The Car: 1964 Studebaker Wagonaire ; The last wagon from South Bend.(Brief Article)

Studebaker's downsized Lark gave the company a shot of tonic for the 1959 model year. The trouble was, the Big Three were readying their own compact cars, and by the time the 1960 sales numbers were tallied Studebaker had fallen from 10th to 11th place (it had been as low as 13th in 1955-57).

The Lark had been created, rather ingeniously, by the expediency of a nose-and-tail job to the 1958 sedans and wagons, which, in turn, were reskinned versions of the 1953-55 cars. But against the fresh, all-new Falcon, Corvair and Valiant, the Lark looked rather frumpy. Minor trim variations for '60 and '61 were not enough to stem the tide, and the downward sales slope continued. For that, and other more complicated disappointments, president Harold Churchill was shown the door, to be succeeded by Sherwood Egbert, from chainsaw manufacturer McCulloch.

Egbert wanted some new, more exciting products, but Studebaker's resources were meager. Bypassing the in-house studio, he called an old friend, designer Brooks Stevens, responsible for the Willys steel-bodied station wagon and the Excalibur sports car. Stevens elongated the rear quarters, adding prominent round taillights, and substituted a more elegant grille. An upscale Daytona model was added to the top of the line.

A new roofline was designed for 1963, and the interior redesigned to include a clever vanity compartment in the dashboard. Stevens' most innovative stroke, however, was saved for the station wagon. Adapting the manual sunroof technology of the day, he contrived to have the aftermost portion of the wagon's roof slide forward, opening the rear of the cargo bay to the sky. This, in combination with the wind-down tailgate window, provided the perfect environment for hauling upright objects like refrigerators or trees.

The name given to the body style, ``Wagonaire,'' aptly evoked the image of openness. But the Wagonaire was far from trouble-free, as leaky roofs prompted redesign efforts and ...