Not to be outfruited by the Italians and Germans in terrible vehicle design. In 1962 Studebaker released the Avanti

@dancingtongue Very true. They had some cool designs but they definately had more turds that really took the cake.

Going into the 50s and 60s their designed team seemed way too obsessed with space futurism look and a lot of their models and design cues seemed like something a kid obsessed with rocket ships would come up with.

@MethDozer Yeah. Then you had the Oldsmobile Rocket 88 and the whole fin-crazy era of the mid to late 50's

@dancingtongue the fin craze was awesome.

Olds 88 is a supreme car

@MethDozer I remember back when teachers were allowed to teach critical thinking. Highlighted by the 57 Chevy all of us guys in high school thought it was the coolest advance in automotive history. Then the science teacher asked us to explain what value it added to the car, and we were trying to justify how these vertical fins were going to improve guidance, traction, whatever. A decade or later the wind tunnels said the horizontal spoilers added traction, but the vertical fins only added visual appeal to those who liked it.

I always thought the Oldsmobile was a good car, from the one my father swore he never owned to one of the last ones that I had. Where the Rocket 88 name came from, other than marketing's fixation on the space race at the time, I never understood.

@dancingtongue rocket was just a bad ass small block for the time. The car was just an Olds 88. Oldsmobile offered their rocket v8 in their model 88. Car guys invented the name rocket 88, it wasnt a manufacturer model. The name rocket 88 just became a car guys thing when the olds rocket engine became a race track beast. After that car guys who wanted thay rocket motor started eyeing the Olds 88 but being interested in the motor more than the car were looking for those "rocket 88s"