In the mid 1990s, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan described an economic situation in which investors were extremely active in the financial markets even though common sense would find no reason for it. He coined the phrase “irrational exuberance”. Is there any better description of Studebaker Corporation during the all-too-brief tenure of Sherwood Egbert?
I would really like to have met Sherwood Egbert. Egbert was the guy who replaced Harold Churchill as head of Studebaker-Packard Corporation in early 1961. Egbert was really quite unlike any head of Studebaker in a long, long time. Studebaker, you see, had been led by a long line of conservative old-timers. But Egbert was a hard-charging 40 year old who had been transferred over from Paxton Products to take the reins as Studebaker wound down its automotive operations.
What, exactly, was it about Egbert? There must have been really something about this guy. If you or I were to have suggested to Studebaker’s board that we could take a small budget and make some revisions to the company’s antiquated 1953-vintage cars which would make them competitive in the marketplace, we would certainly have been given the bum’s rush. And for good reason. Studebaker had been trying to pull this same rabbit out of the same hat since 1955, with results that started out bad and mostly tapered off from there.
But Sherwood Egbert somehow convinced the board (and most others in the company) that it could be done and done successfully. We have all heard the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over, each time expecting different results. We have also heard that there is a fine line between insanity and brilliance. Egbert in person must have been a real force of nature. Part leader, part salesman, part cheerleader, and yes, part magician. There have always been a few people who are natural motivators and leaders. People who can make you think not only that you are capable of winged flight, but that you will look good while doing it. From all I can tell, Sherwood Egbert was such a person.
Did Studebaker under Egbert really do anything different than had been done several times before? Let’s see. There is a short chassis and a long chassis, both narrow enough to qualify as small cars. There are two deeply flawed body structures from the early 1950s. There are a couple of aging but competent V8 engines, a flathead 6 being converted to overhead valves, and a Borg Warner transmission that was essentially a 1950s Ford-O-Matic. All of these things are built in a ragtag collection of 1920s era factories with the highest labor costs in the industry. All you need is to add a pinch of magic and stir. What can possibly go wrong?
We often talk about the 1970s as being the decade of malaise in the world of automotive design. But if malaise had an automotive home, it was Studebaker in late 1960. They were down to two cars – the Lark and the Hawk. The Lark had been been a brief success until the big three had the audacity to introduce compact cars that were ready for 1963 instead of having been introduced in 1953. And the Hawk was there because – well, because the dealers pleaded for something, anything, to sell besides just Larks. Worse, the attractive hardtop model had been discontinued after 1958, leaving the pillared coupe with its ancient thick upper doors as the sole Hawk offering.
The 1962 Gran Turismo Hawk’s story has already been covered in Paul Niedermeyer’s excellent CC (here). Suffice it to say that industrial designer Brooks Stevens provided the magic to be added to the ingredients described above, and brought us this unique and fascinating car.
To me, the G.T. Hawk was the 1960s Studebaker that got away. I started kindergarten in the fall of 1964. One of the kids I met in our carpool lived down the street. I loved the days his mom drove us in her white 1960 Lark VIII coupe. Very rarely, we got to ride in his dad’s red ’64 Avanti R2. Tim and I became best friends, and his dad became my original car-mentor.
Over the years I got to spend a lot of time around Studes at Tim’s house. Larks, a Champ pickup, and a pair of ’64s – a stripper Commander sedan and a silver-blue Daytona hardtop. But nobody in the family had a G T Hawk, so I experienced these only in pictures. Could someone please explain to me how I could grow up with at least three Pontiac GTOs living either side of me next door, yet I somehow preferred Studebakers? There is probably a diagnosis and at least one prescription medication for this.
Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. I was dropping some bundled newspapers off in the bins at our parish school and was driving to the office. As I came to a stop sign, it took me a moment to realize what I was following. I had some time, so I decided to follow it a bit longer. Maybe I would get lucky like I did the last time I followed a Stude home (CC Here).
I turned off the radio and lowered the window so that i could listen to the lightly muffled exhaust note of the Stude 289. This is a sound that I cannot begin to describe, but that is planted deeply in my memory banks. It is a fatter, fuller exhaust note than any other V8 I have heard, sort of like a rapid-fire series of blop-blop-blops.
As I followed the car, it occurred to me that it would never unseat the contemporary T-Bird in the personal luxury market. Although all of the publicity photos I had seen of the car gave it some T-Birdish proportions, in real life, the car is quite narrow. From the rear, this is not a large car, and is actually a little petite.
I got caught at a traffic light and was sure that I had lost the Hawk, but then I saw it turn into a parking lot and then emerge from behind a restaurant into a parking place. I pulled into the lot just in time to meet the car’s owner, who was meeting some friends for breakfast.
We had a short but enjoyable chat about his car. He is a South Bend native who has owned this car since the 1970s. This is an original 66K car that is absolutely beautiful. Was there ever a better color combination on a G. T. Hawk? He is preparing to sell the car at auction, so if this old Hawk speaks to you, maybe it could wind up in your own garage. Why, oh why did I have those pesky, expensive children?
Looking at this car up close, it is an unusual combination of dimensions. Its length (and its 120.5 inch wheelbase) are from a big 1962 car. Its width is from an intermediate or even a pony car. Its height is quite low, and I can only imagine how this basic car must have stuck out in the fall of 1952. It’s dimensions are actually reminiscent of the roadsters and speedsters of the 1920s and 1930s.
And considering what few resources Studebaker had at the time, the interior is fitted out quite nicely. The dash is plainer than other examples I have seen, and appears to lack the large clock and tach dials on either side of the instrument cluster. This has to have been among the first U. S. cars to employ woodgrain trim on the dash. Even so, the lack of suspended pedals gives away the age of this platform.
It is unfortunate, but the G. T. Hawk failed quite miserably, with less than 10,000 1962 models made, including for Canada and export. Sure, this was about double the abysmal showing of the 1961 Hawk, but was about half of Hawk production during its glory days of 1956-57.
After spending a few minutes taking this car in, the rational side of me understands why this Hawk failed to take off and save Studebaker. Although cleverly updated, it was clear from the front and from the drivers seat that underneath, it was still the same old Hawk that most buyers had been passing up since 1956. In the world of 1962-63, it was neither fish nor fowl. It wasn’t a big car, and neither was it a small one. Not really luxury, and certainly not a sports car. The Hawk was (and had always been) unique. But the time had long passed for anything out of South Bend to set the style or lead a niche.
But for those of us who like to stray from the main paths when it comes to what we drive, the G. T. Hawk was a great stop on a less traveled path. I don’t know what Sherwood Egbert said or how he said it to unleash the irrational exuberance that took hold in South Bend in 1961, but I am certainly glad that it all happened. Because even after fifty years, an occasional whiff of that substance, whatever it is, can still be found in the air as it was here for me on a warm spring morning, as I spent a few minutes with this beautiful black Hawk.
Great article, JP.
Studebakers such as this are like the products from remote vineyards…very fulfilling yet not appreciated or known by all. Perhaps that just makes it richer for those who know what they are.
Wow. Stumbled on one of these a year or so ago and didn’t realize how rare they are.
“Could someone please explain to me how I could grow up with at least three Pontiac GTOs living either side of me next door, yet I somehow preferred Studebakers?”
Move this up a few decades and east a few miles and I’m with you, JP. Plenty of Subes, Saabs and Volvos around me and all I wanted to see was quad round lights and fender skirts.
I too have the sickness, and I don’t wish to be cured. It’s got to be genetic in my case, given the type of cars that my family members drove when I was growing up.
I absolutely LOVE the G.T. Hawks of ’62-’64. As a very little kid, I would see these on a semi-regular basis in San Rafael. Probably because these did appeal to those buyers who didn’t want big, huge Cadillacs and perhaps, an alternative to a much more expensive Mercedes (note: Rossi Motors, the forerunner of today’s R.A.B. Mercedes-Benz was the Studebaker and Mercedes Dealer in San Rafael in those days). The ones I still see today (there is a gold ’64 in an apartment complex in Indian Valley in Ignacio/Novato), still turn me on. And to think, these were done on a Earl Schieb paint job budget by the brilliant Brooks Stevens of Milwaukee.
Not a real sports car; not a real luxury coupe. More like a very attractive boulevardier. It went out the window when Stude closed South Bend at the behest of the stock holders who wanted out of the auto business even while Harold Churchill was minding the store . . .
Wow- what a beautiful car. I have always loved the styling of these but didn’t know the whole story of how it came to be. Thanks for the great insight. BTW here is a link to the pre-autcion write-up from the auction house for this car. To me that price range sounds like a steal for the right person!
http://antiquehelper.rfcsystems.com/asp/fullCatalogue.asp?salelot=1120+++++170+&refno=++101074
Thanks, there are more nice pictures there. Check out the “built expressly for” dash nameplate.
One of my favorite failed cars, if i had Jay Leno car collector money i would have 2 of them.
I saw this GT Hawk in Indy late one night about two weeks ago. I uploaded two noisy cell phone pics to Flickr and added them to the Cohort group.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/7147003797/in/photostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilene/7000917074/in/photostream
Thanks for telling some of this car’s story! I grew up in South Bend in the 70s and early 80s, and Studies were pretty common on the roads even then. Yet, the GT Hawk was a virtual no-show. Before this, I’d only ever seen one in person at the Studebaker museum.
Stevens showed his inner car design genius when he (re)designed cars like this, the Lark, and the 1956 Cadillac Eldorado die Valkyrie concept car.
Absolutely beautiful, to my eyes these would have needed very little modification to be a timeless “Batmobile” or at least Bruce Wayne’s daytime ride.
Sadly I do not have $12,000 to spend on a toy.
+1 for “Bruce Wayne’s daytime ride”.
It’s astonishing what Stevens was able to do with this old platform. One of the cleanest, most elegant designs of all time.
Egbert was going for profit. They sure weren’t making much on the plain old Larks. The Hawks and Avanti were reasonable attempts to get some high-margin business. Too bad the board had already decided Studebaker’s fate.
It occurred to me after the piece was finished how Stevens’ design on the GT Hawk was so much more current and elegant than anything coming out of Chrysler. The advertising, the logos, and the design itself – the whole package hit the bulls eye for that time period. If they had been able to start with a more current platform or even a fresh body on the old chassis, I wonder.
The other thing that hit me is that had they taken about a foot out of the wheelbase and sold them cheaper, this could have been the original ponycar. Maybe they would all be called birdiecars instead.
One of these could have certainly been competitive with the sporty 2 door large compacts/intermediates like the Cutlass or Skylark. With the performance Stude unleashed with the R series engines in 1963-64, these would have given anyone a run for their money other than the big block Mopars or the GTO.
From what I have read, Egbert was brought in to wind things down, but became convinced that with some fresh effort, the car business could be revived. Remember that only 10-12 years earlier, the company had been moving over 200k units a year. It is a shame that he fell ill so quickly. He and the company certainly got a lot out of what they had to work with.
Did Chrysler or GM have a comparable personal coupe in this period?
My flippant answer is that Nobody had a coupe comparable to the Hawk, because the Hawk had such unusual dimensions. But Chrysler had nothing even remotely close in concept, although the downsized 62 Plymouth and Dodge cars had sporty hardtop models that may have been the closest dimensional matchup to the Hawks. GM had the 62 Grand Prix, Starfire and Wildcat, and in the smaller line had the Cutlass. I think that the Skylark and LeMans were out by 62 as well, and each of them came as only a sporty 2 door. But there were no unique “personal luxury” models until the 63 Riviera.
While I love this car, I’ve always thought that it looks modern (for the early 60s) in profile, but 10 years out of date when you look at it from the front or back.
I agree. While “striking” in appearance, I don’t see it as beautiful, but as a bit odd. It also seems to have a touch of the East German/Soviet school of design to it in that its a copy of something that just doesn’t completely “work.”
I’ve seen drawings of Brooks Stevens that illustrated an “explosion” – that is, from the beltline down of the ’61 Hawk and the pieces to be used to transform it externally into the G.T. Hawk. Only unique stamping was an all-new roof. Trim pieces were new and different, otherwise, it was the ’53 body with the fiberglass ’57-’61 not tacked on and Elwood Engel stainless beltline trim taking it’s place. A clever, very attractive design made on a dollar-menu budget.
Good job. However, I have the sickness and have learned not to reach for my wallet.
Curse you. Now I have to go to rehab again.
Talk about making lemonade out of lemons. It never fails to amaze me how well this low-budget make-over comes off, especially in black. It would have been a hit in Paris, eight years earlier.
Oh la la! As I’ve commented elsewhere on Studebaker articles, this is the One True Stude for me. THE ultimate (achievable) dream car. This car, to my mind, out Mercedes-es Mercedes-Benz completely in design (if not, unfortunately, in actual build quality), with a V8 to boot. I’d take one of these over a comparable vintage Cadillac any day, unless I’m being chauffeured. Sheer beauty and elegance from every angle, and just the right proportions. A really timeless design that can still be produced today, if I may say so. Thank you for the lovely CC JPC!
I would have taken it over the contemporary Bullet Bird. Willowy and not as well build, but more economical and didn’t feel like a rolling brick either. And it is a timeless design, meant for a black paint job.
You bet! Although look for my comment below for my (obviously biased) paint choices…:-)
Lord, this is one of my favorite cars ever. I tagged along with my father when he test drove one in 1962. Keeping my fingers crossed, I prayed that he would buy that beautiful black Hawk. He was a canny fellow with his money, though, and kept his pristine ’61 Bel Air.
Absolutely lovely, and reminiscent of the 1961-63 Lincolns, especially in side view and C-pillar treatment. This is what Don Draper should have driven in the series. (And that Hawk logo? Perfection.)
> Was there ever a better color combination on a G. T. Hawk?
Yes. Sunkissed Gold lower body with white roof and beige/brown cloth interiors, with rubbing surfaces in leather. But then I live in a (very) hot country.
I’d even like plain white (like the one in Paul’s CC), but that would be too plain for a dramatic car like this. I’d also prefer a later model without the brightwork on the bootlid.
Very nice article JP. A GT Hawk is on my short list of cars that I’d very much like to own that are actually within my financial reach.
Very nice post – one of CC’s best, I think.
I agree with the general consensus that this is an alluring vehicle – except for the odd front end. To me, it looks like a cross between a London taxi and a carp. Considering the all around odd – though strangely alluring – Valiant was on the market at the same time, perhaps the CIA was spiking water coolers in both South End and Auburn Hills. Otherwise, the GT Hawk has a very elusive quality – presence – and is worthy of affection.
Does anyone else think that Acura (unsuccessfully) borrowed the rear concept for the current TL?
My grandparents lived in South Bend, so did my mother for many years. Notre Dame football and the Stude museum. The only fun things I can remember about that town. No wait, the Red Pandas at the zoo. Ok that’s it.
When my grandpa died, we inherited his ’72 New Yorker complete with a box of his cigars in the glove box. My dad took them out before my mom saw them. He didn’t want her to feel a fresh wave of grief after her dad’s funeral.
You should talk about your neighbor’s R2. If I remember, Andy Granatelli had something to do with that car.
Fun fact, Studebaker made the horse carriage Abe Lincoln rode in to Fords Theatre.
http://www.studebakermuseum.org/p/whats-happening/exhibits/the-presidential-carriage-collection/
Studebaker made that carriage? It says on the museum website that Wood Brothers made it. Studebaker simply bought it.
The last time I visited South Bend about 7 years ago, there was a Studebaker Lark in the waiting area of the airport with a Mr. Ed diorama. Stude was a sponsor of the Mr. Ed tv show. So awesome.
Me too, the sickness is heavily influenced by cars encountered during my childhood. AMC’s, Triumph TR3, 1948 Ford, 1960 Pontiac, and on and on.
What is does not explain is why I like Studes so much. I figure it’s a combination of being born about 2 miles from the Studebaker plant in Hamilton and my appreciation for orphans in general.
Nice Hawk, great color combo!!
And bittersweetly for those of us who love automotive orphans and oddballs, the list grows longer with each passing decade.
The possible reason for the exhaust sound you describe is because the Studebaker V8 had siamesed center exhaust ports; the two center cylinders on each side shared an exhaust port.
Ford flathead V8s had manifolds laid out like that, but had such long exhaust ports that sounds changed before they got out. Still, the Ford flathead V8 had an exhaust sound of its own.
Studebakers, including the Hawk GT were surprisingly popular in North East PA when I was growing up. I always liked all the Hawks, from the pillared, befinned models to the GT.
The GT does have an undeniable classic look to it though, much more than any other Stude IMO.
This car’s color scheme suits it beautifully, though I think all the colors it came in looked pretty good. Had Mr Egbert not fallen ill, the Studebaker story might have had quite a different outcome.
I always thought they were beautiful cars. Sometimes in desperate times true brilliance materializes. Avanti, Cord, GT Hawk, 61 Continental, to a lesser extent AMC Javelin/AMX were all elegant in simplicity of their design……out of necessity. The designs were simple and the ornamentation was subdued because it saved time and money!
the hawk gt realy is such an elegant and beautifull car forget the rest ill have a hawk gt and an avanti so stylish..both in black ..elegant and timeless
Great article! And in black the GT Hawk does look stunning.
I’ve seen a few GT Hawks over the years, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen one in any color combination other than black with red seats. Maybe it’s the same car, with rotating James Bond license plates… Here’s one spotted in the parking lot where I live, a couple of years ago:
One of my all time favorites. I have one of these in my fantasy (MM) garage.
I always liked the GTs, and when a 63 turned up nearby a few years back I jumped at it.
It’s not even black.
Great article, JP.
The Hawk redesign wasn’t such a bad idea — it cost practically nothing and Studebaker could charge a higher-end price than with the Larks.
Where I think Egbert went overboard was with the Avanti. It should never have gone beyond the concept car stage. If he just had to have a sporty car, the Hawk could have anticipated the Mustang if it had been given a Lark-style shortening front and rear instead of merely a new roofline. That might not have saved the company but it wouldn’t have been a money-losing flop like the Avanti.
What a great looking vehicle-it was amazing what Brock Stevens was able to do on such a limited budget. I ran across a ’63 Hawk at an outdoor event about twenty years ago-it was simply drop dead gorgeous.
In the small upstate NY where I grew up in the 60s, Studebakers were fairly common, but when the fellow who owned one of the service stations in town bought a Hawk, he got more attention than our pharmacist who bought a 63 Sting Ray sight unseen, having it flat-bedded into town. I can remember walking around that Hawk thinking it had to come from a different country.
My first experience with a Studebaker GT Hawk was in 1967. A older couple up the road owned 2 of them, a white ’62 and a blue ’63. Every once in a while, the neighbor would pick us up from school in the white car—never got to drive in the blue car—and that Hawk was like nothing else I had ridden in during my 13 years on the earth—the rumble of the exhaust and the fully instrumented dash. When l bought my blue ’63 back in 1994, I relived that time in my life and have come to both love the car for its uniqueness and beauty as well as dislike it for its non-updated chassis. I wouldn’t trade it for any other car of that era, even another Stude.
In 1970 I purchased a 1962 Gran Turismo Hawk that was painted gold with a black top.
The car had black leather interior with the standard 289 with 4 barrel carb.It had the factory four speed T10 on the floor along with the posi-traction from the Factory. All of the gaues including a tachometer were stewart warner gaues. I drove the car daily and it was always a head turner and a real mover. I had a problem with a crack in one of the heads and stored the car for over twenty years and finally was talked out of selling it to a firend. He still has it sitting in a garage unrepaired.
I only wish I would have never sold the car and it was still in my garage.
the thunderbird and the stingray will never ever have what this car has ,,,,its called..CLASS
Sherwood was my Grandfather. Very wonderful and valuable man.
Thank you so much for your comment. I have long admired your grandfather for what he tried to do (and for what he did do) at Studebaker.
No problem. I honestly had no idea that he was important to auto lovers, until one of my family members mentioned it. I’m honored to be his Granddaughter.
Wow! What a trip to the past. Growing up, a neighbor had one of these. Metallic gold with ivory top and saddle tan interior. I remember the dash panels were machine turned metal, the speedo and tach were in the center and the auxiliary gauges were on either side. 4 on the floor and, I believe, an overdrive. At the time I thought this was the coolest car ever (being an impressionable grade school kid), and still do!