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There were five Studebaker brothers in South Bend, Indiana, involved in founding the company. From 1853 to 1858, the youngest brother, John, made a small fortune by going to Hangtown, now called Placerville, in California’s Gold Country and making wheelbarrows and other mining equipment for prospectors. He returned to Indiana, invested his profits with his brothers and they built hundreds of wagons for the Union Army during the Civil War.
Studebaker did make good profits during World War II as they built heavy-duty, 6-by6 trucks that mostly went to help the Soviet Army. The trucks were very dependable, and their reputation was excellent; the Russians called all similar vehicles “Studers” like we may call all tissues “Kleenex” or all sodas “Coke.”
There was another error in judgement, though. Studebaker management thought the four-door sedan would be their volume vehicle, but it was the beautiful coupe. All new Studebaker models, except Avanti, were facelifts from the 1953 model. This issue’s featured car is a 1961 Studebaker Lark four-door sedan. Bob Wythe, of El Sobrante, has owned this car for about five years. This Studebaker had dual headlights for the first time, though the competition used dual headlights for a couple of years.The interior of a 1961 Studebaker Lark owned by Bob Wythe of El Sobrante.
The Hill Holder was another unique feature of Studebakers: The driver could make an uphill stop, take his foot off the brake and not have it release until the clutch pedal was released. Wythe’s Studebaker only has 45,000 miles on the original overhead six-cylinder engine with a three-speed transmission plus overdrive.