Car show eavesdropping

[cobrajoe74]

Had my '82 at a well attended cruise-in last night in a downtown area that closes the streets surrounding a variety of stores/restaurants that attract non-typical car show crowds...heard the usual questions associated with owning an Avanti: "Who makes it"? (since it's not a Studebaker I tell them "Avanti makes it"); "That's made in Italy, right?" (I say "only if there's a little Italy in South Bend, Indiana"; and the inevitable "They made those in Canada" (which of course leads to a short dissertation of Studebaker & Avanti history).

I have overheard some discussions while hanging out in earshot of the car which are a little different. Perhaps because my car is black is why I've heard "It looks like the Batmobile" (usually by a kid)...also, usually from adults, "That looks like a James Bond car" (silver DB5 vs black Avanti II???...I guess it's just the sixties vibe it exudes)...and to me the most unusual (I've heard it from kids & women) "The front of the car looks like the back"(memories of the '48 coupe).

Just wondering if anyone else has heard similar comments or anything else funny/interesting...Joe

[Gunslinger]

"Is that a Corvette?"

"Is that a Cadillac?"

"Is it one of the ones made in Canada?"

"Does it have the Ford engine?"

"Is it Italian?"

"Was it made in France?"

"I've never heard of it but it's the best looking car I've ever seen!" (by a comely young lady when she saw my '02 Avanti)

Also...lots of thumbs up by other drivers in cars and on motorcycles.

[J Boyle]

"That a Jag-u-war"?

"Does it have a steel body? The Canadian ones had fiberglass."

Passerby..a 40-ish man: "Who made that?"

Me: "Studebaker."

"Who?, Never heard of them."

And so it goes.....

[Ernie]

Sometimes I get tied of those "same" questions and when people argue with me about the car, I reply:

"It was made by Studebaker, in Canada, by Italian immigrants, and has a Ford 289 V8!"

Gotta have fun with our cars!

[lschuc]

Joe:

the next time you hear someone say the Avanti looks like a James Bond car, just say, "Well yes, Ian Fleming owned a a black one too!"

Lew

Had my '82 at a well attended cruise-in last night in a downtown area that closes the streets surrounding a variety of stores/restaurants that attract non-typical car show crowds...heard the usual questions associated with owning an Avanti: "Who makes it"? (since it's not a Studebaker I tell them "Avanti makes it"); "That's made in Italy, right?" (I say "only if there's a little Italy in South Bend, Indiana"; and the inevitable "They made those in Canada" (which of course leads to a short dissertation of Studebaker & Avanti history).

I have overheard some discussions while hanging out in earshot of the car which are a little different. Perhaps because my car is black is why I've heard "It looks like the Batmobile" (usually by a kid)...also, usually from adults, "That looks like a James Bond car" (silver DB5 vs black Avanti II???...I guess it's just the sixties vibe it exudes)...and to me the most unusual (I've heard it from kids & women) "The front of the car looks like the back"(memories of the '48 coupe).

Just wondering if anyone else has heard similar comments or anything else funny/interesting...Joe

[okc63avanti]

A man in a business suit in his 30's walked up to me at a gas station and asked "what kind of car was it?"

I said "a Studebaker", He said "Oh its European", I said "No its American", He said "Never heard of it, are you sure?"

At another gas station someone asked me if my Avanti was an Aston Martin.... I lied and said no but its faster !!

[cobrajoe74]

Hear this a lot, too...instead of "uh-von-tee" its "uh-von-tay" (rhymes with Allante)...what's up with that???...Joe

[J Boyle]

On the Youtube page with the Avanti introduction film, someone posted a story I've never heard...

He calims to have had an Avanti II with a Corvette frame, powered by an Olds engine.

Okay, 87-89 Avantis had Chevy frames...I've heard Caprice and Monte Carlo...but never a Corvette.

Would a C2-C3 Corvette frame even work?

And I know later all GM engines were generic (after they got sued by an owner of an Olds who found out that his didn't have the advertised "Rocket V-8" but instead had a Chevy) and I suppose you could put an Olds engine in an Avanti...but still...

Anyone else ever herad anything like this?

[Gunslinger]

On the Youtube page with the Avanti introduction film, someone posted a story I've never heard...

He calims to have had an Avanti II with a Corvette frame, powered by an Olds engine.

Okay, 87-89 Avantis had Chevy frames...I've heard Caprice and Monte Carlo...but never a Corvette.

Would a C2-C3 Corvette frame even work?

And I know later all GM engines were generic (after they got sued by an owner of an Olds who found out that his didn't have the advertised "Rocket V-8" but instead had a Chevy) and I suppose you could put an Olds engine in an Avanti...but still...

Anyone else ever herad anything like this?

I have my '70 Avanti in the garage sitting next to a C3 (1969) Corvette...believe me, it would take either shortening an Avanti body or stretching a C3 frame to even come close to visually fitting. The Corvette has a wheelbase of 10"-11" shorter than the Avanti. That's not even allowing for frame attaching points, suspension, etc. If someone had enough money, time and engineering talent, I guess anything is possible, but what would be the point? It would be easier to do what a few Avanti owners have done...convert to an independent rear suspension and 4-wheel disc brakes.

It was around 1977 that GM changed all GM engines to "corporate" engines rather than identified by individual divisions...all became painted "Corporate Blue". There's been lots of different engines dropped into Avanti's over the years...Olds, Buick, Chevy (small and big block), Cadillac, probably even Ford and Mopar...V8 and V6. Just because someone can do it doesn't make it a match made in heaven. Who knows what kind of quality was done in some conversions? Some might have been very professional and some might have been poor to say the least. It makes me wonder what the end result was...whether it was worth all the effort involved.

Now...I have wondered how my Avanti would perform if I dropped in the 427 Tri-Power from the Vette! I'm guessing the front end bias would be so bad once the back tires stopped smoking, the car's steering would be so out of balance it could be dangerous in any direction but a straight line.

[Skip Lackie]

What Gunslinger said. I think we've all encountered people who assert, either in person or on the Net, that their uncle owns the last Duesenberg built or something else equally preposterous. Debating it with such people is like trying to teach a pig to dance.

[Stude5363]

Had my '82 at a well attended cruise-in last night in a downtown area that closes the streets surrounding a variety of stores/restaurants that attract non-typical car show crowds...heard the usual questions associated with owning an Avanti: "Who makes it"? (since it's not a Studebaker I tell them "Avanti makes it"); "That's made in Italy, right?" (I say "only if there's a little Italy in South Bend, Indiana"; and the inevitable "They made those in Canada" (which of course leads to a short dissertation of Studebaker & Avanti history).

I have overheard some discussions while hanging out in earshot of the car which are a little different. Perhaps because my car is black is why I've heard "It looks like the Batmobile" (usually by a kid)...also, usually from adults, "That looks like a James Bond car" (silver DB5 vs black Avanti II???...I guess it's just the sixties vibe it exudes)...and to me the most unusual (I've heard it from kids & women) "The front of the car looks like the back"(memories of the '48 coupe).

Just wondering if anyone else has heard similar comments or anything else funny/interesting...Joe

[Stude5363]

Had my '82 at a well attended cruise-in last night in a downtown area that closes the streets surrounding a variety of stores/restaurants that attract non-typical car show crowds...heard the usual questions associated with owning an Avanti: "Who makes it"? (since it's not a Studebaker I tell them "Avanti makes it"); "That's made in Italy, right?" (I say "only if there's a little Italy in South Bend, Indiana"; and the inevitable "They made those in Canada" (which of course leads to a short dissertation of Studebaker & Avanti history).

I have overheard some discussions while hanging out in earshot of the car which are a little different. Perhaps because my car is black is why I've heard "It looks like the Batmobile" (usually by a kid)...also, usually from adults, "That looks like a James Bond car" (silver DB5 vs black Avanti II???...I guess it's just the sixties vibe it exudes)...and to me the most unusual (I've heard it from kids & women) "The front of the car looks like the back"(memories of the '48 coupe).

Just wondering if anyone else has heard similar comments or anything else funny/interesting...Joe

My favorite 'over heard' comment came from a father to his young daughter (I think): daughter--"there's no grill"; father--"That's because its got a rear engine" comments on my '63. Dave, Michigan

[cobrajoe74]

Dave...maybe you can tell them it's the Avanti made by Preston Tucker!!!...Joe

[MikeValent]

Problem is, Lew, none of those people would have a clue who Ian Fleming was.

[Charlie Kile]

Problem is, Lew, none of those people would have a clue who Ian Fleming was.

One of the neatest comments I've heard about my black 84 with the resin bumpers was that "From the front it looks like "Darth Vader"

Now when I show it I place a Darth Vader Halloween mask on the hood!

Charlie RQB3921

[IndyJimW]

My favorite was from a guy at a filling station "Hey, isn't that one of those South Bend hot rods?".

Jim