The green Mitsubish Lancer Evo X is boasting 650 HP. The Bentley Continental GT (yes that's what's hiding under that awful body kit) brags of 800 HP. The Tundra? Well it's a huge lifted truck with green tribal grpahics...need we say more? And to think this is just the tip of the SEMA iceberg. [via MotorAuthority]

Speaking of Avantis, been meaning to send these shots for a while. I snapped this rather sad Avanti at the Leisure World (actually it's called Laguna Woods Village these days) retirement community near Laguna Hills, CA. Not sure what vintage it is — seemingly it's from the post-Blake era — but it sure doesn't have the style of the Stude or Avanti II versions. Whatever vintage it is, it does seem to use some "borrowed" GM components. Isn't that a side mirror from a C4 Corvette?

This car doesn't seem to get driven much. Every time I've seen it, it's been parked in the same place, just baking in the SoCal sun.

The third brakelight would imply that it is a 1986 or newer model:

The ground effects of this later-model body make the car look bloated. And the original curvaceous "coke bottle" lines have been toned down compared to earlier models:

Alloy wheel is reminscent of those on an early C4 Corvette...

And the instrument panel looks like it was taken from a 1976 Camaro

Evidently, in 1964 Studebaker built 465 of these - with 283 Chevy engines. So after building a Trans Am Camaro, this gentleman was looking for a new project. Something different to road race - a Chevelle, maybe a Nova. He found out there were FIA homlogation papers for a Studebaker, and this is what he built. A beautiful car, it ran pretty well and sounded great. He'll be back out with it over the 4th of July weekend at the SOVREN Historic races.

The Pininfarina-designed fastback body on the MGB-GT looks great, most of us would agree, but that old BMC B engine left something to be desired in the power department. From personal experience, I can say that an MGB can barely get into triple-digit speeds with a stock B, and the six-cylinder and Rover V8 versions aren't enough better to justify the funky handling. That's why what you need is an MGB-GT whose funky handling is justified... by the presence of a good ol' small-block Chevy. In fact, you need such a setup with the Added Handling Funk of a backyard IRS conversion, such as this 327-powered 1967 MGB-GT (go here if the ad disappears), with a price tag of just $2,500! The 327 is actually a 283 bored out and stroked to 327 specs (because 327 blocks are so hard to find?)... or maybe it is; the seller can't be sure. That won't matter much, of course, because you'll want to drop in a gnarly-ass 406 in it right away... well, that is if the Corvair transaxle can hold up. Yes, a Corvair transaxle, with the driveshaft coming in from the front! Don't fret about build quality, though, because this project was built by a NASA engineer in Huntsville. A small-block powered IRS MGB built by a rocket scientist and then stored for years in Missouri- what could go wrong?

You have to like that MGB-GT, but many of us won't allow our Hell Garages to be contaminated by the presence of foreign steel, plus the Hell-O-Meter™ reading of a lunatic factory hot-rod built in the last desperate throes of a soon-to-be-defunct American automaker may well be higher than that of a vehicle built under the evil spell of the Prince of Darkness. Yes, we're talking Studebaker Avanti here! You think it's impossible to get a project Avanti for anywhere near the same price as that MGB? Bah! You pessimists can just take your best shot at suspending some disbelief here, because I've managed to find this 1963 Studebaker Avanti (go here if the ad disappears) for just a bit more than half the price of the MG! Now, keep in mind that when you get an Avanti for $1,400, you don't get everything. However, the seller says it "has almost all the parts and a fresh engine," and you even get a Lark (not pictured) as a parts car! The photograph doesn't tell us much about the condition, but it's a safe bet that a word falling somewhere on the Adjectival Scale between "Execrable" and "Dreadful" would be pretty accurate. And so many questions unanswered! What kind of "fresh" engine are we talking about here? The 170 six-banger out of the Lark? Or maybe you've won the lottery with this car and you get a perfect NOS supercharged 289 crate motor! The seller claims "it is complete," so perhaps a couple of days of work is all you'll need to hit the road in your souped-up Stude!

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The Ford Mainline has a cool name, as does the Packard Patrician. Oh, sure, you can find all manner of old American vehicles with cool names, but we challenge you to find one that measures up to the Studebaker Dictator (OK, gauntlet thrown down, get busy with the names). Studebaker Dictator! Try saying it a few times. Take it for a spin around the block, see what you think. Of course, taking the name around the block will have to suffice for now, because this 1938 Studebaker Dictator (go here if the ad disappears) looks better suited for a drag- or maybe a scrape- around the block. But it's only $1,000. That's right, just a grand and you could be the proud owner of your own 60-year-old Dictator. You'll feel like Francisco Franco, only with mistresses and minus the brutality, as you cruise the boulevard in this fine Stude. Naturally, the seller says nothing about its condition, but you pretty much have to figure on fixing everything with a project like this, so any description in the ad would have been a waste of time. Supercharged 289? Why, of course- money is no object!


That Dictator looks like a strong contender, so we're going to break out the big guns from one of the PCH Superpowers here. Yes, the reigning PCH Intergalactic Superpower, Italy! And not just some sort of ordinary Alfa or X-1/9; no, we need a low-production Italian specialty vehicle, preferably based on a notoriously unreliable chassis. The OTAS 820 meets those criteria quite nicely, but is it even possible to find one within spittin' distance of the Dictator's price tag? Sure it is- just take a gander at this 1968 OTAS 820, which is priced at just $2,700 (or a dollar per rust hole). The seller says "THIS CAR IS MISSING THE ENGINE LID, REAR BUMPER, AND REAR EMBLEM," which means endless days of scouring the globe for OTAS parts, before you finally give up and have your local fabrication shop turn terrifying amounts of your cash into the missing pieces. But don't worry, because "EVERYTHING ELSE SEEMS TO BE THERE, EXCEPT WHAT THE RUST MONSTER HAS EATEN." The Rust Monster is always hungry for Italian food, even in California! Don't think of the negatives, though; just imagine this rear-engined Italian thoroughbred wailing through the turns on a picturesque mountain road, with you at the wheel. Of course, you might be 78 years old by that time, but it will all have been worth it.

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So... the weather cooperated yesterday and got some shots for you. Couldn't get in to see the engine, but I believe it's a straight 6. It stays parked on the street in a Seattle neighborhood, gets driven every few days. It appears to be the original color - it's a little faded. Very little rust as well. The smoothside bed is interesting - I believe it's the original instead of a stepside.

What's better than a 50s station wagon with vast expanses of chrome and crazy swooping body lines? Yes, you got it: a 50s station wagon with vast expanses of chrome and crazy swooping body lines and a Hemi! Just imagine the kind of hooned-up family vacations that were had in this 1955 DeSoto Firedome wagon (go here if the ad disappears) back in the day, with the unbelted kids and dogs wrestling in the back, Mom and Dad chain-smoking unfiltered Luckies up front, Patsy Cline on the AM, and formations of F-102s hunting Commies overhead. And, naturally, the sound of a 291-cube, 200-horse Hemi eating up the endless ribbon of asphalt. Now, to get this wagon back to that condition is going to take some doing, because the seller says it's been sitting since 1963 (actually, I suspect the seller is looking at the "63" series number embossed on all yellow-on-black California plates, meaning the car may only have been sitting since, oh, 1968). But it looks fairly complete, and most or all of the impossible-to-find glass and trim seems to be present. We're not sure what to make of the price, which is "5,000 asking ( firm )," whatever that means. A firm asking price probably has some negotiating room, we figure. Sure, every single component on this car will need to be messed with, but: Hemi Firedome Wagon!

The problem with a DeSoto, however, is that DeSoto was a division of Chrysler. Hemi or not, that's just too mainstream! Perhaps a Studebaker is the wagon for you! And not just any old Studebaker; we mean a genuine 1958 Studebaker Provincial wagon (go here if the ad disappears), available for the same price as the DeSoto. This one hasn't been sitting quite as long (a mere ten years), but the damper climate of Seattle means those promiscuous oxygen atoms have been busy gettin' down, gettin' funky with the iron atoms in this Stude's sheetmetal. The statement "Chrome removed and some sanding was done, but never finished" isn't very reassuring in this case, but compensating for that is a column-shift manual transmission with overdrive and some of the most outrageous fins ever installed on a station wagon. There's a Studebaker 289 engine, which we think is just pleading for the McCullough supercharger used on the Golden Hawk, and all the glass seems intact. How hard can this project be?

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The Lark was Studebaker's last-ditch attempt to regain some sort of toehold in the American car marketplace, and it didn't sell too badly. That wasn't enough to prevent Studebaker from abandoning ship in '63, (though they limped along a few years longer in Canada). The "VII" emblem means this car has the V8 engine, though in '60 that could have been either the 259 or the longer-stroke 289.


With its primer black paint and somewhat de-trimmed state, it's hard to tell whether this Lark is on its way to fresh paint or a more rodent-like appearance. It's definitely showing some East Bay pride with its big 510 emblem, either way.


This rear window treatment looked plenty dated by the 60s, but Studebaker had to work with what they had. Nearly 50 years later, it looks pretty good.

Is it just me, or does the Volvo 164 grille we saw yesterday bear an uncanny resemblance to this one?

Hmm... maybe.

I can't tell the exact year of this Stude, nor can I determine whether it's one built by Studebaker itself or the near-identical Avanti II built after the demise of Studebaker. The square headlight panels indicate that it's a 1964 or newer, and the bumpers indicate it's no newer than a '72 (unless, of course, it's been retrofitted... in which case all bets are off). Avanti experts, your help in pointing out year-nailing-down features would be appreciated here.


There's no way of knowing what engine this car has; it could be the supercharged Studebaker 289, but more likely it's the unblown 289 or some flavor of small-block Chevy (the early Avanti IIs came with Corvette-spec 327s).


In any case, it has a V8, and the primer paint job can mean only one thing: Cherry Bombs! Well, we can always hope.


The interior is in pretty decent shape, down to the original AM radio. Unfortunately, it's an automatic.


The styling was sort of an evolutionary dead end, but it sure as hell stands out in a crowd!


From this view, the Italian name makes sense, though hints of good ol' Studebaker keep it honest.

So the rotting, corrupt edifice that was 21st-century civilization has finally collapsed, and you and your bedraggled followers- I mean, "soldiers"- are holed up in a mud-walled compound stocked with freeze-dried rations and ammo. As warlord, you'll need a vehicle that impresses your subjects, yet is practical for a roadless environment. How about this Faun-Kraka, the ad for which may be the winner of the Jalopnik Least Informative Car Listing Evah Award? You get no price, no details on condition, no nothing other than a photograph of what appears to be part of the vehicle's nose and front suspension. We're going to assume that it doesn't run and needs a bunch of damn-near-impossible-to-find parts, and that the seller will be a very difficult negotiator. But still, don't you want a go-anywhere vehicle that folds up for parachute dropping? Here's a machine-translated rendering of a German Kraka website that will almost fill you in; Faun-Kraka experts, feel free to 'splain more to us about this fine machine.

But hey, maybe you feel that a post-apoc strongman should be surrounded by fierce German Shepherds, not fierce German vehicles. For you, we have this Studebaker Weasel, which drops a bunch of weight on both sides of the cool/hellish scale by having tracks! Yes sir, your soldiers will snap to attention when they hear the unmistakable sound of your tracked vehicle approaching through the woods. Technically, this Stude was known as the M29 back in World War Two, but if it's built by Studebaker we think you should proclaim it with pride, dammit! This one needs quite a bit of work (the seller says it's "nothing complicated that can not be done with a little knowledge or beer"), but it comes with some spare NOS treads. The original Studebaker engine has been replaced with a Ford six (boo!) and an automatic transmission (BOOOO!) but once you've got this thing in a billion pieces on your garage floor you'll be in the mood dropping in a blown Avanti 289 and 4-speed; hey, if you're in Hell already you won't even notice a 10° temperature increase.

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Related:
The Sliding Roof: It Didn't Do Much for Studebaker, Either [Internal]

There's a tremendous sense of irony to fusing the face of a 1950 Studebaker Business Coupe to a 1987 Ford Taurus Wagon. A mashup like this is the best confluence of whimsy, spare parts and cheap used cars we've seen in a really, really long time. [Thanks to Ryan for the tip.] – Mike Spinelli

1950 Other Makes Studebaker Taurus [eBay]

Related:
Nooooooooo! Mustang Cobra Mashup [internal]

From the Department of Cars Named for Haggis-Consuming Peoples of the Globe comes the Studebaker Scotsman. Designed to be a low-cost, deconted version of the company's Champion, the Scotsman started at just $1,776 when introduced in 1957. The Scotsman, with an extra-stonk V-8 was also used as Stude's entry into the police vehicle wars. For '58, the Scotsman truck was introduced, which featured no luxury and/or convenience items, but did feature plaid Studebaker decals in lieu of chrome. The car was discontinued after '58 while the truck carried cabers until '59. A few scant years later, the company was cryin' itself to sleep on its huge pilla. – Davey G. Johnson

Studebaker Scotsman [Wikipedia]

Related:
Former Studebaker Plant Destroyed in Fire [Internal]

Anyway, this is it. Hands down, my favorite hot rod at Detroit's Autorama show. The product of a long-gone chop shop somewhere in Ontario, this Stude has been chopped, channeled, lowered, and lightened. Man, just look at the way those skinny wire wheels in the back stick up over the bed. The devilish way those water hoses snake from the rad to the block, like a pair of horns poking out of it's head. That ivory colored steering wheel, the tilting windshield, the purposeful flathead, the subtle pinstriping... I"m in love.– Ben Wojdyla

Oh it's so good.

There's the money shot.

Related:
More on Autorama [internal]

I've always liked hot-rodded inline-sixes, ever since I rode in my uncle's triple-sidedraft-292/Muncie-equipped '49 GMC pickup and experienced that "oh shiiiiiiiiiit!" feeling that only way too much torque coupled with zero traction and a wild-eyed Minnesota biker at the wheel can offer. So what could make the 292 even better? Why, welding up a custom head out of two aluminum Pro Topline small-block Chevy heads, attaching a monstrous turbocharger, and dropping the whole mess into a '54 Studebaker, that's what! – Murilee Martin

THE 1000+HP CHEVY 292ci ENGINE BUILD-UP! [Custom Design Performance]

Related:
Leaning Tower Of Power Gets Blown For $400 [internal]

Life in the USSR, circa 1951, wasn't all gulags and long lines for sausage rations. Nyet! Turns out some of Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili's designers at ZIL/ZIS were hard at work coming up with the too-jaw-droppingly-awesome-for-words ZIS "112" prototype. Look at it. Look at it! That 50-Stude-zonked-on-Siberian-fly-agaric face! Had they been on the ball, the Commies could have seduced an entire generation of DA-hairstyled flathead-Ford-driving hoons away from their Detroit Iron and into chopped-and-channeled ZISs. The small-block Chevy would have been a footnote in automotive history! From there... well, you can see how the Cold War might have ended differently. Comrade. – Murilee Martin

History of the ZIL/ZIS [Autosoviet]

Related:
Chevy SSR Who?: Russian GAZ Concept [internal]

Haller hooked us up with this example of an overcooked holiday meal. During this year's La Carrera Panamericana, Rusty Ward came through this corner a tad bit too hot and ended up dumping his Stude cop car into a stream. Luckily, Rusty and his co-driver James Miller escaped intact, and even hammered the car out enough to participate in the last day of the race. Awesome on top of awesome. – Davey G. Johnson

Happy Holidays! [The Unlimited Class]

Related:
La Carrera Panamericana Hangovers [Internal]

Inverting the maxim constantly bandied about by competitors in the Gumball 3000 and Bullrun, among other events, La Carrera Panamericana is most assuredly a race. We've had radio silence from our correspondents from the last day as they were busy with qualifying (qualifying isn't mandatory for La Carrera, but a good session moves you up in the grid). Meanwhile, Haller got his blog on and has a cornucopia of snippets, including this Mini crash photo taken while the pilots of the diminutive British econobox suddenly noticed a Stude piloted by a couple of dudes named Carlos who ended up in the weeds. Thankfully, everyone was okay, and not only that the Mini's back on the grid. Oh, and Rachel qualified 16th of 103 cars in her mostly-stock Lotus.

The Unlimited Class Blog

Related:
More La Carrera Panamericana: Rachel Arrives in Veracruz [Internal]

So the veterans of the Fourth Battle of Bullrun aren't pulling into Manassas, VA tonight, but rather Kansas City, MO, after bombing down from Chicago via Saint Louis, presumably not stopping to check out the legendary screen door of Belleville, IL. Alex Roy has been aggregating anecdotes for us, and after the jump, we aggregate further.

First in? The Johannsen-piloted Magnaflow RS4. And hot on his vapor trails were the Porsche 911 GT2 driven by Tove Christensen, with Rob Ferretti in the SuperSpeeders Ford GT in third. What's more, Ferretti has now collected three tickets. Thankfully, we are not his underwriter.

Meanwhile, Rob Rill of Team Darkcyde (whose support Navigator, driven by Jason Garber, pulled into KCMO in fourth) claims that this is the heaviest law-enforcement presence he's experienced on any rally, corroborating Richard Rawlings' earlier report, as well as seven-rally veteran Nicholas Frankl's assertion that he'd never seen such a "harvesting season" as far as tickets go.

Speaking of the Frankls, Wonder Twin Annabelle was accosted for hitting 106 mph, and Frankl's report was actually issued to Alex Roy while he was following the police cruiser to the station in their Z06 with Annabelle handcuffed in the back.

Meanwhile, the Stude is semi-offically toast at this point, with Haller and Ward motoring along in Skiny's A6 4.2. and the Studebaker most likely to finish the journey back to Los Angeles in Richard Rawlings' Gas Monkey Garage trailer. More Bullrun badness to follow. Keep clicking back.

More on the Bullrun [Internal]

Just got off the phone with Haller, riding along with Skiny in the Audi A6 4.2. He reports that the Chicago to St. Louis lunch run has some really fast portions to it, roads where it would be theoretically possible to do 200+. Meanwhile, after almost scoring an engine last night due to the generosity of one of our readers (thanks, Steve!), Ward had us google Crower's number. He's gonna try to have the parts overnighted and see if they can't get the last two days of the rally in back in the Studebaker, which is currently travelling in Richard Rawlings' Gas Monkey Garage trailer. Best of luck, guys!

More Bullrun [Internal]

If anyone out there's got a speed shop in Chicago, or has a buddy who does, Haller and Ward need your help as of right now. They're headed into the City of Big Shoulders with the Stude on Rawlings' trailer, and Kevin thinks he knows what the problem is — the lifters in the Chevy small block are toast. They need to buy a set of solid roller lifters (aka cam followers), (preferably Crower, but brand isn't necessarily important), possibly a set of pushrods, and an intake gasket. If you can help, e-mail davey@jalopnik.com and we'll pass your info on to Kevin Ward.

From Scotto: "We're still in Michigan. We just saw two cars on the side of the road. The Matador Brothers in a Lambo just got pulled over. There's a yellow Murcielago, I think it's #37. They've been pulled over like four times." According to Alex Roy, the Matador boys were nailed for 10 over. Now, anyone who's ever driven in Michigan knows that people regularly drive 20 over the limit on ice, so the MSP is obviously enjoying screwing with the Bullrunners.

Rob Ferretti just got busted twice in ten minutes for 85 in a 70 in the SuperSpeeders Ford GT; at this point, it seems like the MSP is nailing anyone doing more than 70. They've got static radar towers that they're using to vector squad cars toward the participants.

More on the Bullrun [Internal]

As of right now, the Bullrunners are on their way to Chicago after leaving Toronto and heading toward Windsor and Detroit. According to Haller, the Stude is most likely toast after two more cylinders went out. The car is currently on Richard Rawlings' trailer. Speaking of Rawlings, the Texan has picked up another co-driver in the form of William Woo, whose yellow Murcielago took a dirt nap on the first stage, much as it did on the Bonneville Salt Flats during last year's rally.

Also out with fuel-pump problems is Hayden Christensen's Ferrari 360, who was not spotted by any of Roy's contacts in Toronto.

The first group of cars left Toronto at the same time, with the SuperSpeeders Ford GT of Ferretti and Lehmann-Haupt arriving in at 11:55, the Collins Brothers' 550 at 12:05, followed shortly by the Reicke RENNTech CL600 at 12:10, and the Team Darkcyde support truck at 12:10. Rawlings showed up 15th.

While the Canadian police did not seize vehicles as had been rumored, they did stop all Bullrun cars and form them into a convoy for the trip across the border. From Ferretti via Alex Roy, American police have an exact car count (57 vehicles), which the only could've obtained by cooperating with Canadian authorities, who had set up gauntlets using radar and laser at the same time. Meanwhile there's apparently a nationwide APB out on the Bullrunners. Yikes. The Collinses have just been nailed for doing 150mph in Michigan.

Here's the latest, fresh from Alex in our IM window: Main Bullrun Convoy suffering major "harvesting session" at hands of Michigan PD whilst taking I-94 West from Detroit toward Chicago. Team Frankl Twins (led by former Champion Team Polizei Bullrun co-pilot Nicholas Frankl) are leading convoy of 5-6 Bullrunners on safer route southwest from Detroit via US-12 in order to take I-80 West into the Chicago House of Blues checkpoint. Team Twins (Nicholas and Annabelle Frankl) currently hold the Bullrun 2006 speed record, set at 3:18 pm, of 196mph in their silver Corvette Z06

More on the Bullrun [Internal]

So, as the kids in the cross-country, rich-people-rallying community (and those who obsessively follow such things) know, the Bullrun kicks off tomorrow in Spinelli's backyard. What only a few kids know, is that if all goes according to plan, Davey G. will be an embedded reporter with the crew of Kevin Ward's absolutely nuts-of-a-cheetah '54 Studebaker along with La Carrera Panamericana Unlimited Class co-founder Bret Haller, as well as with a few other crews for the last three days of the rally, catching a flight to an undisclosed locale, and then hauling ass (at legal speeds, of course — it's a rally, not a race), back to Los Angeles. Sadly, we won't be partying with Andretti, as he's apparently wussing out and only driving the beginning of the festivities.

Rallying Cars and Racing Stars; Racing Legend Joins Automotive Rally [ForbesAutos]

Related:
[Internal[

We reported earlier today that Gerie Bledso was looking for a co-driver for La Carrera Panamericana. Noted artist, Jalopnik commenter, Plomb tool fetishist and all-around good guy
Coop lamented in the comments on the post that he wanted to run the race, but his license points had just returned to normal.

However, since La Carrera is fully sanctioned by the Mexican government — and what's more, Bledso will handle the driving chores for all stages — the erstwhile Mr. Cooper's license is in no danger whatsoever. As such, he's apparently signed on for the race. We swear, now and then we flash back to our days in Fiddler on the Roof..."Matchmaker, Make me a match/Find me a find/Catch me a catch..." Maybe our future is as an aging Jewish lady. If, indeed, this happens, Gerie and Coop better list their names on at least one side of the car as Motel and Tzeitel. Make us proud, boys. [UPDATE: It's official!]

Related:
Who Wants to Blast Up Mexico in a Studebaker? [Internal]

Gerie Bledso needs a co-pilot for this November's La Carrera Panamericana. He's got a '54 Stude. '54 Studes are wicked-fast when prepared correctly, and according to Bret from The Unlimited Class, this one is indeed correctly prepared. If we were going, we'd dress as Kaiser Wilhelm and carry a photocopy of the Zimmermann telegram with us. Or maybe as Thomas Magnum. What would you wear for such an event? Contact Gerie via the Unlimited Class blog.

Historic racing seat opening! [The Unlimited Class]

Related:
Our Mad Existence: Lincoln Carrera Panamericana Replica [Internal]

When we were 17, we were visiting our family in Northern Ireland when a cousin asked, "How big is your car's engine?"
"5.7 litres."
"5.7 litres? Your insurance must be astronomical!"
Of course, those 5.7 litres produced a nominal 145 horsepower. We love it when the Irish look at American cars and gander at 'em in a way that we Yanks simply can't. The Belfast Telegraph recently did just that with Studebaker and taught us a few things we didn't know about the marque, including Virgil Exner's involvement with Raymond Loewy's design team. Plus, how can you not love a company that once produced a model called the Dictator?

Classic Cars: Studebaker [Belfast Telegraph]

Related:
Raymond Loewy: Designer of All Trades [Internal]

Oh noes. A bullet-nose Stude front end on a G-Body El Camino? Did we really need this? Apparently, there's a company that either makes the kits or does the conversions, but their website's so goofy we can't read anything. Sweet Peet D. is famous for using the phrase, "answer to a question absolutely nobody was asking," but this is one instance where it's definitely merited. And yo, is that one of those magnetic eagle flame things? Sweet on sweet! [Thanks to Dan for sending it in.]

Studemino

Related:
Return of the BRAT? Kind Of [Internal]

One can't help but back Raymond Loewy. Being bloggers, we're generally polarized types this good, that bad, ad infinitum and/or end of story. And while Loewy deserves a more serious critique than we can offer here, the man designed things that inspire us to this day. From cola bottles to the Studes that dominated the Salt Flats, Loewy's work is mid-century America. When John Doe sings "Coca-Cola in a Motorola kitchen," in X's "We're Desperate", it's Ray's work that comes to mind. Plus, he said of GM's design kingpin, "If left to his own devices, Harley Earl would put fins on a TV or refrigerator." All that talent and catty, too! Rowr!

Planes, trains, autombiles, Coke bottles [CNN]

Related:
Postal Service Issues Classic Car Stamps [Internal]

Rooting for the USPS lately is somewhat like being a Buffalo Bills fan in the early 1990s. With private carriers like FedEx encroaching on their turf and stealing market share, the Postal Service seems to be keep kicking 'em wide of the goalposts. But FedEx doesn't have classic car stamps. This new issuance of 37-centers, entitled "America on the Move: '50s Sporty Cars," features the Studebaker Starliner, the Nash Healey, the T-Bird, the Kaiser Darrin and Corvette, rendered by illustrator and former Packard designer Art Linkletter, er, Fitzpatrick.

New stamps salute classic cars [Detroit News]

Related:
Stanley Mouse: Hot Rod Hippie Icon [Internal]