Here’s a nice bunch of Larks at the Whattoff Motor Co. in Ames, Iowa. And if this image from 1959 compels you to shout ‘fleet cars,’ you’d be right. These Larks are soon to join the ranks of the Iowa State Highway Commission.
Like a lot of auto-related businesses, the Whattoff Motor Co. started as a gas station. They also provided a number of auto-related maintenance services, eventually adding a Studebaker dealer in 1947.
The Whattoffs apparently went for some eye-grabbing promo displays to get Stude sales going, which started rather slowly. By ’51, however, sales finally picked up and the company moved to a new location in 1955.
Despite the newfound prosperity, promotional stunts remained part of the company’s practice. When Studebaker’s new V-8 Lark appeared, the Whattoffs had a salmon-colored unit permanently cruising Ames’ streets. Its mission was to impress the locals, with the new Lark leaving stoplights at an astonishing pace.
However, the Whattoff’s main claim to fame was their ‘Trailer Toter’ division. An invention of Vernard Whattoff, that provided telescopic frames for the truck business. Studebaker, International and Ford were some of the brands the company worked on. A link to the Whattoff’s history is available online, though it’s hard to navigate (the links don’t work, and typing the page number is necessary).
Further reading:
Curbside Classic: 1959 Studebaker Lark VIII Royal Hardtop Coupe – Studebaker’s Last Hurrah
Nothing says new car excitement like three dozen Larks crammed into a mud puddle.
I feel sure the employees of the Iowa State Highway Commission were thrilled.
Nothing like driving your brand-new car off their dirty ass lot.
I believe they were also a very early Toyota dealership, maybe the first in Iowa? There are still a relatively high population of FJ40s here in Ames.
The Studebaker in Iowa City was an early Toyota dealer too. That worked out really well for them, given that it was a university town, By 1971, there were gobs of Toyotas in town.
I looked up the location on the map. Indeed there was a Toyota Dealer in 1986 when I arrived here. When they left a Mazda dealer moved in. Then it was converted to a Mexican restaurant and today it is a Chinese restaurant.
Here’s a pretty comprehensive history of the dealer if you’re inclined: https://ameshistory.org/content/whattoff-motor-company
I O A LOT to posts like this for great information! Guess the AME s 2 Please! 😉. Though the LARK gave Studebaker a few more years, for my family, a brand new 59 Studebaker Lark was no walk in the park! Within weeks of purchase, ongoing issues began and never ended. Dealer was unable to fix. Dad even drove it to South Bend where no one at the factory could find a solution. Finally the LARK flew off to be replaced by a 61 Valiant. Like so many others, Studebaker had a very sad ending for a once great marque.
Dealers who were also manufacturers would make a good CC article. Most were probably hotrodding their brand, but many were doing conversions and creating original products.
So many Larks ! .
-Nate
Not an inviting looking place!
The first picture was taken in spring. The lot is a mess because of the melting snow banks that are in their final days. Mud season is always a mess.
Credit to the showmanship of auto dealers. Nothing is out of bounds!!
One Subaru dealer in the 70’s put his daughter in a slide on camper on top of a pole on the dealership lot. He pledged that he would give her a new Subaru if she stayed in the camper thru the end of the summer. A storm came before Labor Day; knocked the camper off the pole; dad reneged; daughter sued; she won!!!
Her publicity name was “Suzzie Subaru” or “Sussie Subaru”, but can’t find anything on Google.
Studebaker Larks were quite common in Iowa City during my years there (’60-’65). They were especially popular with the university crowd, given their proclivities for something smaller than the barges the Big 3 were building. And they seem to have had a good rep. I rode in a number of Larks back then.
The Trailer Toter is an interesting concept. Yes, the ultra swb trucks used to haul trailer (mobile homes) must had a terrible ride, but then it obviously wasn’t worth the effort and cost it took to make this.
I’m a tad too young to remember Studebaker, but from what I’ve read, a Lark wasn’t significantly cheaper than a stripped Biscayne (or Ford/Plymouth equivalent). And lots of folks bought cars by the pound, or by the foot. But I think that if I wanted a lower-end car, I’d probably pick a Lark, too.
Along with the senior Ramblers (but not the bathtub American originally designed for fully-skirted front fenders) and the Wide-Track Pontiacs, the Lark was one of a very select club of domestic ’59s that avoided the elephant-on-roller-skates look.
Too cheap to pave their lot? Or too broke?
It might be a recent construction site. If they chose to not pave, or couldn’t afford it, bare soil/mud obviously wouldn’t be a solution. A layer of gravel, would be an affordable logical alternative. Avoiding a quagmire.
You can’t make this stuff up — if any Whattoffs survive today, they should plan a meetup with Dr. Whynott, a dentist not far from my residence in Charlottesville, VA:
https://www.hollymeaddentalarts.com/our-staff/
That is a mind boggling # of “Larks” to have crammed onto that small lot!!
The “Datsun” dealer in my home town had a cracked, crumbling surface lot until it went out of business.
That was about “1980-81”.
To get as muddy as this one in the pic, you’d a had to venture to the “back row”..lol
The 1959 Lark was the cheapest American car exc the old 100″ wb Rambler. It was about $100 less than the 108″ wb Rambler and about $250 less than standard size cars.