The Eagle was an American Motors model and arguably a pioneer in the crossover market because it offered 4-wheel drive in an early soccer mom vehicle with a station wagon vibe and plenty of space for kids in the mix.
Its avian name was purpose-driven to inspire buyers to purchase a domestic vehicle with the lofty title of an eagle; a popular bird of prey and symbol for an entire country, namely the United States.
Jim Sutherland
There were plenty of domestic car builders who chose bird names over the years, and many of them became legends in the car hobby. As a result, MyStarCollectorCar decided to label five bird cars that flew to higher elevations than the Eagle during their production runs.
We believe every one of our choices flew to the top of the stratosphere, including our first choice; the Plymouth Road Runner (or Roadrunner depending upon the production year).
Ornithologists may point out that a real Road Runner uses its fast feet more than its wings to avoid danger, but the automotive version stayed on the ground, achieved warp drive in a hurry, and made people cheer against the coyote in the cartoon-despite the incredibly unlikeable cockiness of the cartoon bird.
The second bird car on our list is the Pontiac Firebird, a famous pony car that has been largely obscured by its famous cousin, Chevy’s Camaro.
Nevertheless, Firebird’s big block Trans Am model was a raging beast that took no prisoners during its heyday and flew above the rest looking for prey on the street or track.
It would be impossible to have a list without our third choice, namely the fabulous Ford Thunderbird; a car that took the world by storm when it debuted as a two-seater sports car in the mid-1950s.
The T-bird went through many changes during its long production run, but car guys never forgot Thunderbird’s debut as a game changer built to soar well above its earth-bound competition over the decades. Except for the ‘Thelma and Louise’ Thunderbird.
Our fourth addition to the list is the Buick Skylark. It debuted as a Roadmaster sub-model and high-end convertible with a powerful V-8 under its hood in 1953.
The pioneer Skylarks were only manufactured from 1953 through 1954, although the name would reappear in the Buick lineup in 1961 as a Buick Special sub-model choice.
The Skylark name was based upon a non-descript bird, but its legacy within the Buick lineup started with a flurry in 1953 when it got a brute-force engine and became a merciless predator in the domestic car field.
The fifth and final member of our high-flying bird list is the Studebaker Lark. The Lark may not have flown as high as its muscular Studebaker Golden Hawk sibling, but it is an excellent example of how a lightweight car company like Studebaker managed to build vehicles on a very tight budget.
The Studebaker Lark was a compact model based upon the company’s larger car platforms when it debuted in 1959. Its body style was a radically redesigned and amputated version of the big Studebaker models, but the Lark looked completely different from its stablemates, mostly in a homely way.
It also debuted as a compact one year before the Big Three unveiled their compact models, so the Lark was a cutting-edge pioneer in the small car movement in North America.
We at MyStarCollectorCar believe any of the five bird cars on our list could easily fly with the AMC Eagle, even though it was a trailblazer in the sport utility movement
Jim Sutherland
BY: Jim Sutherland
Jim Sutherland is a veteran automotive writer whose work has been published by many major print and online publications. The list includes Calgary Herald, The Truth About Cars, Red Deer Advocate, RPM Magazine, Edmonton Journal, Montreal Gazette, Windsor Star, Vancouver Province, and Post Media Wheels Section.
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