1963 Studebaker Avanti & Lark TV Commercial

[OsbornTramain]

What's wrong with the ladies eye lashes? they look spindly

[Orphanauto]

I learned to drive in my 1st car, a 63 Lark. Notice the sliding roof stationwagon. I had one of those once too. Cool cars.

[studebakerempire]

STUDEBAKER IS BACK!!!, you must gooogle plunderhere. enter 'SUPERCAR"

[PHAEDRIDER]

my dads firs auto accident involved one of these trying to squeeze between his car and the traffic signal.. the avanti lost.. he says he could not believe that someone had made a car out of plastic.

[OsbornTramain]

I guess he had never heard of a Corvette, they had Plastic Bodies since 53

[PHAEDRIDER]

oh yeah.. huh..

i guess that hadn't occured to him when he was telling me the story, it meant more to him to point out that the car got shredded.. i'd love to own an avanti, but i'd prefer a daytona or a commander..

[sambethune]

The Avanti and the Corvette were made from fiberglass, not plastic. There is a difference.

[gymnastix]

You seem to know about cars & I've always wondered about this--

One always hears the adage, "They don't build 'em like they used to," but were the older cars actually better built than cars of today? And I suppose better built doesn't necessarily mean safer. It was my understanding older cars were made mostly of metal & to fold like an accordion upon impact--but for safety's sake or because they were cheaply constructed? Which about any of this is true, and which are myths?

[gymnastix]

Also, if the older cars all had airbags & seat belts, would they be just as safe or safer than cars of today?

I certainly prefer the look of older cars to the mostly non-distinct look of the compact cars & SUV's of today.

My favorite is still the classic, '67 Ford Mustang in fire engine red, and the close cousin of that is the '68 Chevy Camaro, which my sister had as her first car in light blue.

[60spastlife]

Here is my 2 cents. It is indeed true, they do NOT build them like they used to, however, build quality and safety have both increased, not regressed as that statement so often suggests.What has been lost, unfortunately, is the styling and character that defines so many cars of the past. I have many other points, but i dont wanna type them all out here. I must add that I am an"automobile enthusiast" and im not trying to insult older cars, they are what I prefer actually.

[gymnastix]

I've also always loved the look of those '66 Alfa Romeo Spiders, and even the Austin-Healy MG's; also the '53 Sunbeam Alpines sports roadster (driven by Grace Kelly in the Hitchcock film "To Catch A Thief").

For larger cars, the classic '65 Chevy Impala convertible always impressed me, as did my Dad's '62, silver-blue Buick Electra, which he bought used after trading in his '57, blue & white Dodge Custom Royal, the latter not too sporty but still sporting those great fins!

[gymnastix]

There are some newer cars I do like--the VW Beetle has a modern-yet-classic look, bears enough of a resemblance to its classic model that makes it unique. I always liked the old Bugs and the VW campers as well.

And the new Mini-Coppers are about my favorite, though I've also spotted some smaller cars with running boards lately that almost hearken back to cars of the '40's (don't know their make, though?).

[tomservo56954]

@gymnastix There's nothing like a midget policeman, is there?

[gymnastix]

And, of course, one can't do much better than the original '66 Batmobile, basically a refurbished '55 Ford Futura (from my understanding), that was custom built as it was.

[tomservo56954]

@gymnastix It was the Lincoln Futura show car.

[GenericGene]

Great Old AD - Great Post.