Which Avanti II Buy?

A Michigan alumnus’s car sported a gold and blue color scheme, making it difficult to know whether to cry or hail it for a trip to the airport

by Dave Kinney

Rob Sass’s article about the Avanti II in December’s SCM was excellent, well written, and well researched, even if the photo was a Studebaker Avanti. But it offered an opinion about Avantis that I just plain don’t agree with.

The Avanti has often been called the car that wouldn’t die. As a longtime and loyal Avanti fan, let me state categorically that the time to pull the plug was quite a few years ago.

The RQA (the serial number prefix) series of cars, easily identified by the low-back bucket seats, were, in a very real way, Studebakers with Chevy engines, and what’s wrong with that? Built from scads of leftover parts, the RQA cars were assembled with a great deal of care and were well-built, solid cars with decent performance and ever increasing levels of luxury features. You would be well advised to remember, however, that late ’60s luxury was defined by thicker carpet and a radio that picked up FM stations.

A BAD MORGAN...

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