Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Studebaker Avanti

studebaker_avanti_enhanced

Here's another beauty I photographed at Bright's. I don't know the year, but I recognized it at once as a Studebaker Avanti. Somebody back home in Jackson, Mississippi, had one when I was growing up. Seems like it was some local TV celebrity, maybe Bob Neblett, the Reddy Kilowatt weatherman on Channel 12. I don't know exactly why I'm associating him with a Studebaker Avanti, but it's sort of like a multiple choice or true/false test question--you really ought to go with your first choice.

By the way, most of the time these days I can't visit as many blogs as I'd like during the week, but I certainly hope to be able to make up for it on the weekends. Don't give up on me, OK? Thanks!

1 comment:

momom said...

Since I'm a product of the 1950s, I remember Reddy Kilowatt! He was the cute cartoon man (electricity) on the side of the power company's trucks. My friend's dad worked for the power co., and let us play on his truck. He told us that Reddy Kilowatt would be sad if we hurt his truck.''

My boyfriend in 1965 had a Studebaker, 1959. It was a "whipped up" model, expensive for its time. I thought it was the most hideous thing I'd ever seen, but hey, it was a freebie from his dead uncle. Now it's a collector's item. Didn't a Mercedes designer do Studebaker's? I think so. Looking back on some cars that were thought to be ugly or weird when compared to the norms of the times, those cars don't look so weird now. They were ahead of their time. A few of them still do look ugly, though.

The Edsel, for example. That centered front grill work. Looked like a gaping black hole to another plane of existence. The world wasn't ready for that one! The cars of the past eras, like history, reflect the times. I think the Avanti looks good even today. Didn't one of James Bond's girlfriends drive one?