Va n a ’ s n e w h o m e
A former calendar pin-up shows off in Tennessee
By Keith Phildius
AOAI Tennessee member
We moved from Florida last December, which
marked the start of an exciting adventure for us. Leaving behind Florida allowed us to bring many wonderful
memories with us. Florida was our first purchase of an
Avanti.
We bought Jim Pearce’s 1987 Avanti Coupe in 2001.
It fulfilled a dream of 20 years, and that was to own an
Avanti. Ever since that test drive Chicago in the early
1980’s, we knew we were destined to own one of those
gorgeous machines.
Jim Pearce helped us fulfill that dream. That purchase was followed with a membership in both AOAI
and the Avanti Florida club, the Avanti Club of Florida
the John Ebstein Chapter. What a wonderful group of
people who enjoyed the Avanti, loved cars and appreciated the fellowship of car owners.
After that initial Avanti purchase, I saw what a wonderful group of both Chapter and National members
there are. The Florida Chapter numbered 90 plus
members and AOAI had a membership some 2000
worldwide. I had an opportunity to become involved in
the Chapter as its president for two years and also join
the AOAI Board and serve on it for four years.
So you might ask what does this have to do with
Vana, whoever she is?
No, that is not the name of my wife, although I have
been accused of being married to Vana. It is the name
of our second Avanti, a 1989 convertible that was the
Wheel of Fortune prize in 1989. Joangay, my wife, and
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AVANTI Magazine
I purchased it in April 2003.
Vana has been to national meets in Charlotte in 2003,
Florida in 2005, and was in South Bend this past June.
The only difference is that the drive will be a shorter
one than from Florida since we moved to Tennessee in
December 2006.
Vana has a new home. While she and we miss our
Florida friends, she and we are making new friends in
the Knoxville area. While Avanti activities are less active here, there is an abundance of car clubs and
meets.
Vana ventured out into the Cumberland Plateau area
of eastern Tennessee early this summer to participate
with some 200 other cars and trucks for the Granville
Heritage Antique Car Show. Quite a show in a small
town with a deep heritage of Civil War battles, beautiful landscape and a sleepy little lake nestled in the
mountains.
Vana was the talk of the show! Yes, we had the traditional questions about “that Italian car,” “what year
was that Avanti made in Canada,” “kit car?” “I didn’t
know Studebaker made them in 1989.” Past that, the
public and other car lovers admired her for her lines,
style, and that hallmark styling that put the Avanti so
ahead of its time.
She won a trophy for her class but more importantly,
she made lots of new friends and stimulated tons of
questions about how the Avanti was so ahead of its
time and was on the leading edge of design and imagination dating back to its inception in 1963.
Fall/Winter 2007 Issue 140