When I was a kid I remember riding on the school bus and seeing a brand new Studebaker Avanti parked in a driveway. I remember thinking that it was the most beautiful car I had ever seen. I looked for it every morning. This was the early 60s.

Today it is quite a thrill for me to drive along side a schoolbus and see the kids faces pressed up to the windows looking at my S. I wonder if they think its as beautiful as I thought the Avanti was.

Of course I wave back to all of the kids.

 

haha , i was actually parked at a bank, just about to back out when these 2 elderly couples walk up to my car and compliment me on my S. I believe the lady's exact words were "that is a nice ride"

 

Razor: Not to be an ass, but unless you have a kill switch for the passenger air bag, I would be very paranoid about putting a 5 yr old in the front seat. Remember (It's in your manual) even a "minor" fender bender, or a big dip on the road can potentially set the air bag off and KILL a minor. Be careful.
Cheers,
Daniel

 

[QUOTE] Originally posted by ralper

 

Kids always shout to "peel out" or "pop the clutch". Little do they know it's very hard to make the wheels chirp (at least for me).

 

My first love was the sunbeam tiger across the street when I was 13. I will never forget the feeling of working on it with the owner.

Last week I took my son to a used car lot to teach him what to look for when buying a used car. We were in the Silver 02 NSX (company car). When the used car salesman (19 year old) was saying bye he saw what we were driving and started drooling, asked if he could sit in it, I tossed him the keys (and got in the right seat). He was grinning from ear to ear when we got back.

Since it is a fluke that I have this job I spread the joy as much as possible.

As soon as the Boy Scouts in the troop that I work with get their Eagle rank they get to drive what ever they want.

I love cars.

Woodwork

 

beautiful.

You should bring out the kids to an auto-x in the s2k

 

A few (maybe more) years ago I saw a feature on the 11:00 news about the Avanti, or rather the Avanti II. It seems some business people purchased the rights from Studebaker and were still producing a limited quantity. The factory was peopled by mostly older people and the man who drove the car off of the final assembly line and test drove it was 77. I think that they were going to halt production because they couldn't meet safety or emissions standards.

Its still a nice, but somewhat dated, car, but in the early 60s it was what dreams were made of for a little kid.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ralper
[B]Today it is quite a thrill for me to drive along side a schoolbus and see the kids faces pressed up to the windows looking at my S.

 

Sounds very familiar

We were at Speed & Design in Rosmalen (Netherlands) last Sunday and had the time of our life. Kids with thier parents comming up to the stand and asking what car it was, how fast etc. And 'boys' with their girlfriends telling their girlfriends they would love a car like that and asking "Who's car is it?", and my wife behind the car chirping 'my car! my car! ' you should have seen the expressions on their faces.

And yes the motorway experiences are great with kids in the back telling their parents to pas us so that they can have another look we always let them do that and once they are past we shift down 3rd/4th and hit the pedal to the metal as we pass them . Kids almost jump to the front seats as we fly off....