Automotive History Studebaker Wagon
Studebaker is the original American wagon company. In fact, the company started as an acutal wagon manufacturer in 1852 and made its money selling wooden, horse-drawn wagons to the U.S. military. As the automobile took hold of America, Studebaker quickly embraced the market and manufactured some of the most beloved American automobile wagons in history, like the Woody Wagon and the Lark.
When I was a kid, I didn't want a sport or muscle car. I wanted a station wagon. The bigger the better. To me, the station wagon symbolized freedom. I could load it up, hit the road, and go anywhere I wanted. In fact, that was the way the Studebaker wagons were marketed. They were family escape vehicles.
The Studebaker Lark (later called the Wagonaire) was advertised as the perfect family camping vehicle. It had the coolest sliding roof, which opened the entire back half of the vehicle. To hold as many people as possible, many of the wagons feature rear facing back seats. With the plush pile carpet and the sliding roof, the bag cargo area felt like a family room on wheels.
Before the Lark there was the Suburban Woody Wagon. This classic was rolled out in the thirties and forties and was a big hit. Marrying the heritage and character of wood paneling with metal created a beautiful and incredibly sturdy vehicle. The woody wagons were big and used for a lot of purposes, including carting the family around.
The Studebaker wagons were classic American cars. Still highly sought after, the wagon styles have withstood the test of time.
