Studebaker Avanti Door Latches

[psdenno]

  Studebaker Avanti’s used conical door latch mechanisms made by what company?

[Dwight FitzSimons]

Kiekert, of Germany

[psdenno]

2 hours ago, Dwight FitzSimons said:

Kiekert, of Germany

Correct!!!  That certainly goes deeper than the answer I had in mind.  I was looking for the name of the automobile manufacturer that used the same latching system on their cars.  Dwight, great show of trivial Avanti knowledge, take the rest of the day off.  😎

[mfg]

Just now, psdenno said:

Correct!!!  That certainly goes deeper than the answer I had in mind.  I was looking for the name of the automobile manufacturer that used the same latching system on their cars.  Dwight, great show of trivial Avanti knowledge, take the rest of the day off.  😎

I also would have said Mercedes…Dwight is ‘deep’ indeed!

[psdenno]

3 minutes ago, mfg said:

I also would have said Mercedes…Dwight is ‘deep’ indeed!

Mercedes is generally mentioned as the manufacturer of Avanti latches.  But, that's incorrect.  The company during the early Avanti years was called Daimler Benz.

Mercedes is the end product, not the company.  The name of the company from 1926 to 1998 was Daimler Benz.  Named after Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz.  It then became Daimler Chrysler and is currently named Mercedes-Benz Group AG.    

Mercedes was the name of the daughter of a driver who raced Daimler cars in the early 1900s.

And so ends the automotive history lesson for May 9, 2026.