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Car Of The Day: January 22, 2010; Galoob Micro Machines Macro Machines '63 Studebaker Avanti
Topic Started: Jan 22 2010, 03:30 AM (580 Views)
Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
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Today's car of the day is Galoob Micro Machines Macro Machines' 1963 Studebaker Avanti.

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Wikipedia
 
The Studebaker Avanti was a sports coupé built by the Studebaker Corporation at the direction of its president Sherwood Egbert between June 1962 and December 1963. It has been described as "one of the more significant milestones of the postwar industry", gaining iconic status with enthusiasts and collectors and resulting, after the demise of Studebaker, in ongoing custom production by a succession of entrepreneurs.


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For more information and pictures of the real car please visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studebaker_Avanti

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The Avanti has a long, strange history in the pages of automotive history. The original lasted only two model years. And yet, the model survived the death of its parent car line for decades. Is Avanti truly dead? Only time will tell, but Mustang and Camaro/Firebird based cars will never be true Avantis in my book. This Micro Machines Avanti was part of the Macro Machines line of cars with a flip up body to store a regular Micro Machines model inside. Because of that, this model is fairly close to 1/64 scale and hence qualifies for COTD. Shorter and fatter than most models it was built out of proportion to better house the smaller vehicle. This was also the first Avanti in small scale, though it has since been joined by a Johnny Lightning, a Hot Wheels, and a Shrock Brothers.

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Wikipedia
 
Designed by Raymond Loewy's team of Tom Kellogg, Bob Andrews and John Ebstein on a 40-day crash program, the Avanti featured a radical fiberglass body design mounted on a modified Studebaker Lark Daytona 109-inch convertible chassis with a modified 289 Hawk engine. Only 4,643 Avantis (not including prototypes, some of which were assigned serial numbers at the end of the run) were produced.


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Wikipedia
 
After the closure of Studebaker's factory on 20 December 1963, the Avanti model name, tooling and plant space were sold to two South Bend Studebaker dealers, Nate Altman and Leo Newman, who hand-built small numbers of cars. They introduced a slightly modified version of the car in 1965 under the brand name "Avanti II". which initially had a 327 in³ (5.4 L) Chevrolet Corvette engine. This evolved to the 350, the 400 and, finally the 305. All Avanti IIs were built on leftover Studebaker chassis until 1987. The 1987-89 models were based on GM's G-platform that underpinned the Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

On October 1, 1982, real estate developer Stephen H. Blake bought the rights to the Avanti II. Blake's company declared bankruptcy in 1986, and the company was purchased by Michael Kelly, who relocated production to Youngstown, Ohio.

The company claimed that a second-generation automobile was styled by Tom Kellog (Kellogg), one of the original Avanti design team, in the late 1990s. This car was based on GM's "F" platform Camaro/Firebird. Tom Kellogg was fatally injured in a car accident in California on 14 August 2003.

In October 2005 an internet report was published that "Avanti Motors" had "recently announced a new relationship with Ford Motor Company and was planning a big comeback". The new Avantis, very similar in appearance to the Firebird-based cars designed by Kellogg, were to be based on the current-generation Ford Mustang and were available as both coupés and convertibles. A brief report in October 2006 said the company had established a new factory at Cancun, Mexico and planned to produce 400 vehicles per year. A brief chronology of relevant events from 1961-2005 was published but all production of new vehicles has apparently ended. As of 2007 they planned to produce 150 cars per year. An "Avanti Motors" website still exists, which appears not to have been updated since 2006.

Michael Eugene Kelly, owner of Avanti Motors Corporation, was arrested by the FBI on Dec 22, 2006 in Florida. Kelly is suspected of running a $400 million Ponzi scheme from 1992–2004 and is in jail without bail facing mail fraud charges.


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jedimario
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RAWR
Well, at least this one's odd proportions are excusable. Micro Machines get a pass just because :lol:
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harlans toys
matchbox
what an awful model. but it gets a pass from me for just being a fun looking toy
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james_autos
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Minivan
It's close to 1:64, even though it's about half as long as it should be?

It does resemble an Avanti, but it just looks wrong.
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be77bt
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be77bt
*In Memory Of*
very different.
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craftymore
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Support your local demo derby.

When the car crusher arrives at your junkyard Swifty, this should be the first one loaded up. :duh:
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Sak
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Ezekiel 25:17
A pox on it! Silly Toy of the Day.
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ivantt
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New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
Hard group here, Swifty. I'll look at it as a novelty, but I think you're dredging for bottom debris. Ohhhh, the CotD certainly hasn't been the same since "Worst Car of the Day." :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
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JustDavid
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SUV
Nice color.
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Swifty
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The Mustang II is a Mustang too!
ivantt
Jan 22 2010, 09:47 PM
Hard group here, Swifty. I'll look at it as a novelty, but I think you're dredging for bottom debris. Ohhhh, the CotD certainly hasn't been the same since "Worst Car of the Day." :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
So basically all anyone wants is M2 and Tomica Limited? Granted I love both, but how boring. *Sighs* There's so much variety in diecast and I'm doing my best to showcase it. Not every car can be an Aston Martin or a Rolls-Royce- there will always be plenty of Yugos and Hyundais to go around.

As for the comments regarding the size:

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I call that pretty close to 1/64. It is a little wide and a little stubby, but that's normal for Micro Machines of the vintage. No different from say Muscle Machines or Tooned Hot Wheels'.
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james_autos
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Minivan
Quote:
 
So basically all anyone wants is M2 and Tomica Limited?


Erm, what about Majorette, Norev, Siku, Corgi, Matchbox, Lone Star, Kyosho, Auto Art, Grell and Motor Max? I'd get fed up of seeing M2's and Tomicas all the time too but what about all the other manufacturers that make half-decent models? I know you've got a much bigger collection than I have so you must still have loads of these castings you haven't yet shown us yet. And if you do start to run out of good candidates, I don't mind stepping in :thumbup:
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Sak
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Ezekiel 25:17
There's enough variety in diecast that you don't HAVE to show stuff like this. This model is of no use to anyone except three year old kids who'll find entertainment in pulling it apart, and certainly don't care about styling. There are no three year old kids, that I know of, on this forum. We're all adults (or near adults) who appreciate the finer things in life.
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ivantt
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New casting? Quick! Take it apart!
Sak
Jan 23 2010, 07:50 AM
We're all adults (or near adults) who appreciate the finer things in life.
Babes, beer, and pizza are a good start....... :P
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