Reno Leigh

I dont like the new Stude one bit. I think they should have broke new ground like the real Studebaker always did. I also dont see why people would want to pay 80K for one when they could get a more capable GM/AM General one for 54K.

But that being said, this is the Avanti view, based on my interviews with insiders who work at Avanti.

(1) They think since DCX lost the fight with GM over the ugly chrome "jeep like" grille, that precedent was set, and GM will not win a court fight over a "box" styling trend. Boxes are popping up all over, witness the Element by Honda and the XB by Toyota/Scion. Will GM sue them too?

(2) The Studebaker truck at the Chicago show was a CONCEPT. It is a fiberglass not street legal show car. Its details can be easily changed before any production might happen. It was built to gauge public interest. (Its on a F150 pickup frame BTW) There are no other prototypes. There is no assembly line. (methinks it was built to gauge GM interest as well) How can GM win a suit over a CONCEPT they say. Its a design coincidence.

(3) It has been a big win win publicity result for Avanti so far. They have had to add more people to answer phones at the Georgia headquarters since the 14th. People have flown to Chicago just to see the SUV after seeing the story on CNN. There is lots more interest in the F body based Avanti now too. Traffic at this years Chicago show is 100 times what it was at last years Avanti display at the show. (I can vouch for that)

(4) Avanti's customers are telling them that the reason they are placing orders for Studebakers are: (A)They can get interior and exterior colors exactly what they want. (B)They can get the more fuel efficient diesel, which the H2 does not offer. (C) They wont see themselves coming and going in a pewter or yellow H2 like all the other people in thier block have. They want to be different. (D) They like the Studebaker front end better.


After hearing what they had to say, I see thier side, and have to say I agree with some of it. It seems like it has gotten the company a lot of free publicity.

I first thought when I saw the Buick Centime, that it looked just like a Murano. I wonder, will Nissan smell blood in the water and sue GM if GM wins the Studebaker case? It all gets pretty silly doesnt it.

Personally, after seeing them both practacally side by side at the Chicago show, the Studebaker is not a carbon copy of the H2 in a side profile, and for sure the front is different. I dont think GM will win, but we will see.

As another thought, some of you may remember 5-7 years ago when Toyota built a Hummer clone for domestic military use. (Japan refused to buy the real thing cuz it was made in America and MUST be inferior)
AM General did not sue Toyota, cuz it was not EXACTLY the same.

Reno

Darth Xed

There is a big differance between the two situations though...

Chrysler didn't say a woird about the Hummer grille until GM bought Hummer... why didn't they care before?

GM is at least rtying to nip this one in the bud... and if you look at the Studebaker from the back or the profile, it looks exactly like an H2... not just one piece, like a grille...