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classic station wagons
Is even the idea of a classic station wagon an oxymoron? Perhaps in terms of sheer dollars and cents, but in term of emotional value, style, history, and functionality, I think station wagons deserve at least some kind of niche in automotive history and as collectables. My first car ever was a 1969 Pontiac Catalina Safari Wagon, and what a car it was. It was 19 feet of sheer American family bliss, and could seat up to 9.
2018 Acura TLX 2.4 Tech 4WS (mine), 2018 Honda CR-V EX AWD (wife's)
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http://stationwagon.com/
This site has a fair amount of history regarding the station wagon, and lots of pictures in the 'gallery' section.
I certainly think the minivan and SUV have a lot to do with the current lack of 'station wagons' offered in the late '80s-late '90s. However, it's fairly obvious the station wagon (by various different names) is becoming a big player in the market once again (though we're very unlikely to ever again see 19 ft., 9-passenger, V8 wagons that were popular in the '50s-70s). Recent additions like the Protege5, the Vibe, the Matrix and PT Cruiser could all be considered wagons. Volvo wagons have always sold well; Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and VW all sell two sizes each of wagons (the first time for any of those makes to do so in the U.S. market). The wagon is not dead, not by a long shot.
My favorite wagon: the one my grandparents had when I was born, a 1969 Chevrolet Kingswood Estate (green metallic with fake wood sides, fully loaded, nine passenger, with the cool 'Vette hubcaps). I would like a big, '60s or early '70s American wagon. The problem is, hardly anyone 'saved' wagons from the junk yard, and fewer were made than sedans, so they're increasingly rare today.
It's funny how tastes change when you grow up. When I was a little kid, I thought wagons were cool, but when I reached driving age, I had the typical teen reaction to them. But now, in the pennysaver, I see an '89 Safari wagon, 83K, 9-passenger, loaded, only $2500, and it's kinda tempting...
You wouldn't have anything resembling a modern station wagon until automakers learned how to do large metal stampings in different shapes, so maybe the late 30s?? My earliest recollection of a vehicle that really looked like a modern wagon (car chassis, windows all round, tailgate) goes back to the late 1940s. Not a personal recollection, I mean in books.
Now that I think of it, my father and I had quite a few wagons between us. 1950 Plymouth (I think the first all-steel wagon, bought from original owner), 1959 Plymouth (two door, pretty sharp despite the Exner-isms), 1961 Falcon (learned how to drive a stick shift), 1961 Bel Air wagon (283, stick, actually pretty quick), 1965 Ford Country Squire (nice looking but the 352 got lousy economy and didn't move the car around too quickly), 1965 Impala (early production car with 409), 1971 Le Mans (400/300-hp) and a plain Jane 1972 Torino with HD suspension and a torquey 400, not nearly as fancy as the LeMans but much more of a workhorse. Oh yeah, I almost forgot my best friend's parents' car in high school, a '67 Ford Country Squire with 390 that could spin its right rear tire with alacrity.
They're functional as long as they don't take up a city block, but there's only a few I'd be interested in. Definitely any '55-7 Nomad, probably the '55-6 Safari. The '57 Ford Ranch Wagon (cheap two door) has some charm and there was a two door Chevelle wagon in '64 and '65 that had Nomad overtones. The Buick and Olds intermediate Vista Cruisers are interesting and attractive. That's about it for me.
The problem with wagons is that they're heavy and the extra weight is up high and behind the rear wheels so they oversteer. That's okay in a performance car but not okay in a 4200-lb. car with numb steering and marshmallow suspension.
Yeah, wagons can sometimes be difficult to handle. Mine seems to be kind of erratic. Sometimes it holds the road very well and seems relatively agile in emergency avoidance moves and such, but not always. One time I was making a slow left turn onto a rain-slicked road, and the rear of the car just decided to keep on coming around. Instead of making a 90 degree turn as I intended, I spun almost 180 degrees. Since the car doesn't respond too well to sudden braking, I just turned the wheels all the way right and kept giving it gas, and it straightened out without hitting anything. I suspect that there might have been an oil slick on top of the rainwater or something, because for a few seconds I seemed to have no traction at all; it just spun like I was on ice.
-Andrew L
http://www.ephemeranow.com/wagons/wagons005.htm
Not breath-takingly beautiful but an interesting car in one sense--the first four door hardtop wagon, maybe the only four door hardtop wagon--yet very typical '50s styling.
And here's the Ranch Wagon. This one's a '58 but thankfully they don't show the front end. Interesting roof treatment and notice how all three pillars (A, B and C) are "fast". Ford's Nomad, I guess.
http://www.ephemeranow.com/wagons/wagons001.htm
As for hardtop wagons, Olds had a version too called the Fiesta. I think both the Olds and Buick ran from '57-58. I think Rambler had one called the Cross-Country. I've seen Mercury wagons in both 2- and 4-door hardtop form, from around '57-60, I think. And Chrysler had 'em, in '61-62, maybe '63-64 as well.
In fact, here's a '60 Mercury... http://www.ephemeranow.com/wagons/wagons011.htm and a '57: http://www.ephemeranow.com/wagons/wagons004.htm
and a '58 Olds Fiesta... http://www.ephemeranow.com/wagons/wagons007.htm and a '57 Fiesta... http://www.ephemeranow.com/wagons/wagons038.htm
It's not a hardtop but ooh look...here's an Explorer! Hope it doesn't have Firestone tires! http://www.ephemeranow.com/wagons/wagons027.htm
I thought I was the only one who appreciated the old wagons. I guess for most people, if it's not the 2 door hardtop or convertable, the car loses all appeal.
Growing up, I remember lots of station wagons as they pulled up to the elementry school, dropping off and picking up classsmates.
And I suppose most wagons probably suffered a rougher life than the cars did which may be why a lot fewer survive today.
Lets be real here...
Highlander/RX300 = Camry wagon
CRV = Civic wagon
Santa Fe = Sonata wagon
Pilot = Accord wagon
And so on. I still remember our "Blue bomber" - a 1979(ish) Ford LTD station wagon, in glorious baby blue. I saw its twin the other day in a more palatable navy, still in very good condition for a 20+year old mommy mobile.
-Jason
The ads are a whole lot better than the average photo posted by the average enthusiast. I found two '57 Ranch Wagon photos, one a front-end shot that doesn't show the roofline (the only unique part of the car), the other a profile shot that would show the roofline except that a shadow completely hides the rear half of the car. Both photos are good examples of being unclear on the concept.
Cars actually went through a brief period of downsizing in the early '60's, although it was short-lived and nowhere near as drastic as what came in the late '70's. For instance, all Chryslers rode a 126" wb in 1957, but by '63-64 were down to 122". Some Mercury models actually ballooned up to 128" for 1959, but by '61, they were trimmed to around 120", and were really more a continuation of the Edsel in price and size range, than the big, overblown Merc of before. It didn't take them long to get bulky again, though!
Now, back to your regularly scheduled classic cars discussion...
-Jason
ralph
Looks are subjective I guess...
btw - I like hondas. Might get an Odyssey if/when we grow out of the SF and if/when I talk my wife into driving a minivan.
-Jason
Oh yeah...on topic, I see an old Bonneville station wagon driving around here a lot. What a boat! It moves under its own power, which is more than I'd expect based on its looks.
When I was in grad school I had a conversation with one of my professors, who was German, about Ford Falcons. We were talking about them at a party, and he told me that he'd owned one too. He said, "Yes. Ven Detroit made da Falcon they made a mistake, I think. It was actually a good car that lasted!" I told him that one of the people behind the Falcon was Robert McNamara, later Secretary of Defense in the 60s. "Ah," he said, "I understand. McNamara could make things that last a long time. First, the Falcon, then the Vietnam War."
That Falcon was a real appliance but some of them were pretty nice. I'd like a '63 Sprint with a 260. They're nice looking, nicely trimmed and pretty quick.
Anybody know waht year/model was the last of the three speed on the column?
I remember something like a '72 Nova but there may be later ones.
Color was off yellow with similar interior.
I remember my neighbor had a dark blue '75 Pontiac Grand Safari-with the cool "clamshell" tailgate. I dont know if there were bigger wagons made than that and the other GM '71-'76 counterparts such as the Chevy Kingswood Estate, Olds Custom Cruiser, and Buick Estate wagons.
After a couple years of use, these claimshell tailgates would really start to slow down. I think when we finally traded in our last one, you could time how long it took to close with an hour glass. ;-)
The body shops hated them!
The dealerships hated them too. Very complex and hard to adjust so they would work right.
Lot of warranty work on these!
As for big station wagons, the Pontiac Safari was probably about as big as it got. They were on the same 127" wheelbase as the Olds and Buick Estate wagons. The Impala/Caprice were on a slightly shorter 125" wheelbase, but at those lengths its doubtful anyone would notice without a tape measure. By that time, the big Mopar wagons were all on a 124" wheelbase, and the big Ford/Mercury wagons were on a 121" wheelbase, almost tiny by comparison!
I was driving from Santa Cruz to LA on Spring break with a friend down 101. 101 is a state hwy, not an interstate, and the curves are a bit sharper, and some places you would still run into stoplights, etc. The speedlimit was 55, and I think that was a good speed for a wagon like the Catalina, and I didn't let it get past 60. My friend was not a close friend, but a nice but very nerdy guy who needed a ride down to So. Cal. I was doing all of of the driving, and he felt guilty and after 4 hours practically demanded to have the wheel. With its 400 engine that wagon could accelerate at a fast clip, in spite of its size, and as we got onto the freeway he gave it some gas and was soon cruising the highway at 60, 65, and then 70, talking non-stop the whole time. At 65 I started saying things like, "slow down a bit...that's fast enough...slow down...slow down!" suddenly at 75-80 mph we hit a rather sharp turn. He finally realized he was going a bit fast and switch from the gas to slamming on the chromed brake pedal. Instantly all the brakes locked, the tires were squealing, and suddenly we were doing 360s! Thank goodness there was no traffice behind us, because we did about three circles and then slammed off the hwy into a nice soft grassy and muddy median (another amazing stroke of luck). It was kind of fun, in a scary way, but I was a little bit mad. I didn't yell, but needless to say did not let him drive again. In fact, the car wouldn't start. Our skid through the mud, which stopped us effectively and safely, had broken something and we had to be towed. We spent that night in a motel 6 (he paid), while the car was repaired at a local gas station (which he also paid for). That was a nice thing about that car--a small gas station in a small town had the parts and knowledge to repair that thing, which is not something that you can say about all makes.
Anyway, after that the dangerous possibilities of that station wagon were more apparent to me, although I think driven with some caution and awareness of the laws of physics a wagon like that is fine. I finally sold the wagon, after having less than a year, because of its oil and gas consumption, and because there was a great bus system that students could ride free in Santa Cruz. I still miss it though...
I saw an 82-93ish Chevy Pickup with a columnshift not toolong ago.. so who knows!
Bill
Really? There must be something wrong with yours. My friend drives an '87 with the same engine. He's a bit of an insane driver, and I've experienced 85-90 MPH on the highway in that Jeep. Talk about a white-knucked ride...but it does go that fast.
-Andrew L
What a great highway cruiser, however. There was only one drawback - at about 75mph the roof rack would begin to whistle and moan.
Interesting commentary. I find my 1986 Parisienne to be quite easy to drive. Of course, its handling is not sporty by any means, but except for the brakes' tendency to lock-up at inappropriate times (due to the horribly engineered Powermaster brake system that was only used for one year), it holds the road well and keeps its composure. I drove my parents' 1995 Windstar for a few hours on the highway once, and it seemed much harder to control.
-Andrew L