station wagons: 1957-90...

[cfz2882]

there were wagons before and after this time frame,but I think these years were the "good old days" with big lazy v8s,fingertip steering with no "road feel",plenty of fake wood,rear-facing child seats,head freeze AC,electric everything,and could pull a 5000 lb camper behind

 

[petek]

I always wished my dad would have bought an Olds Vista Cruiser with roof window. For all the camping we did, 3 kids and the dog , it would have made more sense.. But the wagon I really liked were the big Colony Parks.

 

[jamiel]

I was always partial to the Chrysler Town & Country...it was always the most expensive wagon in Popular Science. They also had the dual air conditioner which I thought was the living end! We weren't wagon people; our friends had a red 1972 Country Squire with red vinyl seats and the facing rear seats...

 

[tolivac]

Wouldn't these be considered the original "SUV's"?My parents had a Rambler when I was a young kid-the Rambler was replaced by a International Travelall-Guess this is closer to an SUV then a usual station wagon.Also cars like these could be the original "soccer Mom" cars.

 

[jamiel]

The sequence was station wagons in the 70s (led by Ford); minivans in the '80s and early 90s (Chrysler); SUVs in the mid '90s and beyond (Ford and Chrysler)

 

[vacerator]

Yep!

A loaded '72 Merc C.P. msrp'd at about 7 grand on Let's make a deal. Poorer man's Lincon! Last year for pull up/push down on top of door power lock buttons. 73's got them on the door panel forward of the arm rest with the wdow. switches.
Most of our company cars were big Chrysler's at first, then Oldsmobile Cutlasses by 1977. Our trtansportation director was a good shopper though, and got a deal on a few leases through Mccullough for Mercury's. Grocery supervisors, and main office personnel had coupes, or sedans, and perishable dept. super's had wagons. Mine had a Colony Park in '78-79. I had the privleage to use it while releiving him that summer for vacation. By '85, all were fox body Granada's, then Taurus'. Back to Pontiac's and Oldsmobiles in the 90's.
The mid sized Fords went to body on frame design for '72, so the extra unsprung weight added to the ride, and handling. Australia, and South America kept the unibody Fairlane through to their demise.

 

[toploader55]

My Favorite Two Wagons...

I owned this wagon briefly in 1973 : 1968 Caprice Estate with a 427. It got about 6 feet to the gallon but Jeez was that thing fast. Gas was also around 40-50 cents a gallon then.

My best friend in High School's Mom had a 1970 Buick Electra Wagon with the 455 Wildcat.

They were such Beautiful well appointed not to mention comfortable cars for a long trip.

 

[combo52]

The First Big Car I Ever Had Was A 1969 Chrysler T&C Wagon

My Brother Jeff and I bought it used around 1976, it had the 440 CI engine, Dual-A/C, 5 speaker 8 track stereo, built-in rear window washer in the two-was tailgate.

 

It was a beautiful pale yellow color with real simulated mahogany wood siding and built in roof-rack and rear air deflector. 

 

With the economical rear end it would stay in 2nd gear till 90 MPH and could break 20 MPG on highway trips, I panicked and sold the car when gasoline was hitting .75 a gallon for premium, wish I had kept this one.

 

John L.

 

[justjunque]

Eddie,

I used to see a '68 Caprice wagon just like the one in your post at some cruise nights around Western MA/northern CT.
The body and paint seemed to be all original with slight patina, but they had it restored and detailed under the hood. You could have eaten off that engine!

Barry

 

[seedub]

The 1974 to 78 Ford Country Squire was my all-time favorite, and the GMs all the way from the key-operated roll-down hatch window from 1971 to 1976 to the streamlined redesign from 1977 to mid 80s were my second fav.

But, I liked all the 1970s dreadnaughts, even Chrysler. I was partial to the 1973 Plymouth Satellite (as seen on "The Brady Bunch"), and the Chrysler 1972 Town & Country, particularly if it had concealed headlamps.

 

[seedub]

Because I loved all station wagons when I was a child in the 70s, I had a brief love affair with the Pinto wagon...*very* brief.

 

[fan-of-fans]

These 60s/70s wagons were a bit before my time.

But I do remember seeing the Ford Country Squires (I think production ended in 1991) as well as the Buick Roadmaster round body with the vista roof from mid 90s, and also the Oldmobile Cutlass station wagons with the pop out windows at the very back (ended production in 1994, I think). My mom almost bought one (had the rear facing seat and everything), but got a Caravan instead.

Oh, and also the 90s Taurus wagons and the later round ones made from 1996 to 2007 or so (those still had the available rear seat).

I don't see any of those anymore (except maybe a few Taurus wagons) and I miss them.

One of the people on my street has a 1970s GMC Suburban!

 

[justjunque]

This thread is reminding me of how much I've always liked station wagons!
I've never owned one, but I've always liked them.
My older brother owned a couple in his time, very inexpensive "beaters", but still cool.
One was a 1967 Pontiac Executive, and one was a Pinto, but I don't know what year.
Early '70s, before the big bumpers.
I've owned two Pintos over the years, but not wagons. I thought they were fun little basic cars with decent styling. You'll never hear me put them down.
I'd actually own one again, just for funzies.

Barry

 

[seedub]

One final picture: In the year 1974, a mother in the playdate club my sister and I belonged to dropped off her child one afternoon in a new marigold yellow Volvo wagon, which I liked right away, and liked them all until about 1977. I suppose it was the cuteness factor it had going for it, refreshing amidst all the American dreadnaughts; and the notion that I had never travelled internationally, and there was no internet to allow me to intimately examine another nation and culture. So, to me, Sweden was an exotic nether land, adding to the attractiveness of a car built there.

On a related topic, it has interested me how many single people drove estate wagons. Young, single people such as James Dean and the social activist Angela Davis. Montgomery Clift was driving a rented one when he had his horrific crash. Dean Martin made one cool in "The Silencers (1966)." It had a bar in the wayback, and was dubbed the "sex wagon." I have always associated wagons with suburban mothers. My cousins referred to them as Mom cars - a term of love and respect, not a pejorative. But, single people drove them also.

 

[pulltostart]

That 1970 Buick Estate Wagon is just awesome!  We never had a wagon, my dad just refused to own one.  So we always had a 4-door sedan.

 

lawrence

 

[circlew]

The only actual SW I owned was a '72 Chevrolet Kingswood, with the disappearing tailgate. I got it in '78, and kept it a couple years. Didn't pay much for it, so shouldn't have expected much. It evidently had been damaged in a serious accident, and not repaired properly. The tailgate leaked, and ice formed in the well it was supposed to slide down into, preventing it from working correctly in cold weather. It ran OK, but the alignment wasn't right, so tires didn't wear evenly. The estimate I got for correcting this was well over what I'd paid for it, so got rid of it. 

 

In '95 I got a new Ford Explorer, which I drove until 2013 (and 400,000 miles); definitely the best vehicle I've ever owned. I then got a '12 Escape, which I currently have.

 

The nicest SW I ever rode in was a '72 Mercury Colony Park, in Light Green. It belonged to my mom's friend Sue, and we went with them to St. Louis in Oct. '71, a few weeks after they bought it.

 

Another one I liked was the '72 and later Ford Gran Torino. My Uncle Ken & Aunt Margaret got a new '72 when we were visiting them in Los Angeles in July of that year. I went with my uncle to the Ford dealer when he bought it, then we toured Beverly Hills and Hollywood on the way back to their house.

 

[wayupnorth]

My first car was a 63 Rambler Classic Cross Country wagon you could fold the seats and make a bed, later on a 71 LTD wagon, 79 Pinto wagon and the last wagon was a 95 Buick Century Estate Wagon.

 

[firedome]

Growing up with wagons...

was the norm for many '50s kids. Dad always had Fords: '57, '59, '63, '68, then moved on to Buick Electras when the 4 kids were gone. The '59 and '68s were Country Squires, (pictured in the same colors we had), the '57 and '63 were Country Sedans.

Wagons make great kid and boat haulers, and since my wife and I had 3 kids and a boat we too had wagons: always Mopar since I didn't get the Ford gene and preferred how torsion bars handled: '71 and '73 Plymouth Suburbans, and '72 T&C, identical to this green one pictured, 440 cu in and 11 mpg. I never could find a nice '74 to '77 Mopar C-body wagon, so we moved on to Grand Fury and Newport sedans, then finally full size Buicks while kids were home, Volvos and SAAB after that, finally Japanese SUVs. I still miss those big wagons, they were the ultimate family car.

 

[xraytech]

I love station wagons and always have. Growing up I remember several kids parents having wagons and I was so jealous as we were a sedan family, the most common were Colony Park wagons, a few had Caprice Classic wagons, a few families had 1st gen Taurus/Sable wagons, and I’ve known several people with Escort wagons.

Attached are a few pics
The first two, the 80s Caprice Classic Estate and Pontiac Parisienne Safari wagons ate two wagons I’ve always loved
Then there is the gray 1986 Chevy Cavalier wagon grandma had from 89-92, I loved this car and what got me hooked on wagons
Lastly is the 2nd and most favorite station wagon I’ve ever had, 1995 Buick Roadmaster Limited Estate
One day I’d love to have another one.
I’ve also owned an 00 Taurus Wagon and a 11 Audi A4 wagon