Studebaker 61 Lark TV Commercial

[sferrell1000]

I now have a 1962 Lark Cruiser sedan. It is like driving a sofa, it is the most comfortable car I have ever been in. Women love my car. 259V8, 180 horsepower, 20 miles to the gallon.

[FireDropTechnologies]

PS, I needed to corect my gear ratio bit, 4-11's soory fellows.

[Seattlecarnut]

My favourite Larks were built between 1959 and 1961.

[hebneh]

I don't know how the Lark compared to the Corvair, Falcon, or Valiant that year (and you'd have to find an old issue of "Consumer Reports" to find out), but I do know that in 1961 Studebaker was a small, troubled manufacturer whose sales had been going downwards pretty much steadily for years. That of itself would've made me not want to buy a car from a company that looked like it was headed for its demise - regardless of handsome new appointments or the new oval steering wheel.

[5610winston]

Gimme a Cruiser with the Power Kit 289, air and overdrive, retro-fit the '63 disc brakes and a dual circuit master cylinder, and I'll be set! Or a '64 Hawk, or an Avanti...

[JBC814]

Drove a Lark in the 60's, it was uncomfortable and lacked any rear seat room. Even Lowery's '53 was a bucket of bolts. I don't know what a company like Packard saw in Studebaker, but the merger was the end of Packard. Packard's engineering was second to none, but Studebaker survived to go on for a few more years. The only thing thing they did right was hiring Lowery to design the '53, but it had a lot of bugs that took years to iron out.

[terry1919]

the BIG 3 AUTOMAKERS CONSPIRED to KILL the STUDEBAKER Company because it saw the Future CLEARLY!!!... Back in 1900 it wanted to manufacture ELECTRIC Vehicles because the engineering of the Electric Motor was more Efficient than the Internal Combustion Engine....

[327caprice]

Oh Jesus take the wheel ! I just love a Skybolt Six with effortless steering....Why I think about it all the time...Oh yes it's true!

[lrd9999]

I don't know what it was like to live with these cars, but one thing looks good: no big stupid center floor console rubbing against your right knee. You won't easily find that in a new car.

PS: This looks like the car from "Mr. Ed".

[HeadTater]

It is the car from Mr Ed. Studebaker sponsored the show.

[obdami]

Very nice car.

[70Kenny]

Nice cars! I'm going down to my Studebaker dealer now!

[visor109]

Not bad...but I'll take a '62 Avanti, thanks.

[fred9812]

Well, it would be a '63 or 64, actually...

[visor109]

Ahhh, yes. When I had my Summer job as a teen, (in the '70's) my boss had one of these. Always wanted one.

[1L6E6VHF]

Some would argue you would be getting the same thing with a body style change!

[patchcords]

Look ma, no seat~belts !

[bongomanfromdalou]

Remember, the 1959-63 Lark and '64-'66 Studebakers were based on the 1953-58 Studebaker body shell (minus the overhang of the earlier models); the 4-door wagon is based on the 1957-58 Broadmoor/Provincial body shell, and it "looks" older than the others. The hardtop roof was new for '61, also...

[HeadTater]

Studebaker was always re-using parts and designs. They really subscribed to the ideas of not fixing what isn't broke and not wasting money on things like styling when they already had a hot look.

[lioshenka]

Nice old recording :) BTW Lark Estate for some reason looks older than other types of this car...

[1998disco72]

Those cars were ahead of their time. I always liked them.

[GenericGene]

Great Speaker -

[BBQjust4u]

Notice how he says 'darned' and not 'damn'?

Censorship was wierd back then. ou couldn't say that, but you could advertise cigarettes on a kids show.

[startover942]

And on top of that, remember the "scandalous" Jack Paar comment about the "water closet"?

Gosh, wouldn't mind a little restraint in what's on TV nowadays. Btw, love the Studebaker commercials!

[layuppro]

At :44. What was she doing? "Oh honey turn around! You've got to see this!" "Can't i'm driving." Lol.

[fred9812]

"Dear... there's a guy with a camera in the back seat!!!"

[layuppro]

Lol.

[Bullettube]

Yeah dear, turn around and look, don't worry about the cliff we're about to go over, turn around and look! LOL

[dqq]

i got a 61 v6 lark an a wagonair and a 61 studebaker haw beautiful cars best eer made

[YouPJM]

I bought a Lark in 1967 while a junior in high.school. I drove in college at the Univ of Florida! What a great car. I would like to buy one now.

[learflyer2]

reminds me of my dad's studebaker when i was a kid.

[billgbg]

Thanks I've never thought of owning a "luxury compact" until now. Why, I feel better!

[RockVision]

Wow - That Skybolt Six really powered that baby through that mudhole!!! - Classic!

[xqqqme]

Wow! I worked with Rex May from '75 to '77 in my first job out of college when he was spokesman for San Diego Federal Savings (later Great American Federal Savings and later still a casualty of the S&L crisis).

[weekenddriver]

I heard rumors that Ch. 10 in San Diego used to produce these ads. Any truth to that?

[AlaokDibar]

@xqqqme

He did do local television in San Diego during the early 60's, I can't remember which station though.

[canine2]

Notice what sets this old ad apart from modern car ads? This commercial is mostly about INFORMATION: engine options, improvements in brakes, a rundown of the different models, etc.

Modern ads, however, are mostly about IMAGE: "zoom, zoom, zoom". I'd rather have a Lark over a Mazda any day.

[jeditigg]

"Rich looking", kinda love that they state in two word, this car is cheap but really looks great. My 65 Fairlane is a midsize car and it cannot fit into my two car garage, my 05 Ford Taurus has two feet of room at the rear and that car is a mid size of today.

[OldsVistaCruiser]

A Vista Cruiser was also considered a mid-size car back then. My '69 is over 18' long. Try fitting that in your garage!

jeditigg wrote:

"Rich looking", kinda love that they state in two word, this car is cheap but really looks great. My 65 Fairlane is a midsize car and it cannot fit into my two car garage, my 05 Ford Taurus has two feet of room at the rear and that car is a mid size of today.

[InfiniteMushroom]

Damn, I'd love to find my parent's '68 Olds Vista Cruiser! A truly beautiful car but was sold during the artificially-created gas shortages of the early 1970's.

[eurofeli]

is that a compact???

[weekenddriver]

Yup, in the early '60s it was considered a compact.

[fred9812]

Sure brings back memories...