Forgotten Americana - Studebaker Commander and Lark
Located at a little service station by Danbury High School outside of Marblehead, OH are a couple old forgotten Studebaker cars. The yellow one is a Studebaker Commander and the blue one is a Studebaker Lark.
Studebaker was founded and manufactured their cars in South Bend, Indiana starting with horse drawn wagons/coaches back in 1852/1853. They manufactured and advertised their first automobile in 1902, an electric vehicle. The gasoline powered one would come out a couple years later.
Doing a little bit of research, the yellow Studebaker Commander is a 1958 model year. It would have come off the factory floor with a ohv 259 small block engine with 150 horsepower. It would have cost around $2,700 new.
The blue Studebaker Lark is a 1963 model from what I can tell from doing research online. It would have come with a 289 ci V8 engine. This would have been one of the last production runs of Studebaker’s coming out of South Bend. On the rear of the car you will see a TT emblem which would have stood for twin traction. The cost of this car new would have been around $2300.
It’s a shame to see these cars just sitting out and being beat up from the Lake Erie shore winters and summer sun. Hopefully someone will give these cars the love they deserve eventually.
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