Studebaker Lark History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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Model history available. Detailed year guides are not published for this model.
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The Lark arrived for 1959 as Studebaker bet its survival on the new compact-car market, trimming its existing body down to a shorter, lighter package that beat the Big Three's compacts to showrooms. It was a runaway success in its first year — well over 130,000 sold — and briefly returned Studebaker to profit.
Sales fell once Detroit answered with the Falcon, Corvair, and Valiant. The Lark gained a sporty Daytona trim (bucket seats and console) for 1962 and the innovative sliding-roof Wagonaire wagon for 1963. From 1963–1964 the Lark name was gradually dropped, the cars rebadged as Commander, Daytona, and Cruiser.
The Lark-based line carried Studebaker to the end: the last cars, built in Hamilton, Ontario, left the line in March 1966.
Body styles
- Sedan
- Coupe
- Hardtop
- Convertible
- Station wagon
Notable special editions & performance variants
Lark Daytona
The sporty top trim — bucket seats and center console — offered as a hardtop and convertible; later a standalone nameplate as the Lark name was phased out.
Wagonaire
Lark-based station wagon with a Brooks Stevens-designed sliding rear roof section to carry tall loads; about 12,000 sliding-roof examples built.
Related models
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