Locate an Auto Repair Shop in Rockford, Washington

Avanti was in a tough tough niche from the get-go---the Vettes were getting meaner and the T-Birds more and more full of bloat. It's almost like the niche split in two directions and Avanti was prepared for neither. I think that Studebaker picked a pretty good niche between the two-seat Corvette and the four-seat Thunderbird. The problem was the production delays and the price. Studebaker announced the Avanti at the New York auto show in April 1962 and gave one away at the Indy 500 but could not produce enough while the excitement was still fresh. By September 1963 the Avanti was old news and you could buy a 327 cu. in. Sting Ray split-window coupe for $4,252 ( $4,037 for the convertible) or for $4,333 you could buy a new Riviera with a 401 or 425 cu. in. V-8. Chevy sold 21,513 Sting Rays and Buick sold 40,000 Rivieras that year. An Avanti cost $4,445, was available with only the 289 cu. in. V-8 of unknown horsepower because Studebaker wouldn't cite any horsepower figures. If wanted an R-3 you had to pay "top of the line" Cadillac prices and wait a long time to get it. This seems like a pretty good niche which was later exploited by the Riviera, Monte Carlo and second generation Camaro-Firebirds such as the one seen on the Rockford Files. Studebaker only wanted to sell 30,000 Avantis in the first year of production but they took a gamble with the large rear window and lost that bet when it would not fit into too many bodies they received from Ohio. Chevrolet played it safe and put a split window in the 1963 Corvette, although that was a much smaller glass area. The Avanti was supposed to generate excitement lead the way to more streamlined cars from Studebaker, but when the leaders (Avanti and Egbert) faltered, there was not enough money (or interest) to carry out the Egbert plan to move away from boxy cars that everyone else was selling. The pro types shown below have many styling features that showed up in later cars including no decorative chrome, no grille, one- piece door windows and hidden windshield wipers. http://www.conceptcarz.com/view/photo/592917,18846/1962-Studebaker-Avanti-Protot- ype_photo.aspx

Thanks for all the positive responses to my ad. I've gotten 1 lead from autotrader & one "lead" from craig's list. The person from autotrader asked to see more pics of the car. I emailed them last night & paid an extra $8 to have a total of 9 photos up on autotrader. I will follow up with him today. I received a scam response from someone on craig's list. Here are the 2 letters he sent: Is this ad still for sale ? What's is the present condition ? I humored him & replied that yes the car was still available. It is in great condition as I just took the pics on Saturday. I also asked if he wanted to come and see the car in person. Good to have your reply. I am William Trent from IL.and would have loved to come and inspect this at your place myself, but I am presently off-shore.I am interested in buying this for my son in Rockford as a surprise birthday gift and pls just make sure it is in condition described. I will appreciate more pictures if available and will be sending your money asap. My shipper will be available to pick this up as soon as payment is made. Do you have PayPal account? because, I have a paypal account that I can easily send money through because, its good for business payments. Get back to me with your PayPal email address and name in order for me to have your money sent on time. Confirm sale to me and remove the add from posting. can you send me some pics ? Regards William As Mack used say: "To be Continued..."

I researched this car for the past 6 months and have been following this forum and others. I have never owned a Kia or Hyundai - so this was new ground for me. Previous cars included Honda Accords, Civics, Nissan Maxima and an Acura TL. I had a 2004 TL and I remember when I got it saying to myself "Wow, this same car from anyone else would have been 10K more". Guess what? I am saying the same thing right now - and a TL would be 10K more! The Optima is amazing with all of it's features!! Many of the things it has are not even available for any car in this price range. (Bluetooth streaming audio, heated rear seats, cooled front seats, etc..) I had two concerns going in to this purchase - the "left pull" issue and the "hard seats". I am satisfied with both of these right now. No left pull - and the seats are just fine. I mean come on - this is a car - not a recliner. Warranty - 10/100,000 power train and 5/50,000 bumper to bumper is great. The car is hard to find - equipped the way you want it and in the right color / wheels. I spent about 3 weeks looking at dealers within 100 miles of my house. The good news - the EXACT car I wanted showed up at my local dealer. The bad news - when I asked for the price they wanted $3,000 over sticker. Come on - I thought the industry was past that. I would think the Kia dealers would all be pumped up that they had a hot car - and new customers! I will never visit this dealer again. The even better news for me - the car I wanted got traded to the dealer I bought it from. That dealer made a great deal with me - and we did it all via e-mail. I got a buyers order sent to me via e-mail and when I arrived in person - there were no games. It was nearly painless. The dealer was about 90 minutes from my house - in Rockford, IL. It was well worth the drive. I managed to get $1,000 in Kia rebates and the 1.9 % financing. 5 days into the new car - and I am loving it!

Thks Steve We will be leaving CA, er, "happy valley usa" probably around May 18th and travel north to Yellow stone then east across the USA. My wife has never been across the country and I traveled by train to Indiana via a train in 1950. People have told me that drivers in the mid part of the country are more courteous than out here in Ca. I'll try to verify that. I remember in Indianapolis the 'White Castle burgers". Again looking forward to try them again. Probably be different now. We will wind up in Rockford ill/i.e. Roscoe Ill and enjoy our son's family and see the beauty of the mid west. Good luck to all and stay safe. jensad

Hi xwesx I think that was a rather scary situation because if 4 cops pile out of one car with guns on the other vehcile there might be strong arm robbery, killer, dope boys, ect. i was in one with severn other CHP cars that lined up on the Oakland (IS580) Mac Arthur freeway with guns drawn and we took a killer out of a car but only after he threw his two guns out of the car. Amazing event and it done well so that no one got hurt. I am glad you were ok and I know it was a learning moment for you as it was a long time ago for me. Sidebar here. My wife and I are driving back to Illinois going through Utah, Iowa, So. Dakota and then a straight shot to Rockford Illinois to visit our family. Question: In mid to the end of May how much snow is there still left on the roadway? Thks in advance. Good luck to all and stay safe. jensad