A Lark of an Idea

Since it's inception as a carriage maker, Studebaker had earned a reputation for making solid, dependable and often not so contemporary products. Even the first cars around the turn of the century were somewhat different than the norm. Plus, their cars were backed by innovative ideas.

Studebaker was the first manufacturer to test their cars on a proving ground. From this testing came superior automobiles that performed as well as many more expensive marques. They were a true middle class car but with the quality of a higher priced vehicle.

World War II hurt all of the auto makers. Yes they all switched gears so to speak and turned their production prowess toward the war effort, but the cost of switching over and then switching back after the war and the lost sales during the war put many firms, especially the smaller and mid sized companies, in some financial straights.

At that time Ford developed an interesting strategy. They would lower their prices, making very little profit on each car. What they were hoping to do was to undermine and undercut those manufacturers, such as Studebaker, who needed to maintain a certain price point in order to survive. The strategy worked and the combined effects of the Depression, WW II and having to lower prices put a number of firms out of business.

Studebaker struggled on, though. In 1954 they orchestrated a deal to be bought out by Packard. Though Packard was finding itself with some of the same problems as Studebaker, it did have a bit more financial strength and the idea of a combined company serving a wider market was appealing.

Still, Studebaker needed to do something innovative and different. So in 1959 they introduced the Lark. The Lark was to be the compact car that management hoped would help prop up Studebaker. With a frugal budget the designers utilized some ingenious ideas. For one they built the car on the full-sized frame of existing Studebakers but then they shortened the overhang in both the front and the back to make for a shorter car. They also gambled by putting out two sedans, a coupe and a station wagon, making the Lark the broadest compact line in the country.

The cars also came with the option of a 2.8 liter flathead six or a 4.2 liter V-8. This made the Lark the only compact car in the country that could come with a V-8 engine.

When the third generation of the Lark came out in 1964 it had received a complete make-over. These cars, like the 1964 Daytona seen here, were the most conventional Studebakers ever to roll down the roads of America.

Still, even this new design couldn't reverse the trend of falling sales. By 1963 all of the cars were being made in Canada and three years later the last of the Studebakers rolled off that line. The innovative and unique Lark was one of the last to be made.