Aside 1, Studebaker Concept Rumor
Quote:
Originally Posted by Trackbar
Very good reading on the history of these trucks.
Correct me if I am wrong. Over the years I have heard from different sources that GM bought the plans for these trucks from Studebaker before the went under. Has anyone else been told this?
|
Interesting. I have never heard of this before now. I did some digging on this and from what I found I think it was speculation based on a Studebaker concept photo that surfaced. User Ryan68 posted a thread about this on the original boards that claimed this concept photo was of a Studebaker design that was purchased by GM. The photo and original thread are gone, however, there is
this thread from 2002 that discusses the original thread, and the consensus is that the concept purchase was purely speculation based on subtle similarities between the Studebaker concept and production '67 C10. It is also mentioned that the whole rumor was started as a joke by Ryan68, but I could not substantiate this claim. In that thread, there is a nice post by user billogna that adds a bit of relevant information to this thread, along with an interesting concept drawing from '65. I will quote his post here:
"The original '67 was designed by Harry Bentley Bradley. There was an interesting interview with him in the Jan '01 issue of Sport Truck mag, in which he talks about how he pushed for the small back window, and how GM thought the overall design was too car-like so they changed the hood in '69 to make it more truck-like, but he was working with the Cadillac team by then, and had no say in the new design. Anyway, this is the most convincing pic, to me, that suppports the non-Studebaker theory. It is obviosly a '67 Chevy design. I like the Chevelle body line on the forward front fender. It is signed by Bradley and dated 8/65. He had been with GM since '62."
If someone has a copy of the Harry Bentley Bradley interview that billogna mentioned, that would be an awesome addition to this thread.