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South Bend 2012 |
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The
Studebakers Drivers Club holds an annual meeting at different
locations around the USA. In 2012 it was in South Bend and is
held there every fifth year - South Bend being the home of
Studebaker, of course. I attended the 2007 event in South Bend. Last year I attended the event in Springfield, Missouri (on
Route 66 !!). Next year the meet will be held in Colorado
Springs, Colorado from June 30 to July 6, 2013 and will be the
49th annual meeting. We have very strong local, national and
international clubs.
In 2012, there were approximately 700 Studebakers and Avantis on
the St. Joseph County Fairgrounds in South Bend. Parts vendors
were plentiful and there were many Studies for sale. There was
music, food, judging of the cars, a parade in Downtown South
Bend and the highlight for me - 5 or 6 laps around the old
Studebaker Proving Grounds just west of town. There were
approximately 250 cars on the track. I have now had the
Speedster on two very famous tracks - Studebaker and the Indy
500 !!!
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| Click to view
the video |
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"On the old
Studebaker Proving Grounds in South Bend, August 2012. This is a THREE mile
track - for comparison the Indy 500 track is only 2.5 miles." |
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"On the
apron of the Studebaker Proving Grounds with friend Wayne Shabaz and his
beautiful 1988 Avanti convertible. The Avanti was first built by Studebaker,
but when Studebaker closed, the Avanti name and manufacturing rights were
purchased and it lives on." |
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On the grounds of the fairgrounds with about 700 other Studebakers !! |
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The Studebaker Band !! In the old days, many car manufacturers had their
own bands. Ours has survived and thrived !!! |
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Some of the 250 or so cars that participated in the laps around the track.
The parade around the track was on Saturday after many of the cars had
already left. I stayed specifically to drive around the famed oval. |
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