Archive for January, 2016

Kadett-Vette – 1973 Opel GT

January 16, 2016

Sometimes, the best sports cars are the ones based on pedestrian mechanicals out of a boring old sedan. You get easy access to parts and an engine that was designed to haul around more passengers and body than the sports car ever will, and if you look at some Italians, it’s not always at the expense of a sweet engine. But we’re not looking at Italians today, we’re looking at Germans, and so you’ll have to put up with the underpinnings of the Kadett B, though this is not all bad since that car came with a 1.9 liter engine putting out (by 1973) 83hp and a respectable amount of torque.

this 1973 Opel GT

1973 Opel GT left front

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Worried – 1957 Studebaker President

January 15, 2016

So now you’ve seen the advanced designs Studebaker offered in the middle of the 1950s, you’ll see how well it worked out for them. Ford and GM’s aggressive cost-cutting, stronger marketing, and high labor costs combined with quality control issues meant things didn’t pan out as hoped. So for 1956, Studebaker took what probably looked like a safe path and released designs that better matched the competition. Interestingly, you can kind of see the sentiment of company managers in the car’s “facial expression” – the headlights look like they have a bit of a furrowed brow, like they’re concerned about their prospects. Nevertheless, let’s look at this 1957 Studebaker President for sale for $3800 in Seattle, WA.

1957 Studebaker President right front

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Stylish Struggle – 1955 Studebaker Champion

January 14, 2016

Studebaker’s mid-1950s sedans are really forgotten styling winners. Overshadowed as usual by the Big 3, their styling is much more understated with more tasteful use of chrome and fins than their Michigan competitors. And in fact, it would be interesting to put these side by side with a Citroen ID/DS of the period and compare similarities – a relatively unadorned design, full-wheel polished metal convex hubcaps, and similar contours in the front end come to mind. And both were created by illustrious designers. Check out this 1955 Studebaker Champion for sale for $3500 in Dallas, TX.

1955 Studebaker Champion right front

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