Raymond Loewy Archives - Richard M. Langworth

Harrington Le Mans: Sunbeam’s Lovely Gran Turismo

31 December 2020 Comments 3 Comments

Moss on Sunbeams

Sunbeam-Talbot had a good competition pedigree before the Second World War. But the firm was bought by the Rootes Group in 1935, and not much happened for awhile. In 1952, Stirling Moss finished second in a Sunbeam-Talbot 90 in the Monte Carlo Rally—the high point that decade. “You wouldn’t believe how slow my Sunbeams were,” Sir Stirling later told my friend, motoring writer Graham Robson. “Yes I would!” Graham replied.

Arrival of the Sunbeam Alpine sports car in 1959 made competition worth considering. Rootes competitions manager Norman Garrad had the idea that they could win something at the classic Twenty-four Hours of Le Mans endurance race.…

Why Studebaker Failed: In the End, It is Always Management

30 April 2020 Comments 8 Comments

Why did Studebaker go out of business? I have your book Studebaker 1946-1966, originally published as Studebaker: The Postwar Years. I worked for the old company at the end in Hamilton, Ontario. Your book brought back memories of many old Studebaker hands. Stylists Bob Doehler and Bob Andrews were good friends about my age.

I am looking forward to the last chapter discussing how Studebaker went wrong, especially since I also have theories. It would fun to compare notes. I often quote from your book: “For many years, Raymond Loewy Associates would be the only thing standing between Studebaker and dull mediocrity.”…

Should this have been the “Step-down” Hudson?

7 August 2017 Comments 2 Comments

Reader Brent Hinde writes about my Hudson book, The Classic Postwar Years (1977, reprinted 1993). Very kind of him, since it’s the first mention of that book in decades.

Recently at an estate sale I picked up the book and found it an excellent read. On page 38 is a terrific sketch of a car that should have been built, rather than the design management chose. My question is: Who drew that sketch? Are there more drawings like that in existence? It would make a great guide for a project car.

Hudson’s styling team

The drawing (top) shows a crisper shape than the production 1948 Hudson.…