station wagons: 1957-90...

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You've reminded me of some that I forgot about.
Sam,
The company I used to work for had a fleet of Cavalier wagons as salesman vehicles.
I drove several of those over the years. I thought they were fun little cars.

Tom,
You reminded me of another one that my older brother had. A '72 Gran Torino wagon. Red with woodgrain. He didn't have it for very long, and I don't know if he ever actually drove it. I just remember it being parked in my parents' back yard. I seem to recall it looking good, but he always got his cars really cheap or free. So it may not have even run for all I know.
Also, the closest thing I've ever had to a wagon is our current vehicle. An '02 Explorer that we bought in '05. It still runs and drives like new.

Roger,
That '59 Ford!
My dad never had wagons. But, he was a Ford man back in the day. It was before my time, so I've only seen it in pictures, but he had a black '59 Galaxie sedan. Beautiful car, in black with all that chrome!

I'd still love to own a real station wagon some day, but they're getting harder to find with every passing year.

Barry
 
I still see one or two of those mid 90s Roadmasters here in town. THe neighbors behind us had a 58 Chev Yeoman 4dr in tutone red and white. He kept that car mint and everyone was shocked when he traded it in on a 70 Delta 88. Our other neighbors, with a lot of kids, they had a 63 iirc Country Squire.. I always loved their wagon.
 
We also had when I was younger a 1966 Ford Fairlane Wagon.

Dad had a ThermoKing A/C under the dash unit installed.

That car was dangerous as we used to start it in the Winter to warm up and it would jump into reverse and roll into the corner of the house. Went through a couple of Tailights even after we had the tranny repaired.

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Neighbors on the next street over had a '59 Ford Country Sedan in Fawn Tan. They also had an older ('55 or '56) one that was red. 

 

My friend Brenda had a 70's Chrysler Town & Country. That thing looked like it was 10 miles long!

 

The '72 Gran Torino wagon my uncle and aunt had was Bright Green Gold metallic.

 
 
Growing up, in my grandparents neighborhood they were the only GM family in a neighborhood of Ford households.

Up to the early 2000s two neighbors had 80s wagons.
Woody had a gold Ford Escort Wagon, then Another neighbor Ruth had a Mercury Marquis wagon.

3rd is one of my most favorite classic wagons, the 1959 Buick LeSabre hardtop wagon

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1983 Colony Park

 

pop out that gas guzzler engine and slide in a smooth Tesla Electric motor and batteries and I'm happy as a Halloween pumpkin with a toothy grin.

[this post was last edited: 5/10/2020-16:08]

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The ultimate Family Wagon

Though I don't approve at all what the crew of the Vacation movie did to the Ford LTD Country Squire wagon.

 

But apparently it's got a growing cult following.

 

They should have used a gaudy 1970s chrysler s.w.  They wouldn't have had to do all the mods. as the cars then really were heavier looking and had more chrome and adornments.  But, in 1983 it wouldn't have fit the story line because you'd know it wasn't a new car.

 

[this post was last edited: 5/10/2020-16:10]



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Sam, we had one of those Tercel wagons growing up. Not the 4 wheel drive though. It was a good little runabout car and had probably 200,000 miles on it when my parents sold it. It was still going after that.
 
Keith,

I couldn't agree more. I was always appalled by the mess they made of an LTD wagon/Country Squire.
And, as we've learned from the Dukes of Hazzard, that flying through the air scene was the end of the road for that particular car.
I can't say that I would have felt any better if they had used a '70s Chrysler either though.
I tend to just appreciate all cars. They're all different, they all have their own personalities. I don't like to see any of them abused.

Barry
 
Barry

I do not condone automotive abuse either.  Its just that during the 70s cars were being fitted with as much chrome and heavy metal to weigh them down, I think on purpose to make them use more gasoline.

 

It was during the late 70s and early 80s the auto manufacturers had to scale down and make vehicles more efficient.  The intro. of the newly designed colony parks, and LTD in '79 was a big step.  These models shed about 1000 pounds, lost about 18" in length yet actually gained interior space, and became safer and more efficient.  When the producers made the Wagon queen it was kind of inaccurate of what was going on.

 

I saw some "The Making of _____________" videos about the Dukes of Hazzard also Smokey and the Bandit and they were talking about how many cars they went through in order to make those air borne car scenes.  On the Dukes John Schneider confirmed that they used like 250 to 370 cars during the entire shows run.  That's a car per episode.

Either number is outrageos imo.

 

On  Smokey and the Bandit I think they said they used up 4 transams for the movie.

And of course on each set they had stunt doubles and drivers as they wouldn't have the stars lives put in danger for those risky shots.
 
Sorry, Keith.
I didn't mean to sound like you were condoning "car abuse".
I just meant that I would have felt bad no matter what kind of vehicle they used.
As a kid, I even hated when the "bad guy's" cars or police cars got wrecked in Dukes.
But, we liked the show in general, (unintended pun), so we never used to miss it.

Barry
 
I Love Wagons

My family had only one wagon while I was growing up and there is a picture of it included here.
It was a Plymouth - not sure of the year - and it met it's fate when broadsided in an intersection.
Thankfully, my mother, brother and I survived with minor injuries.
Now, I own TWO wagons - a 2003 Passat GLX with 5 speed manual transmission and a 2018 Buick Regal TourX Essence with all the option packages.
You European and U.K. members will recognize the Buick as the Vauxhall/Opel Insignia Country Tourer.
I have yet to see another Buick Regal TourX on the road.
Americans just don't buy wagons and 2020 will be the last year for the TourX.
I will NEVER buy an SUV, CUV or "cross-over".
LONG LIVE THE WAGON![this post was last edited: 5/10/2020-21:53]

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Hey Bill, that is a very Willow Glen-ish looking street scene.  When I was a little kid, neighbors had a similar Plymouth wagon (early '50s, I'm guessing) in dark forest blue-green.   They replaced it with a metallic sandy beige '60 Chevy wagon. 

 

I loved our '97 Passat GLX wagon with 5-speed.  It was fun to drive when not commuting in stop & go traffic on I-680/280/SR 17 from San Ramon to Los Gatos.

 

Sam, the neighbor around the corner from our previous home is still driving one of those Tercel wagons.  I remember when they were new, a friend of mine said the rear hatch looked like an ATM.  Friends a few blocks over had a white '60 Buick wagon until around 1972.  The kids had all grown by then and they got a bathtub of a POS Plymouth sedan, a '70 or so in copper with black vinyl top, that had been a driver's education car with an extra brake pedal on the passenger's side.

 

Eddie, we fell victim to the FOMOCO transmission flaw too.  My dad's '69 Continental Mark III was in a fast idle on the driveway after a cold start and suddenly took off backwards, swung across the front lawn and struck the Mulberry tree in the parking strip.  If not for that tree, it would have made it into the street and to who knows where from there, backwards and on wheels, to paraphrase Ginger Rogers.

 

We never had a wagon growing up.  My sister and I were the only kids.  Neighbors had them, though.  A beige (Fawn Tan?) '62 Country Sedan, a beige '66 Country Squire, a light green '59 Plymouth, and a white/wood paneled '57 Mercury with red interior to name a few.

 

I remember the '55-56 Ford as being the most common wagon for transporting nuns back in the day.  At St. Leo's, their two-tone blue & white wagon was replaced by a new beige/fawn '62 Country Sedan, courtesy of the Dad's Club.

 

Getting back to more modern times, Dave got a green '76 Audi Fox wagon shortly after I met him.  I ended up with that car, which got totaled in 1989 (easily accomplished at almost 14 years old, not my fault, no serious injuries).  We got a silver '84 Audi 5000S wagon in 1988 when they were cheap due to the acceleration issues Audi was having.  That one got rear-ended and totaled fairly quickly (whiplash for both of us even though seat/shoulder belted) because the roof buckled.  It was replaced with a darker silver '85 5000S, which got driven until there were over 160K miles on it.  The next wagon was a silver '96 Passat GLX.  Dave stupidly leased that one.  He returned it and that's when we ended up with the black '97 Passat GLX with 5-speed, which had been a company car and only had 12K miles on it.  I ended up with that one because Dave was murdering the clutch and transmission.  He traded it in at 140K for a dark silver 2006 Audi Allroad.  That thing was a huge gas hog, barely breaking 17 MPG on the highway.  We dumped it as a trade-in on a brand new 2011 MBZ GLK 350, which is sort of a wagon.  It got better mileage than the Allroad and was a pleasure to drive.

 

 
 
I've got a 2019 TourX as well...as well as my 2009 Saab 9-3 wagon. I am not in love with the TourX as much as I'd hoped---it's longer and wider than the 9-3, also a little softer and smoother...got the white as well. GM actually targeted the vehicle at the LGBT community, and had a rainbow-wrapped one at 2018 Motor City Pride. They were successful--the vehicle indexed about 2.25x what would normally be expected (if it appealed the same to the LGBT community it would index at 1.0x)

VE
 
Miss my wagon!

My first wagon was a vintage 64 Pontiac Bonneville 3 seater, bought in 83 and run until I was approached to sell it back to the children of the original owners who were childhood neighbors! It's safe in Seattle!
My second and most favorite was my 84 Bonneville Grand Safari just like the pic in #18. And yes, in the NW it was a Bnoneville Grand Safari. Same colors with woody siding and wire wheels. Drove it for over 15 years. Traded it for an Explorer and then a Eddie Bauer pick-up. Last wagon was a fully equipped Mercury Sable that lasted until 2006 when my late partner crashed it in a tunnel in downtown Seattle. I now have a 2003 Buick Ultra that I still can't parallel park! I can't see out the back, but do appreciate the body sized trunk! Really want a Buick Regal wagon...! But haven't earned it yet! Greg
 
Ralph...

"Eddie, we fell victim to the FOMOCO transmission flaw too. My dad's '69 Continental Mark III was in a fast idle on the driveway after a cold start and suddenly took off backwards, swung across the front lawn and struck the Mulberry tree in the parking strip. "

1968-69 were always my favorite Mark III years. So Classy and Beautiful detailed inside and out.

"I remember the '55-56 Ford as being the most common wagon for transporting nuns back in the day. At St. Leo's, their two-tone blue & white wagon was replaced by a new beige/fawn '62 Country Sedan, courtesy of the Dad's Club."

OMG Ralph. Thanks for the Memory Jog. The basis of so many Nun in a Station Wagon Jokes.

Yeah, Our Wagon was a high idler too. Great recall. It had the Drop Down or Swing Door Tailgate. That was about the best feature of that Wagon.

We always had Oldsmobiles and Chevys. The Ford was a "deal" from a friend. We all know how those go...

Then the year before my Mom passed, my Dad bought her a 1968 DeVille Convertible.
 
Wagons Ho!

Hey, Ralph - I couldn't afford to live in Willow Glen! I'm in Blossom Valley.

Hey, Jamie - YES - the TourX feels VERY large compared to my Passat (and it IS bigger in every dimension).
The TourX gets better mpg (32 highway compared to 28 with the Passat) and the TourX has WAY more horsepower and torque.
I only wish the TourX had some of the features my Passat has like rain sensing wipers, "puddle lights" on all the doors, a locking and air conditioned glove compartment, and a full-size spare (the TourX has no spare). Of course, the TourX has a lot of "safety" features the Passat doesn't have like adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, etc. I was motivated to buy the TourX as affordable wagons are becoming very rare and Buick was heavily discounting them!

I consider the Subaru Outback to be more of a cross-over since it's so high off the ground.

The Buick Regal Sportback has more features available than the TourX wagon such as ventilated seats, front parking assist and a few other things. GM "bean counters" strike again!
 

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