Where were these guys when we needed to save Studebaker?
The Avanti lived on.
Exactly. I still have dreams about my Golden Hawk.
Studebaker's demise is a very interesting story. Obviously, it involved multiple variables, but the way I read it is that the real reason management threw in the towel was to avoid paying unfunded pension commitments.
In spite of some bad decisions that hurt the company, Studebaker was sufficiently viable to continue. But sacrifices would have to be made to honor the pension obligations. And it was deemed more expedient to quit then, shaft the retirees and keep the bucks.
It has been a while since I read up on this, so I could be shown to be wrong. But that's the way I remember it.