You've never driven a Studebaker. In fact, you may have never heard of a Studebaker.

But your Daddy did. Or maybe your Granddaddy. Oh Ok, it could even have been your Great Granddaddy!

For those of us that have attained a certain age, we remember Studebaker's. I can remember as a little boy my Dad had one, seems like an early 50's model. It was used and the front of the car looked like it had a cone stuck on it. You couldn't tell if the car was coming or going! In fact, it kind of had the look of one of the spaceship's from a bad 1950's Sci-Fi movie.

I'm not saying it was ugly. Nope. But it was, ah, unique.

Did you know Studebaker actually began waaay back in 1852? That's right, not 1952, 1852! They started making wagons for farmers, miners and the military. It was in the early 1900's that they made the transition to automobiles.  And it was in 1954 that Studebaker merged with a luxury automobile company. No, not Cadillac. No, not Mercedes Benz.

Packard. And I know, you're not familiar with Packard either. But there was a day that if you saw someone motoring down the street in a Packard, well, that was one of the richest people in town.

But back to Studebaker's. Alas, they have moved on back to automotive history now. Because of financial problems, the last Studebaker moved off the assembly line in March of 1966, nearly 50 years ago.

But as I mentioned, your Daddy or Granddaddy or Great Grandaddy drove a Studebaker. Perhaps even the bright, shiny new '61 Studebaker Lark!

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

More From KXRB