The Studebaker Conestoga is an all-steel

station wagon A station wagon (American English, US, also wagon) or estate car (British English, UK, also estate) is an automotive Car body style, body-style variant of a Sedan (automobile), sedan with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo ...

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 Man ...

Corporation of

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

( USA). 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 used to transport 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 ...

version that Studebaker called the Ambulet. This model included a

stretcher A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an medical device, 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 ...

, 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 occ ...

compact — through 1961.

Gallery

References

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External links

* {{Studebaker historic timeline Conestoga Station wagons Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Cars introduced in 1954