Posts from ‘Studebaker’
1938 Graham
Though American automobile industry was fully established–and thriving–by the time the 1920s rolled around, the auto business was still relatively young when the Great Depression settled upon the nation at the tail end of that free-wheeling decade. After an extended period of economic growth and prosperity, carmakers found themselves needing to retool their carefully crafted advertising to cope with the new realities of severe economic turmoil.
1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith by Vignale (L), and some of Collectible Automobile Publisher Frank Peiler’s “what-if” designs.
By Frank Peiler
I recently came across a couple photos of a 1954 Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith with a one-off body built by the Italian coachbuilder Vignale. This car was special ordered by a New Jersey man named Joseph J. Maschuch, and it was finished in the spring of 1955.
1963 Buick Riviera (L), and some of Collectible Automobile Publisher Frank Peiler’s “what-if” designs.
By Frank Peiler
Buick’s 1963 Riviera is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cars ever produced by any auto manufacturer. This svelte personal-luxury hardtop coupe artfully blended American and British style, and it changed the Buick brand’s somewhat stodgy image almost overnight. General Motors styling chief William L. Mitchell freely admitted to borrowing some of the ’63 Riviera’s key design elements. Its razor-edge roof styling, for instance, was inspired by certain 1950s English custom bodywork.
1952 Mercedes-Benz W194 race car (L), and some of Collectible Automobile Publisher Frank Peiler’s “what-if” designs.
By Frank Peiler
It was early 1952 when Mercedes-Benz was in the midst of developing the 300SL sports car. The skeletal frame, drivetrain and suspension were beautifully engineered masterpieces. However, the original form-follows-function body looked like a half-used bar of soap with a cap stuck on top. Let’s say that in this post-WWII era of rebuilding, there wasn’t much of a design department at Mercedes-Benz that the company could turn to.
1972 Plymouth Satellite four-door sedan
Summertime is car-show season, and we always try to take in as many automotive get-togethers as we can. Local cruise nights, marque-specific dealership-lot shows, fancy concours gatherings, or what have you… it’s all good. Our Chicagoland home base has plenty of these kinds of events to offer, and in the upper Midwest, car folks know to take advantage when the weather is warm (or, let’s face it—flat-out hot), because it won’t be long before summer’s over and the cold and snow come again.
1963 Oldsmobile Jetfire
Legendary Chicago Cubs second baseman Ryne Sandberg racked up nine Gold Gloves during his 17-year career as a big-league ball player. That’s a number Ryno can point to with pride, and it’s a number even casual baseball fans can appreciate. Not that the famously modest ex-Cub spends much time defending his career, but if he had to, the stats are there.
My Favorite Grilles: Fifties Edition
Is your favorite grille on Frank’s list?
Collectible Automobile publisher Frank Peiler has been working around automotive publications since the early Seventies, but his love of cars goes back much further than that.
1951 Studebaker 2R6 Delivery Van
Note: The following story was excerpted from the April 2007 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine.
There’s an old and very common expression for describing someone who finds himself mired in difficult circumstances. He’s said to be “up a creek without a paddle.” That almost literally describes the situation in which George Hamlin found himself when he first laid eyes on the vintage truck featured here.
Collector-car auctions sell plenty of high-dollar vehicles, but they also offer more-accessible classics. This 1963 Buick Riviera sold for less than the cost of the average 2018 Buick Encore subcompact crossover.
Every October, the Mecum Auctions road show rolls into Chicagoland for a weekend-long event that takes over the Schaumburg Convention Center in Schaumburg, Illinois. Like any of the major-league televised auctions, the 2018 Mecum Chicago shindig had its share of big-ticket featured lots. A 1979 Porsche 930 Turbo originally owned by legendary Chicago Bears running back Walter Payton was the star of this year’s show—it sold for $324,500, topping the list of results for the event.
What Was The GMC Envoy XUV?
Offered for only two years, the GMC Envoy XUV afforded owners an amazing amount of cargo-hauling flexibility, along with a slightly awkward profile.
It wasn’t a dream. You didn’t imagine it either—there really was a GMC SUV equipped with a retractable roof. To the uninitiated, that might not sound too odd, except that the roof didn’t retract back from over the passengers, sunroof style; it pulled into the center of the vehicle from over the cargo hold, creating what more or less amounted to a handy pickup bed.
