AVANTI OWNERS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL, INC.

Avanti rises out of the ashes as plant in Georgia powers up

VILLA RICA, Ga. -- For nearly 40 years, sports car enthusiasts have adored the Avanti, a smooth, stylish coupe that has always turned heads but rarely turned a profit.

Introduced by Studebaker a year before the automaker went out of business in 1963, new Avantis are about to hit the road again, this time from a small factory in this town west of Atlanta.

John Seaton, president and CEO of Avanti Motor Corp., shows off the prototype of the car that refuses to die. About 300 will be built next year. Studebaker introduced the car designed by Raymond Loewy in 1962. Photo by Rick Kintzel/Associated Press

"I've concluded that the car is cosmic," said Tom Kellogg, who helped on the original Avanti design. "It has some sort of personality or spirit that keeps finding people to take it over and stroke it and keep it going."

Avanti Motor Corp., formed in 1964 after Studebaker's demise, continued production of the car until it went bankrupt in 1985. The following year, New Avanti Motor Corp. formed and resumed production, first in South Bend, Ind., and then in Youngstown Ohio, where the last line of Avantis was produced in 1991.

Now two businessmen have given up six-figure salaries and cushy corporate jobs to bring the Avanti back to life.

"We're just living a dream because we love the car so much," said John Seaton, former president of a Carrollton clothing company who is the new president and chief executive officer of Avanti Motor Co. "We're ready to go at 4:30 a.m. and do whatever is necessary."

Seaton and John Hull, a former corporate accountant from Trumbull, Conn., who is now Avanti's chief financial officer, answer their own phones, help unload equipment and even play game warden.

About a week after the Avanti ribbon-cutting ceremony at a former sock factory, a dog chased a deer through their glass office door. The men just cleaned up the glass and kept going.

"Once you're bitten by the Avanti bug, it never lets go," Hull said.

Avanti enthusiasts are glad the car is back in production. Steve Kolish, a retired airline mechanic in Niles, Ill., bought his Avanti 20 years ago and estimates he has spent upwards of $50,000 in upkeep and restoration.

"We're a unique bunch of sick people," he said.

The original Avanti design was by Raymond Loewy for Studebaker as a way to save the flagging company.

Kellogg was on Loewy's staff at the time and was called upon to update the sleek car known for its squared off front end, distinctive sweeping fenders and trademark backside.

"I've talked to Avanti owners everywhere trying to figure out what it is they like about the car," said Kellogg, now 67 and based in Irvine, Calif. "They all have different answers. So I had to go with my gut feeling."

A prototype of the new design was unveiled at the ribbon cutting in December, with plans calling for a hardtop and convertible version of the two-door coupe that retains many of the instantly recognizable features of the original -- reverting to the round headlights that were changed in subsequent versions.

Seaton, Hull and former sole owner Michael Kelly now own Avanti Motor Co. Seaton would not disclose what he paid for the privately held company or for the factory in downtown Villa Rica.

Seaton said he hopes to start production soon, with the first car set to roll off the line by the end of 2000.

In keeping with Avanti tradition, the Fiberglas body, the leather interior and all the other trimmings will be assembled by hand, while the guts of the car will be a souped-up Corvette engine and updated suspension system.

Initial plans call for the plant to employ about 150 and produce about 300 cars a year -- "the slowest assembly line in the business," Seaton said.

No specifics are available yet, but the car will cost less than $100,000 and Seaton is planning to market the Avanti "to those looking for a way to state their individuality with a truly American car."

Seaton, who has owned 70 different Avantis over his lifetime, said he would test-drive each car personally.

"I am totally committed to quality and making sure everything is right with the car," Seaton said.

The plant will serve current Avanti owners who have had nowhere to go for new body parts since 1991. Seaton estimates about 8,100 Avantis have been made since its introduction in 1963, with about 6,000 still running.

Even though his car is running fine, Avanti's renewal has come none too soon for Kolish.

"The look of the rear end is what captured me and led me to buy one," Kolish said. "It will be nice to see that rear end on the road again."

AVANTI still means FORWARD!