On A Lark. Beaver Falls, PA
1959 Studebaker Lark.
The cleverly designed Studebaker Lark didn’t save the company, but it did buy a few more years for the proud Indiana automaker.
For 1959, Studebaker pulled another rabbit out of its hat. Faced with falling volume and rapidly fading resources, the South Bend carmaker took its aged and obsolete passenger car line and with some clever slicing and dicing, transformed it into a trendy and stylish compact. The Lark beat the compacts of the Big Three to the market by nearly a year, racking up some much-needed sales for the struggling manufacturer.
Sales remained strong in 1960 at more than 125,000 units, but by 1961 the Lark’s numbers were in steep decline—down to not quite 65,000 cars. By that time the Ford Falcon, Chevrolet Corvair, and Chrysler/Plymouth Valiant were established in the marketplace, and General Motors had launched the successful Buick Special, Olds F-85, and Pontiac Tempest senior compacts. There was no more room for Studebaker. Alas, the Indiana carmaker was being squeezed out of the compact category, just like everywhere else. For 1965, the Lark name was retired.
On A Lark. Beaver Falls, PA
1959 Studebaker Lark.
The cleverly designed Studebaker Lark didn’t save the company, but it did buy a few more years for the proud Indiana automaker.
For 1959, Studebaker pulled another rabbit out of its hat. Faced with falling volume and rapidly fading resources, the South Bend carmaker took its aged and obsolete passenger car line and with some clever slicing and dicing, transformed it into a trendy and stylish compact. The Lark beat the compacts of the Big Three to the market by nearly a year, racking up some much-needed sales for the struggling manufacturer.
Sales remained strong in 1960 at more than 125,000 units, but by 1961 the Lark’s numbers were in steep decline—down to not quite 65,000 cars. By that time the Ford Falcon, Chevrolet Corvair, and Chrysler/Plymouth Valiant were established in the marketplace, and General Motors had launched the successful Buick Special, Olds F-85, and Pontiac Tempest senior compacts. There was no more room for Studebaker. Alas, the Indiana carmaker was being squeezed out of the compact category, just like everywhere else. For 1965, the Lark name was retired.