For 1960, Studebaker, added this cute convertible to its Lark lineup. The “VIII” designation referred to the number of cylinders, powered by Studebaker’s 259-cubic inch V8. This engine produced 180 hp in standard form, or 195 horsepower with the optional four-barrel carburetor and dual exhausts. This convertible weighed just under 3,000 lbs. at the curb. Don’t let the fender skirts and pastel shade fool you – this little marshmallow peep could move out for its day.
“Regal” denoted upper-scale models, over the standard “DeLuxe” range. The convertible and hardtop coupe were available only as Regals, and the two-door sedan could only be had as a DeLuxe. The other bodystyles, which included a four-door sedan and wagon, could be had in either state of trim. Lark sales for 1960 would drop only slightly from inaugural year 1959’s 131,000 figure to about 128,000. The ensuing sales onslaught from the Valiant-Falcon-Corvair trio would see to it that combined Lark sales would never break 100,000 after 1960.
It has been over six years since I’ve seen this car on the streets of my neighborhood. Still, I felt the time was right to recall its memory. Its bright-yellow hue reflects the cheer and optimism of both springtime and also that which Studebaker likely felt when the Lark’s success had continued for a second year. It might have seemed at the time in South Bend, Indiana that sunny days were here again.
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Sunday, October 11, 2009.
Related reading: Curbside Classic: 1959 Studebaker Lark VIII Regal Hardtop Coupe – Studebaker’s Last Hurrah.
I love it!
My 8th grade soccer coach drove a ’61 Lark VIII convertible, and I always made an effort to ride in his car to games. It was a manual, and he drove it pretty briskly; it would really step out in first and second gear.
Thanks for bringing back happy memories riding in it. I’ll just ignore the unhappy memories of what actually happened on the playing field (I was a mediocre player).
Awesome! And Paul, your soccer was still probably way better than my tennis.
And my cricket!
Nice find Joseph.
Beautiful looking Studebaker. I’ve always liked the 1959-61 Lark. 🙂
Where I grew up, the closest Studebaker dealer was over an hour away, so they were few and far between. I only remember 2 different families that owned them, one had a late 40s 2 door sedan, while the other had a series of Hawks….3 or 4 in all.
If anything, I would guess the lack of dealers held down the numbers of Studebakers sold.
Studebaker’s dealer structure was one of its failings. At one time darn near anyone could be a dealer… the corner gas station might be a dealer, selling three or four units per year. That any town, USA, might have a dealer was one of the initial attractions for Mercedes-Benz when they signed with Studebaker-Packard as their American distributor. Somehow, though, Studebaker didn’t quite match up with Mecedes’ market.
In its final days, Studebaker seemed to get serious about its dealer structure and identity. Someplace I’ve got the booklet that details the new paint scheme and signage standards for dealerships, as well as the new corporate typeface, used for the company name on this attached photo.
That’s a nice looking brochure – something Studebaker stumbled on in many years – and that new corporate logo and font still look modern today. It’s a shame they never used it on the car itself, which kept the old-looking 1950s style script through to the end in 1966. The exception was on the hood ornament:
Here’s a 1928 ad that exemplifies Studebaker’s approach to dealerships!
“Studebaker’s dealer structure was one of its failings.”
Very much so, one of the major factors that, in those last desperate years to stay in automobiles, contributed greatly to their leaving the business. The family of board member Dr. Lamberti contributed his papers including board minutes to Studebaker historians. Discussions of the dealer situation revealed that of the approximately 700 dealers in 1963, only a bit over 300 dealers were producing the majority of the sales volume. Dealer affectiveness for the majority was extremely low, many handled Studebakers as a sideline to farm impliments, garage/repair shops, gas stations and even household appliances! Sales analysis revealed most were to loyal Studebaker owners who had a trust relationship with their dealer. Few were conquest sales from other makes.
The lack of coverage in many markets was a continuing problem, with public attitude of their impending orphan status discouraging potential buyers, few wanted to take the chance on a new franchise. Exisiting dealers were meeting resistance from their lenders to floor-plan inventory as banks feared the sudden end of production would leave them with inventory whose sale couldn’t recoup the debt owed.
These 1959-’61 Larks can best be thought of as an engineer’s compact car. They were the brainchild of S-P President Harold Churchill, who had been with the company as engineer since 1926. He was installed in that position in the 1956 reorganization turmoil that put S-P under Curtiss-Wright’s management.
Love it! But then you already knew that. 🙂
One of the moms in my kindergarten carpool drove a white 60 Lark VIII Regal 2 door sedan with red and black interior. Tim and I became best friends for several years thereafter and I got quite a number of rides in that Lark, which remained his mother’s car until 1972. The interiors on the higher trim models were quite nicely finished.
Tim’s dad was performance minded and the Lark sported the wheelcovers he removed from his 64 Avanti when he fitted it with mag wheels, and it also exhaled through a glasspack muffler, which gave off that truly unique Studebaker exhaust note.
The 59-60 are my favorite Larks because they look so perfect – stubby but in a good way. The 61 played with some details that were a touch disappointing.
Of course I did, JP! I love hearing really positive, firsthand accounts of experiences with these cars.
Joseph, Nice find; I loved the Larks, especially the convertibles. A high school friend had a new Lark VI convertible in this color. It was much nicer than my old yellow Chrysler, no rust and much quicker (yes, even the VI was sprightly).
One day he mentioned to me that it didn’t seem to be running right; it lacked power. This was a new car. We checked the points and the distributor locking bolt, looked for loose plug wires and obstructions in the air cleaner; we found nothing awry.
I sat in the driver seat thinking, then got out and looked at the floor. A “D” battery had rolled under the gas pedal and lodged itself against the floor and the pedal.
Removed “D” battery, solved problem.
It’s funny the things we remember 56 years after the fact. I certainly don’t remember any of the French I took.
RLPlaut, this battery story is too funny – this one may get re-told this weekend! I’m glad the problem wasn’t more serious.
As far as what I remember 24 years removed from high school, I can still do fairly useful, semi-complex algebra, but probably couldn’t draw a sentence diagram if there was $1,000 in cash on the table in front of me to do so. (Of course, I’d try. 🙂 )
A “D” battery lodged against floor and gas pedal and the car felt it had “less power”. Wish I used that trick when I was trying to help my friend win his street car races back when we were in our teens. That is, slip the battery in the OTHER guy’s car…when he wasn’t looking. LOL
Enjoyed the anecdote.
I also think the ’59-’60 Larks were the best looking, stubby but cute. The transitional models from 1961-63 weren’t as nice, and it wasn’t again until ’64 that the Lark/Daytona looked good again, by which time it was way too late for Stude.
The convertibles were particularly nice.
I’ve always found the ’63 Lark to be attractive, almost European in appearance in a way that neither the ’62 or ’64 was. Those clean, thin pillars, the one-year-only rear-side and rear glass, and the straight-line chrome side moldings. It looks good in any of the available body styles.
It’s too bad most of the profits from the early Larks were diverted into divesting out of the car business.
The Lark and the Gran Truismo Hawk were updated in ’62 by Brooks Stevens, who did marvels with a mere pittance. Minor changes were implemented in the next two model years.
There is an argument to be made that Studebaker could have made a go of it by continuing as a truck manufacturer, but they dumped the line when South Bend was closed.
The Champ trucks always seemed like afterthoughts to me. Fashioned out of a ’59-’60 Lark body with a truck bed that didn’t flow smoothly into the front section, they never bothered updating it with the more modern windshield and dash (’63) and front sheetmetal (’64) from the revamped Larks.
Studebaker was apparently pioneers in diesel-powered trucks…shame they couldn’t have kept that going.
Fender skirts are comely on long, sleek cars.
This car looks far better w/o them.
Agreed, and judging by the color being off a shade or two on them they aren’t original either
The only cars that look good with skirts are the ones that the factory designed to have in the first place.
The driver has a jaunty look that was always typical of Studie owners. After ’53 Studie became the salesman’s favorite. Confident, quick off the line, flamboyant by gray-flannel ’50s standards.
Other carmakers tried to reach the salesman market with austere business coupes, thinking that storage space was the important variable. They didn’t understand salesmen.
This is a great photo, love it!
Outstanding cars, I daily drove a stripper ’60 VIII in the late ’90s and it was the paragon of reliability. 20 MPG like clockwork with no overdrive. Single exhaust glasspack too. Embarrassed a whole pile of new cars going over the Cajon pass from San Diego to Vegas.
That’s excellent. One of the things I was surprised to learn about the Lark VIII is not just how quick it was, but also what great gas mileage it got. Pretty impressive, especially for 1960.
I’m looking for Wilber Post, from Mr. Ed in that convertible. There was a recent episode when he was stopped by a cop. He was driving fast because he had to get something for his sick horse, Mr. Ed.
I saw a Champ 2 days ago…mostly gray primer, with some dark metallic blue peeking around door jambs, like the owner has started doing cut-in on the jambs. Long bed, pseudo-stepside. I was going the opposite direction by the University of Cincinnati.
A neighbor had a Lark VIII convertible in red, rode in it a couple of times in the early 1980s. The Lark didn’t leave much of an impression, but the maroon Avanti sure did…that car blew my mind. Black vinyl interior, 4 speed with bad 2nd gear synchros so he just did 1-3-4 shifts, sweet sounding V8, best dash and switches in the business…loved it!
As a ’63 GT Hawk owner, it’s always good to see a Stude featured on CC. This one looks to be a very tidy Lark convertible with skirts (?)—not sure why but it’s still a great car.
Beautiful Gran Turismo, and great shot of it! I hope you have this framed and hung somewhere.
Good-looking little car, though it’d be better without the fender skirts. And marshmallow Peep is a perfect description!