I remember asking my Dad and a good friend of his a few years ago about the car dealers in the little city I was born in, Sterling Colorado. Both men were interested in cars; my Dad's friend very much so, always bought new and traded at least once a year. Neither could remember the Studebaker or AMC dealership in Sterling in the late 1950s/early 1960s and neither had an opinion on Studebaker or AMC one way or another. In other words, Studebaker WAS off the radar screen, at least as far as these two car crazy men were concerned.
The first Lark I remember was owned by the best friend of a teenaged girl who lived next door. This was circa 1969-1970 and rumor had it the girl cried (not for joy) when her Dad brought her "new" Lark home.
One interesting point missed in the discussion of AMC's compact American: it lasted longer than 9 years. It was introduced by George Romney in 1958 as a stripper compact in a slow-selling recession year and the "new" American marked the first and, so far, the last time a manufacturer brought back an old design from the dead. The tooling for the 1958 American was a slightly remodeled 1955 Rambler. The American lasted 12 model years, from 1958 to 1969. It was facelifted in 1961 and an all-new American made its debut in 1964.
Also of interest: The Big Three compacts certainly didn't hurt AMC, right away anyway. They continued to sell well throughout the early 1960s and brought the company great success.
The first Lark I remember was owned by the best friend of a teenaged girl who lived next door. This was circa 1969-1970 and rumor had it the girl cried (not for joy) when her Dad brought her "new" Lark home.
One interesting point missed in the discussion of AMC's compact American: it lasted longer than 9 years. It was introduced by George Romney in 1958 as a stripper compact in a slow-selling recession year and the "new" American marked the first and, so far, the last time a manufacturer brought back an old design from the dead. The tooling for the 1958 American was a slightly remodeled 1955 Rambler. The American lasted 12 model years, from 1958 to 1969. It was facelifted in 1961 and an all-new American made its debut in 1964.
Also of interest: The Big Three compacts certainly didn't hurt AMC, right away anyway. They continued to sell well throughout the early 1960s and brought the company great success.
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