No, I haven’t lost track of what day it is. This post from February, Throwback Thursday 36, about the 1920 US Presidential Election has been receiving a fair number of views the past 2-3 days. The reason I’m mentioning that is I have no idea why.
The number of views for the post exceeds the number of all blog views referred from all search engines during this period. I guess I should just be grateful for the post “revival,” but I am a curious person.
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More blog minutia…
I started writing Disaffected Musings in January, 2018. The number of views/visitors made a quantum leap forward in October, 2018 and continued at about the same level through March, 2020. With a big “boost” from people being at home, the number of views/visitors took another leap in April, 2020.
The last five months, April through August of 2020, have been the five months with the highest number of views and visitors. Numbers nerd/OCD “sufferer” that I am, I had to quantify the leap.
With the number 100 representing the average number of monthly views from October, 2018 through March, 2020, here are the “adjusted” number of views for the last five months (the actual average of monthly views is in the thousands; 100 is a number often used as a baseline):
| April | 177 |
| May | 231 |
| June | 199 |
| July | 168 |
| August | 176 |
The 177 figure for April means the number of blog views for that month was 77 percent higher than the average from October, 2018 through March, 2020. Yes, I could have used +77% instead of 177.
Almost one-third of all blog views have happened in just the last five months. Once again, I am grateful for the increase in readership, not oblivious as to the main reason why, and I will continue to ask for “the sale.” Please feel free to tell your friends about the blog and to pass along the URL (https://disaffectedmusings.com), please feel free to click on any (or all) of the related posts at the bottom of each post, please feel free to “Like” any post and to submit thoughtful comments.
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Although the National Corvette Museum opened on this day in 1994, I think I have been writing too much about Corvettes in general and the C8 in particular as of late. According to 365 Days of Motoring, it was on this day in 1955 that the first meeting of the Studebaker-Packard Dealer-Factory Planning Committee occurred. (On a tangent…it is incredible to me that with all of the times I have written about these two companies, this post marks the first that the tag “Studebaker-Packard” is used.)
Although characterized as a merger, technically Packard acquired Studebaker with the transaction becoming official in October, 1954. If 365 Days of Motoring is correct, then this “important” committee’s first meeting was awfully late.
Many people are far more qualified than I to discuss the reasons for the eventual demise of both makes. Remember that even before World War II, the “Big Three” of American car companies had taken control of the market, due in no small way to the Great Depression. For example, the eight best-selling makes for model year 1941 were all made by the Big Three and accounted for 74% of all vehicle production for that year.
My “obsession” with defunct American makes has waned somewhat in recent months, but I still read parts of James Ward’s The Fall Of The Packard Motor Car Company and Richard Langworth’s Studebaker 1946-1966: The Classic Postwar Years almost every week. I still dream of owning a car made by one or both of those companies. Maybe something like these:
From the Consumer Guide Auto blog the top picture is a 1963 Studebaker Gran Turismo Hawk and from Hemmings the bottom is a 1956 Packard 400. Shops that work on older cars, defunct makes or not, must exist where we’re headed, given the huge car culture there. Yet again, what is life without dreams?
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Disaffected Musings 
By way of comparison, though I have many more followers of my blog, your average daily views is far higher than mine. I seldom have over 100 views in a day, but when I do, it’s on a day of blog publication (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday usually). Looks like you’re doing fine. Congrats.
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Thanks for the kind words, sir. Remember, though, I have never revealed the absolute number of views/visitors for the blog. The table in today’s post is a relative measure of monthly views compared to a previous average.
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It’s been said that “Studebaker lied and Packard died” because Studebaker presented a far rosier view of their finances than was reality. Hindsight being what it is, all the independents probably should have merged, but there were too many egos involved. Not sure most would have survived, as evidenced by all but Rambler being gone by the mid 60’s, but it would have been their only hope.
Life without dreams? I guess that would qualify as a nightmare.
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Good to “hear” from you, DDM. Yes, Studebaker was less than forthcoming about its financial picture, but both parties were desperate and rushed into the agreement without due diligence.
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