The Studebaker Conestoga is an all-steel
station wagon
A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...
that was produced in 1954 and 1955 by the
Studebaker
Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...
Corporation of
South Bend, Indiana
South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 United S ...
(
USA
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
). The company chose the name
Conestoga as an homage to its wagon business that company produced from the 1850s into the early 20th century.
Station wagon
The Conestoga station wagons were built on the Studebaker's wheelbase platform. One body style was available, a two-door wagon with a two-piece tailgate/liftgate configuration for accessing the cargo area.
The 1954 Conestoga's original base price was $2,095, and 3,074 were produced.
Ambulance
The Conestoga was also available in an
ambulance
An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport.
Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...
version that Studebaker called the Ambulet. This model included a
stretcher
A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...
, red cross decals, and other ambulance features. The Ambulet was promoted primarily for police and fire departments as well as for small-town funeral homes, many of which provided ambulance services at the time.
Lark compact
Studebaker discontinued the Conestoga nameplate at the end of the 1955 model year, although the basic body would be continued through several styling changes — and even built as a
Lark
Larks are passerine birds of the family Alaudidae. Larks have a cosmopolitan distribution with the largest number of species occurring in Africa. Only a single species, the horned lark, occurs in North America, and only Horsfield's bush lark occu ...
compact — through 1961.
Gallery
References
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External links
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{{Studebaker historic timeline
Conestoga
Station wagons
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Cars introduced in 1954