It was autumn of 1958. A group of automobile journalists had been invited to a thoroughbred race track near Toronto. The occasion was the introduction of a new Studebaker, the Lark. We were held in check by the publicity people, who'd kept their new babies out of sight around a bend. At a signal, the cars suddenly appeared, swinging through a curve then dramatically braking where we stood. I groaned. So did some of my colleagues. The beautiful Loewy bodies looked like they'd run into a brick wall.

Regardless of what we felt about the styling, Studebaker sales increased by 381% in one year, to a total of 153,823 in 1959. But it was a slippery slope from then on as the company could not hold off competition from the Big Three's new compacts plus increased pressure by the imports. With sales down to 43,232 in 1964, Studebaker closed its US plant and moved production to the smaller Hamilton, Ontario factory. Suddenly it was a Canadian car. After 1964 the Lark name was dropped, replaced by Cruiser, Daytona, and the unique Wagonaire, a station wagon with a large sliding roof at the rear which could be combined with the tailgate to provide a rather nifty viewing platform for outdoor events. I tested a Wagonaire for Canada Track & Traffic Magazine (cover above) and found it to be "roomy, completely functional, fashionable enough for the wealthy." I described the 180 hp V-8's performance as "more than adequate but certainly not breathtaking."

I was not impressed by the steering, which required six turns lock-to-lock and had a lack of road feel. Nor was I pleased with the upright seating; our test model did not have the optional reclining seats. Also missing was a windshield washer, leading me to comment that "we almost found ourselves flying blind in some of Ontario's wet, muddy winter days." I did, however, consider the Studebaker dashboard to be "one of the best in the business." "Click here" for a period Wagonaire TV commercial.

Nostalgia now colors my opinions, so when I see a nicely restored "Studebaker Lark" I rather like it and certainly wouldn't object to owning one. Because the Larks (and their follow-up nameplates) were not very handsome and lacked performance credentials, they can be purchased for reasonable prices, making them candidates as vintage starter cars for the novice collector. Find one in good or restorable condition, and you've got something the other guy probably hasn't. A Studebaker.