1954 Studebaker Champion

The Conestoga station wagon was introduced in 1954 as to add some utility to the Studebaker line. The name hearkens back to Studebaker's wagon days when it built Conestoga wagons for travelers moving west in the 1850s. It was only 2-door, so it couldn't really compete with the wagons from the Big 3. The Conestoga was tall, short, and skinny like the rest of the 1954 sedan line (not the coupes, which were just the opposite), so it wasn't the most attractive Studebaker of all time. It was a very good utilitarian value, however, but it was discontinued after 1955, as it was replaced by the more stylish (but still two-door) Pelham, Parkview, and Pinehurst wagons. The four-door wagons Provincial and Broadmoor appeared in 1957. After the Lark replaced all other lines in 1959, the only wagon available was the two-door Lark wagon. The next year a four-door Lark wagon appeared. In 1963 the innovative Wagonaire with a sliding roof appeared, and the Wagonaire became the only wagon (available with or without the sliding roof) until the company's demise in 1966. But those are other wagons, and they are other stories...