Another old (Lark) wives tale?

[skyway]

[BobPalma]

but this is a new one to me.

Anybody know if its true or where it came from?

Right, Gary, as to your suspicions.

Ironically, I was perusing the local delicatessen just this morning and noted some new varieties of BALONEY myself. BP

[ddub]

I wonder if some GM dealers added a Stude franchise to sell the compacts and it had nothing to do with GM itself. I can't imagine GM would allow that but maybe they had less control in 1958.

[unclemiltie]

http://thefinman.tumblr.com/post/80571119566/studebaker-lark-its-okay-to-call-it-cute

I think the Finman got some bad information for this article

[8E45E]

I wonder if some GM dealers added a Stude franchise to sell the compacts and it had nothing to do with GM itself.

There has been numerous documentation many big three dealers (not just GM) took on the Studebaker franchise in 1958/9 to capitalize on the success of the Lark at the time. Studebaker's downfall was that they never made the contract longer than a one-year term so as to KEEP them, as many of these were prominent, big name dealers and had lots of floor traffic. Once the Big Three compacts came out, these dealers had no further reason to keep the Lark franchise. I know we have discussed it before here: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...ght=franchises

Craig

[BobPalma]

I wonder if some GM dealers added a Stude franchise to sell the compacts and it had nothing to do with GM itself. I can't imagine GM would allow that but maybe they had less control in 1958.

That's correct, Don. Especially Buick-Olds-Pontiac dealers in the fall of 1958. They had just come off a disastrous 1958 model year and they knew Studebaker would have a new compact car for 1959 and they also likely knew GM wouldn't have "intermediate" compacts for at least two more model years, even though Chevrolet would have a compact for 1960.

So there were many reasons for B-O-P dealers to seek a Studebaker franchise for 1959, and Studebaker was more than happy to accommodate them. Of course, that would prove to be a liability from 1961 forward, when those same dealers couldn't care less about Studebakers, now that they had their own to sell and GM likely discouraged their stocking Studebakers anyway.

The bottom line is thatwe should not kid ourselves;the marketing people at General Motors knew it was only a matter of time for Studebaker anyway, so they likely had little interest in what Studebaker was doing or marketing, except to confirm their suspicions (with Rambler sales going through the roof), that they [GM] had better get on the ball and offer something "compact" for their dealers going forward from 1960. BP

[53k]

That's correct, Don. Especially Buick-Olds-Pontiac dealers in the fall of 1958. They had just come off a disastrous 1958 model year and they knew Studebaker would have a new compact car for 1959 and they also likely knew GM wouldn't have "intermediate" compacts for at least two more model years, even though Chevrolet would have a compact for 1960.

So there were many reasons for B-O-P dealers to seek a Studebaker franchise for 1959, and Studebaker was more than happy to accommodate them. Of course, that would prove to be a liability from 1961 forward, when those same dealers couldn't care less about Studebakers, now that they had their own to sell and GM likely discouraged their stocking Studebakers anyway.

The bottom line is thatwe should not kid ourselves;the marketing people at General Motors knew it was only a matter of time for Studebaker anyway, so they likely had little interest in what Studebaker was doing or marketing, except to confirm their suspicions (with Rambler sales going through the roof), that they [GM] had better get on the ball and offer something "compact" for their dealers going forward from 1960. BP

The Buick dealer in my home town took on Lark for '59 and '60 then dumped then for '61 when the compact Buick hit the market. The Pontiac dealer in a nearby town did exactly the same thing. It turned out to nicely benefit me. I was able to buy his complete set of Studebaker and Packard books, most of which hadn't been opened plus I got all his '59 and '60 parts and accessories and some merchandising items, all for $100. And, the parts were in a nice aluminum bin and shelf unit which I still use. Apparently as part of the franchising the dealers had to buy all the post war parts books and shop manuals.

[57pack]

Growing up in Pitman New Jersey in the 1950's and 1960's we had a large and successful Pontiac dealer who sold in addition to Pontiac,
Kaiser Jeep, and Studebaker . John S. Stratton ,I know he sold quite a few Larks and Studebaker trucks. The farmers liked the trucks and for some reason quite a few of my school teachers drove Larks. I guess because of the purchase price and low operating cost. Teachers weren't paid very well back in the day.
Oh one more thing, he did drop Studebaker when that first Tempest came out. You know the one with half a V8 in front connected by a flexible driveshaft to the transmission in the rear. What were the GM engineers smoking when they thought that up.

[skyway]

OK, so it was based in some little bit of truth, that some big 3 dealers did at least pick up Studebaker for a minute or 2.
Who'd thunk that after 38 years of Studebakering this was news to me?

Thanks all.

[52hawk]

My father bought his new '62 Lark wagon from Lambert Jones in LaSalle,Il. Lambert was also a Cadillac dealer.

[53k]

My father bought his new '62 Lark wagon from Lambert Jones in LaSalle,Il. Lambert was also a Cadillac dealer.

Actually there were dealers who carried both Studebaker and other lines at the same time. Back in the '70s, the one year I vended at Carlisie, an Oldsmobile vendor came over to me and asked if I was interested in some Studebaker parts. He had bought out an old Oldsmobile dealer in Milford, NJ and that dealer had Studebaker parts that way pre-dated the Lark franchising. To make a long story short, I bought the stuff and there was a LOT that I wish I still had. That's where I got my '53 foglights for example. I got two ashtrays showing the words "Cregar Auto Sales Milford, N.J. Phone 4-4743" and there was an Olds logo on top and an early Studebaker on the bottom. I put one on eBay and Richard Quinn bought it.
Then in the '60s I was talking to one of the Anderson Brothers in Garnett, KS and he told me that he didn't think Studebaker would be around too much longer so they took on a Ford franchise in '61 and kept on selling Studebakers along with Fords. They were a major small town dealer and sold a lot of Studebakers from the wagon era through '66. In fact, their claim was that there were more Studebaker truck registered in their county than all other trucks combined. He also told me that they had a lot higher prep cost and warranty cost on the Fords that they did with Studebakers.