Studebaker Conestoga

The Studebaker Conestoga was an all-steel station wagon produced in 1954 and 1955 by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, Indiana (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.

The Conestoga station wagons were built on the Studebaker's 116.5 in (2,960 mm) wheelbase platform. One body style was available, a two-door wagon with a two-piece tailgate/liftgate configuration for accessing the cargo area.^[1]

The Conestoga was also available in an ambulance version that Studebaker called the Ambulet. This model included a stretcher, 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.

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 compact — through 1961.

References

• Gunnell, John, ed. (1987). The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-0-87341-096-0. 
• Langworth, Richard (1979). Studebaker, the Postwar Years. Motorbooks International. ISBN 0-87938-058-6. 
• Maloney, James H. (1994). Studebaker Cars. Crestline Books. ISBN 0-87938-884-6.