Here are a couple of more finds from canadiancatgreen at the Cohort. First, a 4-door Studebaker Lark, which could be a ’59 or a ’60. Oddly, the windshield chalk marks suggest it is a ’57? Either there was a simple boo-boo while scribbling down the numbers, or this is an unbelievable pre-production sample. While the latter would be quite a tale, I’m pretty sure it’s just a typo.
The Lark has gotten a lot of love on these pages, and CC aptly declared it Studebaker’s Last Hurrah. In the case of this Lark, its turquoise tone is so-fifties correct I can feel its Kodachrome hue brightening my day. By the way, if I’m correct, in Studebaker-speak this tone was Seamist Green. (And who exactly picks color names? Sounds like a fun job.)
Next to the Lark sits a 1950 Meteor. If I understood a previous CC post on the matter, the Meteor saga started sometime in 1946, when Mercury of Canada started selling a Ford-based model with Mercury trim. Originally called the 114, the model got the Meteor name in 1949 and the formula hadn’t changed, it was a Ford-based model but with a trés-chic Mercury grille. Kinda neat, I’ll admit.
As mentioned, if you wish to check out Ford’s alternate Canadian reality, it was already detailed by David Saunders. And well, there’s also a Nissan Quest next to our two curbside leads. But do you really want the lowdown on that one?
Further reading:
Canada Day Classics: Canadian Ford Branding History
Curbside Classic: 1959 Studebaker Lark VIII Regal Hardtop – Studebaker’s Last Hurrah
Although they look similar, I’ve read the ’59-60 Lark windshield does not interchange with the ’55-1/2 to ’58 windshield, nor the later ’61-62 glass, so it’s definitely not pulled from a 1957 car. The Lark itself looks like a ’59, as the insignia on the grille was repositioned to the center for 1960.
I think he just meant that the year written on the windshield appears to say “1957”, although to me it looks too hard to read to be completely sure.
The Meteor looks like a 1949-51 Ford roof line.. but don’t see the 1949 Ford external gas cap.
Love Canadian models..
That Ford product is not a Mercury Meteor, that is what we got as a midsize in the US and Canada got many years later. This would just be a Meteor if it was the base model, the Meteor Niagara for the mid range model and the Meteor Rideau for the fancy version.
It is a common issue. Lots of “Pontiac Beaumonts” around as well. Lots of the yards have US based software and books.
Now I see that both cars had typos on their windshields, the Lark claiming it’s a ’57 (legible at the Cohort), and the ‘Mercury’ Meteor. I’ll fix the text a bit.
The wildest (if not the best) car color names came during the height of the psychedlic era in 1970 from both Chrysler (‘High Impact’) and Ford (Maverick).
Here’s a few of the Ford colors:
– Anti-Establish Mint
– Hulla Blue
– Original Cinnamon
– Freudian Gilt (gold)
– Thanks Vermillion
– Dresden Blue
Although it’s intended as a pun (‘Dressed In Blue’), that last one is still kind of shocker, considering the extreme negative historical connotations of the city of Dresden (particularly in combination with some of Henry Ford’s more ‘unorthodox’ beliefs).
In what appears to be a subtle reference to those 1970 names, the 2022 Maverick compact pickup has these:
– Cyber Orange,
– Velocity Blue
– Cactus Gray
– Area 51
– Hot Pepper Red
– Alto Blue
I don’t think Dresden Blue was intended as a pun – that was actually an established color name long before WWII – I believe it originally referred to to color of Dresden Porcelain chinaware, which was popular in the early 1900s.
It’s not uncommon to see Dresden Blue references to things like furniture or clothes colors from the 1920s & ’30s.
After iron touches the ground, a Meteor becomes a Meteorite.
That is an excellent reason to maintain proper tire pressure.
The Lark is indeed a 59. In addition to the offset grille emblem noted above, this bears traces of a “Studebaker” nameplate on the side of the front fender (the 60 put “Lark VI or Lark VIII” there) and the kink in the side trim has a sharp corner (instead of a more flowing curve).
Great find!
The last Mercury cars we got used Ford bodies with better trim coupes and fordors both types used the mercury engine probably to cut down on the number of spares needed good cars even if they were very prewar cars they were popular, then the supply dried up and we got Fords only from 49 and in some years like during the Korean war nothing at all from Canada.
I concur, I too believe it’s a 59. I also believe the colour is seafoam green. My father purchased a new 59 Lark with the 259 V8, 3 on the tree.
Happy memories driving my turquoise ’59 two door wagon from CO to British Columbia in October of ’83 with the 259 three on the tree to attend log building school. The next year drove a restored ’50 Champion Starlight Coupe to CA painted seafoam grey.
What kind of headlamp / lens is that on the Studebaker? I’ve not seen one like that.