I spent part of a day in my old hometown in July, stopping first at Bonanza Ford, the building of which was constructed in 1943 when my dad, Dale Wells, was the Ford dealer. Bob Bledsoe, current owner of the business, was out of town on a big-game hunting trip; I enjoyed very much visiting with Gary Soehner, sales consultant at Bonanza, and Pete and Katie Brophy, customers in the showroom that morning.

Accompanying me in the drive was Tim Coy, who spent 17 years as page designer for my automotive columns in Denver newspapers. We met Joe and Madeline Conrad for lunch at the Mill Race Creek Grill. Joe and I were classmates at Wray until I moved to Sterling for my freshman year in high school.

Joe Conrad’s grandfather, James Quincy Conrad, who came to Idalia in 1893, was granted the first exclusive Ford agency in Yuma County in the days of the Model-T. The garage he built and operated in Wray was sold in 1928 to Clarke Smith and Jack Kearns, who were Ford dealers until their business was destroyed by fire in the early 1930s.

After opening a repair shop in the early ‘30s, my dad, Dale Wells, soon became the local dealer for Chrysler/Plymouth cars and International pickups. He operated the dealership from what was referred to as “the Stedwell building” at the lower, north end of Main Street near the railroad tracks.

With no resumption of the fire-destroyed Ford business, Dad added the franchise for Ford/Mercury cars, Ford trucks and Ford tractors later in the ‘30s. He purchased in 1942 the property where the Ford business stands today, and in 1943 the Dale Wells Ford Garage building was completed, with Cliff Carson as general contractor.

After Dad was killed in a car accident in 1946, the dealership was operated by son, Gene Wells; Clair Muller, a brother of Lenna Wells (Dale’s widow), and Bob Davis, who had worked with Dad since his first repair shop at Wray.

The original F1 pickups were sold to farmers in the Wray area by Dale Wells Ford Garage. I was only 11 when the F1s began arriving in 1948, but I had a boy’s keen interest in the dealership; bookkeeping records of the family’s dealership are in my possession.

Townspeople didn’t drive pickups in those days; only farmers bought them. Thus, car sales far outnumbered pickup sales.

Among four sales of new pickups in 1948 were $1,482.70 for an 8-cylinder Ford pickup of 114-inch wheelbase to Marvin Higgins of Eckley; $1,449.40 for a 6-cylinder to Hazel Jewell of Wray; $1,499.30 for a 6-cylinder to Ed Renzelman of Wray, and $1,490.60 for an 8-cylinder to Pershing Devore, who earlier in the ‘40s endured the Bataan Death March in World War II. He was from Vernon.

The consistency of the pricing is explained by the lack of options in those days. Among the few options available were the passenger-side windshield wiper and passenger-side taillight.

Mercury for 1949 unveiled an attractive restyling; the first one to be shown in Dale Wells Garage was a station wagon, purchased by David M. Grigsby, the local banker. He paid $3,000. A year earlier, S.C. Greenfield bought a new ’48 Ford Super two-door, 6-cylinder, for $1,722.87.

Three new 1950 Mercurys were delivered to the garage in late November 1949. My mother, Lenna Wells, bought one on Nov. 29, J.S. “Junior” Parker bought another the next day, and later into December, Bernice Henry, wife of Rexall Drugstore owner Dean Henry, bought the third one. Sticker price on each was around $2,340. The 1950 Mercury, sized between Ford and Lincoln, was on a 118-inch wheelbase and powered by a 255-cubic-inch (4.2-liter) flathead V-8.

The garage also sold new Ford 8N tractors during those years. Pete Brophy recalled his father purchasing a new tractor from my dad for $700 in 1941. Bookkeeping records in 1948 showed price of a new 8N, sold to D.A. Simmons, had risen to $1,350.

The family sold the dealership to Larry Palmrose in August 1950; the current owner, Bob Bledsoe, purchased it from the Palmrose family. Richard Jeurink, until his retirement several years ago, was a partner in the business with Bledsoe.

The little Lark, even in convertible form, wasn’t enough to save Studebaker 50 or more years ago, but the return of one has brought miles of smiles and new avenues of retirement for a northern Colorado couple.

“My gosh, look at that,” I said, and was referring to a pinkish-orange Studebaker Lark. I’d never seen a Lark at a car show. The show, at St. Michael’s Town Square in Greeley, was for benefit of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, hosted by the Local Branch National Association of Letter Carriers.

As a man nearby in the hot Sunday sun broke away from his conversation and looked our direction, I asked, “Is this your car?”  “It sure is,” he said.

“How did you happen to select a Stude Lark for a classic,” I asked. “It was my wife’s choice,” he responded, “and I like it.” He is Dr. Robert Traynor, who for almost 45 years served as CEO and audiologist for Audiology Associates of Greeley. Retired now, he and his wife, Krista, who is also an audiologist, reside in Fort Collins.

The Traynors, barely into retirement in June 2018, were in the spectator section at the Mecum Denver Classic Car Auction at the Colorado Convention Center as the old cars rolled past. They knew they ought to own one, and began looking over dozens of the several hundred cars yet to go through the auction block.

“That’s the one I want,” Krista finally exclaimed, pointing to a faded pink 1961 Studebaker Lark VIII Regal convertible. “It was to be as much her car as mine,” said Bob; “and she chose it, and I agreed.”

Bob hurriedly purchased a bidder’s badge, and soon found himself raising an arm when the auctioneer chanted “twenty, five,” “twenty, five,” “twenty thousand, five hundred.” Then the bidding stopped and Bob and Krista knew they had their first “classic.”

Over the past year, they’ve spent another $12,000 creating the lovely Lark, including a pinkish/orange flamingo exterior finish and the nice, white leather interior. It is powered by a 289-cubic-inch V-8 engine and automatic transmission. A technician, at Bob’s request, replaced the generator with an alternator.

“That’s a neat car; I hope that Bob and Krista are enjoying their ride,” said David B. Morton, manager of communications and event marketing for Mecum Auctions, who remembered their purchase at last year’s Denver sale.

In 1947, Studebaker completely redesigned its Champion and Commander models, making them the first new cars after World War II. Most other makes didn’t launch new sheet metal until the 1949 model year.

Studebakers were light-bodied, high-fuel-mileaged vehicles, and through the 1950s their sales trailed only the Big Three Detroit companies (General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp.), yet serious financial problems persisted and Studebaker merged with Packard in 1954.

The number of sales reported for each significant American automotive brand during the 1950s included

1. Chevrolet 13,419,048;
2. Ford 12,282,492;
3. Plymouth 5,653,874;
4. Buick 4,858,961;
5. Oldsmobile 3,745,648;
6. Pontiac 3,706,959;
7. Mercury 2,588,472;
8. Dodge 2,413,239;
9. Studebaker 1,374,967;
10. Packard 1,300,835;
11. Chrysler 1,244,843;
12. Cadillac 1,217,032;
13. Nash 974,031;
14. DeSoto 972, 704;
15. Rambler 641,068;
16. Hudson 525,683;
17. Lincoln 317,371;
18. Kaiser 224,293;
19. Henry J 130,322;
20. Edsel 108,001;
21. Imperial 93,111;
22. Willys 91,841;
23. Continental 15,550;
24. Frazer 13,914.

The Lark, a compact car, was produced from 1959 to 1966, in an effort to save Studebaker from the graveyard, but the last of the company’s cars rolled off the line in March 1966.

Worthy of attention in budwells.com are the 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan SUV crossover and the ’19 Mazda MX-5 RF Miata roadster.

Why?

The Tiguan, since it was enlarged in second-generation form a year ago, has shot to the front of VW sales, edging past the long-popular though slumping Golf. Sticker price is below $30,000 on the Big Tig, with 4Motion all-wheel drive and finished in standout habanero orange color.

As for the Miata, it is celebrating its 30^th year and Mazda says it’s the best-selling roadster of all time. For 2019, horsepower is boosted from 155 to 181 for the naturally aspirated 4-cylinder. The RF edition, which I drove, drops its retractable roof quickly and precisely – 13 seconds.

Noticeable for those who have compared the bigger VW Tiguan with the older, smaller one is the 37.6 cubic feet of cargo space; the earlier Tiguan was more cramped with only 23.8. Small cargo space in an SUV or crossover draws large numbers of complaints. Not just the cargo area has expanded; the rear-seating area has ample legroom and headroom. The leatherette-covered front seats are wide, lightly bolstered and comfortable.

The revised Tiguan is almost a foot longer and is 7 inches longer in wheelbase at 109.9 inches. The Tiguan, which shares a platform with the Audi Q3, offers optional third-row seating.

The only engine offered by Volkswagen for the Tiguan is a 184-horsepower, 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder with an 8-speed automatic transmission. Normal driving tasks are fine, though the engine works hard to maintain pace at times under higher speeds and climbs. A bit of performance boost is gained by pushing the shifter into sport mode; there are no paddles at the steering wheel. The VW rides on Continental 215/65R17 tires. It is built in Puebla, Mexico.

Finished in the bright orange, the VW Tiguan is easily picked out in a crowded parking lot.

Most all the 350 miles driven by me in the Tiguan were smooth-highway variety, resulting in a relatively high-miles-per-gallon average of 28.7. The concluding drive, with former Post co-worker Peggy McKay, Jan and me, was to Johnstown, and on past Scheel’s at I-25 and U.S. 34, following lunch at Kenny’s Steakhouse in Greeley.

Reasonable, it seems, is the price posted on the Tiguan SE 4Motion of $29,285; though it has no navigation. Besides the AWD, it has cruise control, forward-collision warning, autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitor, heated front seats, Bluetooth and trip computer.

Delivered to me as part of the 30^th year observance for the Mazda Miata is the MX-5 Grand Touring RF edition with retractable roof.

Rear pillars highlight the RF’s style departure; they remain in place with the top up or down. Unlike the regular Miata in which the entire soft top folds out of sight, the RF’s rear pillars lift while the metal targa-type top is dropped, then they all lower into place. The upright C pillars lend a distinctive look. It is a fine line of precision as the rear lifts while the middle of the roof and rear window slip backward beneath the pillars, then the layers drop into place. The pillars block rear vision.

The 6-speed manual transmission is tied to the 4-cylinder engine; the shifter is smoothest of most all I’ve driven this year. The powertrain combination for the rear-wheel-drive roadster carries an impressive EPA estimate of 26/34 mpg, and the little model posted an average of 28.5.

With wheelbase of only 91 inches and overall length 154, a slight turning circle of only 30.8 feet allows the driver to turn this Miata around in most any unoccupied street anywhere. That’s 3 feet shorter than the turn radius of a Kia Rio or Chevy Spark. Only the Mitsubishi Mirage can match the tightness of turn of the Miata.

From the Miata’s small confines are tight footroom, tight shoulder room, tight headroom. Cupholders are positioned between the seatbacks far behind the driver, who must wrap the left arm around the body to the center between the seatbacks or lean forward and twist the right arm underhanded and fish for a grasp of the cup. A cupholder can be lifted and moved to the right edge of the center console, but the holder invades knee space of the passenger.

Sticker price on the special Miata Grand Touring RF is $35,405.

A regular Miata soft-top convertible can be purchased for several thousand dollars cheaper.