Studebaker Silver Hawk - Almost The End of The Line?

Almost The End of The Line?

When the 1960 model year began, U.S. automakers were in the throes of a steel strike, and the shortage of steel hit Studebaker, which was a much smaller company than AMC or the Big Three, particularly hard.

Studebaker had a proven sales winner in the 1959 Lark, which was continued into 1960 with little change. With steel in short supply, the company chose to focus on building as many Larks as possible to ensure an adequate supply for the company's dealers. This meant that Silver Hawk production for 1960, which had been scheduled to begin in November or December 1959, was delayed.

Unfortunately for Studebaker — but fortunately for Hawk buyers — sales of the Lark began to fall off in the closing months of 1959. By the beginning of February 1960, Hawks finally began to roll from the South Bend assembly line.

It isn't known what might have happened had Lark sales continued at their 1959 levels, but speculation has been advanced that the company might not have produced any Hawks. The lengthy delay between new-model announcement time and the start of Hawk production in 1960 shows just how close Studebaker came to not producing a model that they had at least halfheartedly promoted in print advertising and showroom brochures.

Fortunately, though, the Hawk lived on, and later that year a stock production model won its class in the 1960 Mobil Economy Run, delivering 22.9 miles per gallon.