their cars (Ford and Chrysler had both licensed the technology from Honda). The GM boss stated that he had studied the design and "while it might work on some toy motorcycle engine I see no potential in using it in one of our GM car engines".
Word eventually got back to the great engineer and company founder Soichiro Honda. Soichiro took it upon himself to buy a brand new 1973 Chevy Impala with a 350 engine and have it freighted to Japan. He instructed his designers to build a CVCC unit for installation on the mighty GM powerplant. Afterwards he sent the CVCC equipped 350 Impala back to America for testing by the EPA. Not only did it work but it blew the emissions numbers of the catalytic cars out of the water. The moral is this: don't tell Soichiro Honda what can and can't be done!

The Achilles Heel on these rides was their prone to rusting out. The problem was so dire that Honda recalled all cars for front fender replacement on the condition that rust had taken hold within 3 years of it being sold new. Unfortunately that was the case for most CVCCs sold in states that used salt on the roads.
But enough of that innovative world-changing Japanese design. How about some good old American hubris I discovered last time I was in Alameda California?

 This unapologetic beast is a 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Laguna in either Tuxedo Black or something close to it. The Laguna was the top of the heap for Chevelles produced from 1973-1976. The main styling difference is the front bumper being incorporated with the grill and lights into a single polyurethane unit not unlike the Pontiac GTO Endure Front of the day.

This was the era of Colonnade styling where the rear window was steeply raked and the thin pillar behind the door could support the body weight in a rollover crash. In '73 the regular Laguna sported this small opera window in the side of the landau vinyl roof. However you could also order a large quarter window that reached back all the way to the rear window.

I dig the Chevelles of this era as it manages to still look pretty tough even though it's a large car (for the record this was a mid-size Chevrolet in '73!). The four round lights in the back are similar to both the Camaro and Corvette, and the Colonnade roof give it a very forward-leaning stance. This is the same year that Ryan Gosling drove in Drive (though his was a Malibu; one step down from the Laguna). Even with the back bumper painted black and those Flowmasters poking out from underneath I would proudly roll in this ride.

Twofer Tuesday returns with a couple of Malaise-era barges

"MY 98 WAS 87 ON THE RECORD YO"

I was ambling along the tony Carrol Gardens neighborhood when this schlub got in the way:

This grubby slab is a 1983 Oldsmobile 98 Regency Brougham in White. It is filthy and beat.

That octagonal hood ornament is nowhere to be seen on every Oldsmobile 98 I can find from '79-'84. My guess is that it was snapped off at some point when the car was somewhat new and that sort of thing was common, only to be replaced with a Pontiac Grand Prix or full-size Buick hood ornament.

This was the full-size pinnacle of luxury for Oldsmobile customers in 1983. Everything about this ride says ancient technology; big carbureted V8 up front, rear wheel drive, body on frame construction, and more thought to cushy plushness than performance.

This beast is a veteran of the Brooklyn streets! You can see that the owner has welded on additional huge bumper guards to augment the smaller factory ones still in place. They've also screwed the thick black rubber to the front of the guards after heavy use.

 There are reasons most cars are some sort of sandy beige gray these days; they tend to hide the everyday grime and wear better than say a white car like this. White cars show every grain of dirt and impending rust just like black cars highlight even the smallest scratch or scuff.
Love the mismatched $15 plastic hubcaps Mr. Luxury Owner Bro.

In between the front and rear door glass you can see a vertical black rectangle. These were the original opera lights typical of Malaise-era luxo barges. When new they would cast a white glow when the headlights of running lights were on. There are no bulbs to replace as they are actually electroluminescent panels; printed layers of phospor onto a surface that conducts electricity. The result is a glow much like a nightlight. Much to my astonishment I found a 10 page tutorial online on how to restore them on your Malaise yacht. Thanks Internet!

Whoa! Up close the roof is NASTY to the point of absurdity. This thick icing treatment might be waterproof but it looks like it was applied by the same little old lady that "touched up" the Jesus portrait on a Spanish church wall a few years ago.

The overall design inspiration for this ride was a brick. Those have to be the biggest reverse light ever put into production.

This corner sums up this ride perfectly; more welded bumper guards, white touch-up paint directly over the pinstripe, and more silly putty filling up the space between the bumper and the body. At least he placed several plastic reflectors to the bumpers in case you were about to miss this beast somehow.

Something that feels strange to type is that this is actually a much more aerodynamic redesign of the 1977-1980 version! That actually was an almost perfect square.

Being a full size American car these still sold very well to everybody accustomed to such things. As hard as it is to imagine now there was still a great deal of animosity towards Japanese and German imports in 1983. My own grandfather flat out rejected a Honda my aunt purchased new until she lead him out to the metal plate on the doorjamb where he could see that it was built in California. If you want a glimpse into the state of domestic auto production I highly recommend the first film by Michael Moore called Roger & Me.

Don't you just love German Black Forest Cake?
This Regency and Brougham emblems denote the highest of gaudy luxury. It included extra plush velour seats, deep carpeting, this sweet formerly-vinyl roof, and of course those opera lamps.

Is this where I should feel bad about pointing out all the home repairs? Naaa.

Now that's a lock! Your puny Club means nothing compared to my armored neckbrace that actually contains the entire ignition switch!
The AM/FM Stereo in the dash has no cassette player that I can see. The year before this one was the last for the 8-track player in Oldsmobile. Amazingly there was the option of having an 8-track player installed by the factory in certain GM trucks all the way through the 1988 model year. Incidentally that was the year the last 8-track commercially produced came out; Fleetwood Macs Greatest Hits.

Well let's just back away from this dirty slab of cream cheese and gaze upon its sibling.

Here we have exactly the same year, make, and model in Black (though it is NOT a mighty Brougham). This one is in great shape!

This is the correct hood ornament for the '83 98.

The lack of a side parking light between the lower edge of the bumper and the wheel is an indicator of the non-Brougham model.

This ride is parked near my shop and is definitely someones pride and joy. These were winter pics when every car gets dusty but this car is usually gleaming.

The Ninety-Eight name originally meant full-size 90 Series with an 8 cylinder engine. The meaning was moot when 6 cylinder engines became available as standard from 1981-1982.

This is the standard placement for the non-Brougham opera lights. Most look like this; faded and cracking from the sun and utterly devoid of lighting ability.

This car has a small handful of aftermarket doodads but it's just short of too much. The fender skirts might have been an option, but the mudflaps and chrome visors over the side windows are add-ons.

We can see a couple of hail-Marys to curry favor from the cop running your license on the bumper; 2 American flags and an NYPD sticker. There were also a couple of police stickers attached to the windshield on the drivers side.

The black wheels look pretty tough on this ride.

There isn't much else to say about this black beast. Chuck D used to brag about driving his Olds 98 on his first couple of albums. Eventually though his "98 was 87 on the record yo, so now (he drove) Bronco". Rolling effortlessly from GM to Ford? Chuck D is a magnanimous customer.

Well there we have it; two of the biggest last-gasps of the Malaise era. The punitive Federal bumper regulations of the '70s were rolled back in '84 meaning that these were the last vehicles with egregiously massive guardrails hanging off the ends. The following year would be the last for rear-wheel drive 98s. It also happened to be the first year for the FWD replacements making it possible to go into a dealership and have the old and new next to each other for sale. Whatever, over and out.