A little trip down memory lane for many of us.
History of the Station Wagon
- Thread starter PopUpSteve
- Start date
jmkay1
2004 Fleetwood/Coleman Utah
Trip down memory lane for sure. Had many many friends with the classic station wagon with the wood panels. My family didn’t get into the station wagon craze until the Ford Taurus station wagon I believe was a 198?. Mom loved that it wasn’t boxy. Couldn’t haul much but it took our popup to the Rockys and back. As kids we always argued Who got to sit in the very back seats until the folks got tired of our arguments about whose turn it was. However that car also turned me away from Fords even as a preteen. That dang thing was always breaking on us and even caught fire with flames coming out of the AC vent once. Lastly when I was 17 driving to work the wagon up and stopped. Like everything died when I was going 60mph. I nearly got creamed by a rig who was behind me. later when I was safe dad had it hauled to the dump saying he was done with it. It’s too untrustworthy.
Shoot - I have had wagons forever. My folks had a 1976 Ponitac - the last of the clamshells. Followed it with a Buick Electra Estate, then a Plymouth Voyager minivan in 87. Dad got a Dodge Magnum in 2005, which I have now, and I learned to drive in full size wagons and my grandmas AMC Hornet Sportabout wagon. I always found the wagons and minivans to have far more utility than the later SUVs. However, I was never a fan of that rear facing rumble seat - I get motion sickness so that seat was a sure fire way to get me sick.
Neat little history, but he should have touchedd on the real last US wagons. While the big ones ended with the Roadmaster, and the little Taurus hung on until 2005, Dodge rolled out the Magnum from 2005-2008, and Cadillac had the CTS wagon from 2010 to 2014 I think. Both were smaller than the old ones from before, but bigger than the Taurus offering. I really wanted a CTS-V, but they were and remain way out of my price range.
Neat little history, but he should have touchedd on the real last US wagons. While the big ones ended with the Roadmaster, and the little Taurus hung on until 2005, Dodge rolled out the Magnum from 2005-2008, and Cadillac had the CTS wagon from 2010 to 2014 I think. Both were smaller than the old ones from before, but bigger than the Taurus offering. I really wanted a CTS-V, but they were and remain way out of my price range.
jmkay1
2004 Fleetwood/Coleman Utah
I first learned to drive on the Taurus then when dad threw it away we got a full size economy van. I drove that van for the rest of the time I lived at moms and dads. When I moved to school my folks helped me get a little Sentra. That felt so wrong driving after the big van, but as a college student other bills suddenly become more important then what you drive.
The 1976 Chevy Impala Wagon was, if I remember correctly, the second largest station wagon made. And that is the monster I had to use for my driving test. Shockingly, I even passed the parallel parking portion, though only just. I went from driving that to a wee 2-door 1980 Toyota Corolla. Such a relief!!
That Impala and the prior 1972 Pontiac Lemans T-37 were the great ruiners of family vacations through the 70's and early 80's. Even the prior 60's VW buses and Beetle were better than those horrible, horrible Chevy's. Ugh!
That Impala and the prior 1972 Pontiac Lemans T-37 were the great ruiners of family vacations through the 70's and early 80's. Even the prior 60's VW buses and Beetle were better than those horrible, horrible Chevy's. Ugh!
Lol, I took my test in a station wagon also. Not as big and a little later in life. First time ever driving it. Not fun.
- Nov 30, 2012
- 2,207
I played on a traveling baseball team when I was in junior high. Ten of us could fit in our coach's station wagon with the two equipment bags. Captains in the front seat. Four second year starters in the middle seat, and four more in the bag.
Seat belts? Nah.
Seat belts? Nah.
Arruba
Super Active Member
Oh gosh how I remember those! My Grandmother had a 60 something Dodge Polara Wagon. She drove it almost forever. Tougher than a log truck and rode as comfortable as any big luxury car of the time. It had a big V8 and the backwards facing rumble seat. When I think about it now, I’m still surprised how much it could carry, and how well it did considering it’s use.
My Grandparents farmed, and my Grandmother did a lot of the “Stuff” running with it. Stuff from the feed and farm supply, milk cans to the creamery, parts and mechanic stuff and the list goes on. She certainly buckarooed cows down the road a couple times with it. Heck they even had a couple small fields of mint that got hand weeded. Grandma had a crew of fellow grandmas and kids from church that did the hoeing. She’d stuff it full of people and haul the hoes and everyones lunch in a big box on the roof.
Thanks for sharing.
My Grandparents farmed, and my Grandmother did a lot of the “Stuff” running with it. Stuff from the feed and farm supply, milk cans to the creamery, parts and mechanic stuff and the list goes on. She certainly buckarooed cows down the road a couple times with it. Heck they even had a couple small fields of mint that got hand weeded. Grandma had a crew of fellow grandmas and kids from church that did the hoeing. She’d stuff it full of people and haul the hoes and everyones lunch in a big box on the roof.
Thanks for sharing.
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vagov
Super Active Member
We had a '67 Ford Fairlane w/ a 289 Dad used as a rolling hunt/fish/camp wagon, I started driving in '70 & went w/ a '59 Morris Minor, brother got the Fairlane, dang good vehicle...
Lug_Nut
Active Member
My first car was a 1968 Impala wagon, 327 cu.in., 275 hp., four barrel carburetor, drum brakes, third seat. A real "Darwin Award" opportunity for me and what random collection of 7 added neighborhood punks could be rounded up. Each would come up with $2, enough for 25 gallons of leaded gasoline to take us all on a late evening trip to Hampton Beach where we'd carouse and nap until dawn when we'd watch the sunrise.
Formative memories in that car? maybe, must have been. I've had 5 other stations wagons since that one, and all by choice. If a car I want is available in a wagon version, that's my preference. None of those later five wagons could carry a 4x8 plywood sheet inside like the Impala.
A commentary about the doubled headlighs of the 'Family Truckster': Have you seen a curent model SuperDuty Ford truck's headlights?
Rear facing back seat: Zundapp Janus 1958 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zündapp_Janus
Seven passenger Saab wagon with rear facing seat 1959~1976 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_95
Formative memories in that car? maybe, must have been. I've had 5 other stations wagons since that one, and all by choice. If a car I want is available in a wagon version, that's my preference. None of those later five wagons could carry a 4x8 plywood sheet inside like the Impala.
A commentary about the doubled headlighs of the 'Family Truckster': Have you seen a curent model SuperDuty Ford truck's headlights?
Rear facing back seat: Zundapp Janus 1958 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zündapp_Janus
Seven passenger Saab wagon with rear facing seat 1959~1976 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_95
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I’ve ridden in one of those. It is the polar opposite of a 76 Chevy Impala. lol But this reminded me of an odd feature of that Impala. It had a forward facing rear seat. So most of the fun of a station wagon, from a childhood perspective, was removed. boo-hiss
Oh boy! The family always had Mercury Colony Park wagons growing up and even when the folks were empty nesters - just in case the grand kids want to go along. 57, 62, 68, 75, 82 (which I drove for my family after they were done with it), 89, and the very last year Mercury made a Colony Park 95 IIRC.
vagov
Super Active Member
We always had station wagons growing up as well. My mom had a Pontiac wagon where the clamshell tailgate door would disappear under the rear. As it opened. We as kids always enjoyed the rear facing third seat , and would take it to the drive in theaters all the time. I bought my wife. Small. Chevy cavilair wagon. When we first got married, it drank more oil than gas though. My dad also had a 79 Buick estate wagon that was loaded with every option available at the time. He told me once he got pulled over after a night at the bar, at that time the police officer drove the car home himself, told my dad this is too nice of a car to wreck, as he lectured him on the law as well . That would never happen today !
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- Nov 25, 2015
- 714
Wow Thanks for the memory lane. Spent a zillion miles in Chevy wagons growing up. ( And there are no longer 7 tunnels on the PA turnpike but they still charge full price 
And old BF’s family had a fleet of Saabs.
And old BF’s family had a fleet of Saabs.
Econ
Super Active Member
It was sacrified on the EPA's altar of higher average fleet gas mileage. But SUV's were "work trucks" so they didnt count towards fleet gas mileage averages.
Susan Premo
Super Active Member
My aunt and uncle had a station wagon , they only had 2 kids, they'd nap in the way back on the way up to the family cabin, on the other hand I come from a family of 6 kids, we never had a wagon. But we did have the 1st VW in the neighborhood, we went to South Dakota camping, never camped again with my folks. I suppose they figured we had the cabin.
My husband had a Chevy station wagon around a 1969, he thinks. It was sort of short if I'm remembering correctly.
My husband had a Chevy station wagon around a 1969, he thinks. It was sort of short if I'm remembering correctly.
Lug_Nut
Active Member
I was thinking of this comment yesterday as I was followed by a stunningly good looking Buick while I was out for an errand. I was envious. I mean, I'd not have pictured myself in a Buick, but that? Oh, yeah! I would drive that. That had me start searcing for more information.
And there lies the problem. I didn't know it ever existed. It was an unknown offering. I've seen more CTS-V, and Audi S6 Avant, and AMG E63. This Buick? I was totally unaware of it, until yesterday. I had to look it up to see what it was, what it cost, what equipment it had, what the specifications were.
Buick Regal TourX: three year run, 2018, until discontinued after 2020.
