Posts from ‘Station Wagons’
1988 Volvo Turbo Wagon (left) and 1988 Lamborghini Countach
When you’re an automaker whose advertising people have spent years brilliantly crafting a message of safety and reliability, you’re going to need to do something special when you add performance to the mix. And so it was when Volvo wanted to get the word out about its turbocharged models—especially the wagons.
1965 Ford Falcon Squire
Note: The following story was excerpted from the June 2018 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine
The Ford Falcon was Robert McNamara’s baby. A practical “numbers guy,” McNamara hated waste and excess. The Edsel went against his core beliefs with its large size, superfluous decoration, and the fact that it competed with existing Ford and Mercury products. As the Edsel was failing, McNamara was campaigning for a compact Ford.
What if America’s independent automakers would have offered true station wagons in the early 1950s?
By Frank Peiler
At the dawn of the 1950s, the American new-car market was running strong. The pent-up consumer demand caused by the World War II production hiatus had not yet been sated, and sales were booming for Detroit’s “Big Three” and numerous independent American automakers. And, as Americans moved to the suburbs in greater numbers, “family hauler” station wagons were becoming more popular at Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors. Ford was particularly successful—its expanded roster of all-new-for-1952 wagons would go on to be the number-one-selling wagon line for many years.
2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness in Geyser Blue
2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness
Class: Midsize Car
Miles driven: 215
Fuel used: 9.2 gallons
1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban
Note: The following story was excerpted from the October 2018 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine
Frank Troost says his 1970 Plymouth Sport Suburban draws a common comment when he has it out: “We had one when I was a kid, but I haven’t seen one in years.” That’s not surprising since the American station wagon was immensely popular in the Sixties and Seventies, yet the survival rate has been low.
1955 Willys Utility Wagon
Note: The following story was excerpted from the August 2017 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine
After building 362,841 four-wheel-drive 1⁄4-ton military scout cars—the legendary “jeep”—during World War II, Willys needed something to sell postwar. A civilian version of the Willys MB was introduced, but the company wanted something more mainstream.
2022 Subaru Outback Wilderness
The Subaru Outback essentially pioneered the concept of the modern SUV-flavored wagon when it debuted for the 1995 model year. Then as now, the Outback is based on a station-wagon version of Subaru’s Legacy midsize sedan. Its passenger-car roots give the Outback better on-road driving dynamics than the typical SUV, while the smart interior packaging, raised ride height, and standard all-wheel drive deliver SUV-worthy levels of passenger/cargo versatility and rough-terrain capability.
2020 Subaru Outback Onyx Edition XT in Abyss Blue Pearl
Excluding the Jeep Wrangler, few passenger vehicles better sum up their maker’s brand identity better than the Outback does for Subaru. The popular SUV-styled midsize wagon was redesigned for 2020, kicking off its sixth generation and gaining improved cargo room and rear-seat space, as well as a host of new available features.
1950 DeSoto Custom Station Wagon
Note: The following story was excerpted from the February 2017 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine
The wood-bodied station wagon was in its twilight years by 1950. It had progressed from commercial depot hack in the Teens and Twenties to something of a status symbol in the Thirties and Forties. Station wagons were just the thing for hunting trips or carrying riding tack to and from the stables. In the 1939 movie Dark Victory, Bette Davis’s socialite-horsewoman character describers herself as part of the “station wagon crowd.”
2020 Volvo V60 T5 Cross Country in Birch Light Metallic (a $645 option)
2020 Volvo V60 T5 Cross Country
Class: Premium Midsize Car
Miles driven: 395
Fuel used: 16.4 gallons
