Gone Autos Podcast #7: Studebaker '62 with Lew Minkel and Richard Quinn
It takes a Studebaker fan to talk about a Studebaker man’s Studebaker plans.
That’s what happens when you ask Studebaker uber-historian Richard Quinn to talk about a rare 1961 recording featuring Studebaker Marketing Vice-President Lew Minkel.
Lew Minkel
Minkel’s speech to Los Angeles-area Studebaker dealers was captured live on a metal-acetate record around August 1961 before the new 1962 model year.
I bought this recording through eBay several years ago, and I always wondered what it meant in the timeline of Studebaker’s history.
So I logged onto the Studebaker Drivers Club Forum and searched around for the ultimate Studebaker expert. (Although he disagrees with me, the forum members don’t lie. Many conversational threads point back to Richard and his deep knowledge of all things Studebaker.)
Richard Quinn I had the audio artifact. I had the expert to tell me all about it. And now you have the result.
Find out from Richard Quinn what the men at South Bend were up to with this long-lost, forgotten speech delivered when Kennedy was still president and Studebaker still made cars.
Get the podcast here.
And then do me a favor: tell me what you think in the Comments section below. I’d love to hear your feedback about the work I’m doing here at Gone Autos. Thanks! ---Todd Ruel
That’s what happens when you ask Studebaker uber-historian Richard Quinn to talk about a rare 1961 recording featuring Studebaker Marketing Vice-President Lew Minkel.
Minkel’s speech to Los Angeles-area Studebaker dealers was captured live on a metal-acetate record around August 1961 before the new 1962 model year.
I bought this recording through eBay several years ago, and I always wondered what it meant in the timeline of Studebaker’s history.
So I logged onto the Studebaker Drivers Club Forum and searched around for the ultimate Studebaker expert. (Although he disagrees with me, the forum members don’t lie. Many conversational threads point back to Richard and his deep knowledge of all things Studebaker.)
Find out from Richard Quinn what the men at South Bend were up to with this long-lost, forgotten speech delivered when Kennedy was still president and Studebaker still made cars.
Get the podcast here.
And then do me a favor: tell me what you think in the Comments section below. I’d love to hear your feedback about the work I’m doing here at Gone Autos. Thanks! ---Todd Ruel
Comments
MItt Romney turns to Gone Autos!
Mitt Romney knows a good thing when he sees it. Literally!
When Romney was running in the Michigan primary in February, he created a TV commercial promoting his connection to Michigan. More specifically, Detroit. Here’s the spot:
When Romney was running in the Michigan primary in February, he created a TV commercial promoting his connection to Michigan. More specifically, Detroit. Here’s the spot:
As we all know, Mitt’s father was AMC’s legendary president George Romney. Mitt idolizes his dad, and he still loves many of the cars that American Motors made. (Did you know that he chose “Javelin” as his Secret Service code name?)
It was totally appropriate to show an AMC car in his spot. And where do you go when you need vintage American Motors footage? To Gone Autos, of course. We have the largest collection of vintage American Motors footage in the world. We rent it out as stock footage to anybody who needs to use it in their video productions. When Mitt’s consulting firm American Rambler Productions came calling, we had what they needed.
By the way, the second shot in the commercial is our spot. It’s from a vintage 1966 AMC Rambler Classic station wagon commercial. Here’s the original spot from our archive:
It’s interesting to me that this car was made after George Romney left AMC in February 1962 to run for Governor of Michigan. Technically, it’s not a product that Romney had any influence upon. I would have thought that MItt would have chosen some footage from the 1955-1962 era.
Nevertheless, this clip really conveys the suburban era that Mitt grew up in.
So are there any clips that we can provide for your video production?
Gone Autos Podcast #6: Josh Malks, A-C-D Expert
Three little words. When spoken together in the right order, it’s like watching fireworks. Classic car fans will emit sounds like “Oooooh” and “Ahhhhhh.”
That’s the magic of Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg.
Seventy-five years after E.L. Cord hightailed it out of Auburn, Indiana, with $2.6 million in cash, the masterpieces that his company built continue to amaze and fascinate car fans worldwide.
One of those fans is our guest on the Gone Autos Podcast. Josh Malks, author of the definitive book Cord Complete and owner of a Cord 812 Westchester Sedan, tells us who E.L. Cord was and why his cars are still special today. Josh also offers some insight about how E.L. Cord’s philosophy still applies to modern business.
Whether you listen to it here or through our iTunes channel, download the podcast now. It’s a Duesy!
That’s the magic of Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg.
Seventy-five years after E.L. Cord hightailed it out of Auburn, Indiana, with $2.6 million in cash, the masterpieces that his company built continue to amaze and fascinate car fans worldwide.
One of those fans is our guest on the Gone Autos Podcast. Josh Malks, author of the definitive book Cord Complete and owner of a Cord 812 Westchester Sedan, tells us who E.L. Cord was and why his cars are still special today. Josh also offers some insight about how E.L. Cord’s philosophy still applies to modern business.
Whether you listen to it here or through our iTunes channel, download the podcast now. It’s a Duesy!
Stop your Saabing!
Tuesday December 20, 2011 Filed in: Saab
Don’t you realize what Saab’s formal bankruptcy means?
It means that our Saab 96 has earned its rightful parking spot in the Gone Autos orphan car garage between our REO Royale and our Saturn Sky! “God yul,” orphan car fans!
Believe me, I’m never happy when an automotive brand goes muffler up. I’m ecstatic!
Gone Autos is all about orphan cars. We can’t properly analyze models, explore company history and personalities, or celebrate the brand unless its dead. Now that it’s Official, we can get to work. Give me a scalpel, and let the auto-topsy begin!
On second thought, we shouldn’t cut into the corpse just yet. The drama is still unfolding.
Will Swedish Automotive N.V. be able to recoup any of its money from its ill-fated investment in Saab? What’s the fate of all that tooling and technology that GM kept out of Chinese hands? What’s the fate of Saab’s trademark and other intellectual property, which they share with the defense and aerospace group Saab Company? Are the bun warmers in my 2009 Saab 9-3 still under warranty?
The factory workers are gone, but the lawyers will be figuring out how to dispose of the body for a while longer.
Saab owners are in mourning. Gone Autos is rejoicing. Stay tuned!
It means that our Saab 96 has earned its rightful parking spot in the Gone Autos orphan car garage between our REO Royale and our Saturn Sky! “God yul,” orphan car fans!
Believe me, I’m never happy when an automotive brand goes muffler up. I’m ecstatic!
Gone Autos is all about orphan cars. We can’t properly analyze models, explore company history and personalities, or celebrate the brand unless its dead. Now that it’s Official, we can get to work. Give me a scalpel, and let the auto-topsy begin!
On second thought, we shouldn’t cut into the corpse just yet. The drama is still unfolding.
Will Swedish Automotive N.V. be able to recoup any of its money from its ill-fated investment in Saab? What’s the fate of all that tooling and technology that GM kept out of Chinese hands? What’s the fate of Saab’s trademark and other intellectual property, which they share with the defense and aerospace group Saab Company? Are the bun warmers in my 2009 Saab 9-3 still under warranty?
The factory workers are gone, but the lawyers will be figuring out how to dispose of the body for a while longer.
Saab owners are in mourning. Gone Autos is rejoicing. Stay tuned!
Your Turn: When is an orphan car no longer an orphan?
Wednesday October 26, 2011
With the recent news that the (revived) DeLorean Motor Company was releasing an electric version of the famed, time-traveling DMC-12, I had to stop and ask myself a major question. Can orphan cars stop being orphan cars?
The electric DeLorean isn’t the first example of a brand’s revival.
Like an automotive zombie, the Avanti II has risen from the dead many times. (As I write this, I think Avanti Motors has done another face plant.) A few years ago, Midget Motors Supply attached the jumper cables to the King Midget and revived that brand.
These death/rebirth/death cycles drive me crazy, because I’m a bit of a purist about orphan cars. I believe that when car brands or manufacturers die, they become orphans. Saturn, Pontiac, and Mercury? Orphans. (Why wait seven years for the designation when they’re dead right now, today?)
I’m happy to see famous automotive brands rise from the dead. I’m unhappy when they die. I’m confused when they rise again. And then I’m just plain hacked off when they die again. (Examples: the Avanti II mentioned above and the aborted resurrection of Packard about eight years ago.)
I get all worked up, because I have to consider whether or not to delete their clubs from my Links to Clubs page. After all, if the brand is back in business, it’s no longer an orphan. And if it’s no longer an orphan, it’s no longer part of Gone Autos.
So let me ask you this, orphan car fans: is DeLorean no longer an orphan? Should we view orphaned brands that rise from the dead with some suspicion? (Should we help to put ‘em down with a shotgun or a shovel?) Should there we a Wait-And-See Period? What are your thoughts? (Help me make up my mind, car fans!)
The electric DeLorean isn’t the first example of a brand’s revival.
Like an automotive zombie, the Avanti II has risen from the dead many times. (As I write this, I think Avanti Motors has done another face plant.) A few years ago, Midget Motors Supply attached the jumper cables to the King Midget and revived that brand.
These death/rebirth/death cycles drive me crazy, because I’m a bit of a purist about orphan cars. I believe that when car brands or manufacturers die, they become orphans. Saturn, Pontiac, and Mercury? Orphans. (Why wait seven years for the designation when they’re dead right now, today?)
I’m happy to see famous automotive brands rise from the dead. I’m unhappy when they die. I’m confused when they rise again. And then I’m just plain hacked off when they die again. (Examples: the Avanti II mentioned above and the aborted resurrection of Packard about eight years ago.)
I get all worked up, because I have to consider whether or not to delete their clubs from my Links to Clubs page. After all, if the brand is back in business, it’s no longer an orphan. And if it’s no longer an orphan, it’s no longer part of Gone Autos.
So let me ask you this, orphan car fans: is DeLorean no longer an orphan? Should we view orphaned brands that rise from the dead with some suspicion? (Should we help to put ‘em down with a shotgun or a shovel?) Should there we a Wait-And-See Period? What are your thoughts? (Help me make up my mind, car fans!)