Posts from ‘Station Wagons’
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
2020 Subaru Outback Touring XT in Cinnamon Brown Pearl
2020 Subaru Outback Touring XT
Class: Midsize Car
Miles driven: 553
Fuel used: 22.1 gallons
1952 Pontiac Chieftain Station Wagon
Note: The following story was excerpted from the April 2009 issue of Collectible Automobile magazine
By Don Sikora II
The 1952 Pontiacs sported the third in a series of styling updates to the basic circa-1949 design. A new grille, fresh trim, and redesigned wheel covers were the major appearance changes.
1956 Studebaker
We have shared classic wagon advertisements before, but the bounty of great ads out there has compelled us to revisit the subject.
1973 Ford Pinto
Most automotive styling affectations were born of functional vehicle features. Real wire wheels, for example, lead to the faux-wire hubcaps that were so common in the Eighties, especially on Buicks and Oldsmobiles. Likewise, the vinyl and landau roof craze of the Seventies and Eighties was born of the landaulet and carriage-roof vehicles from decades earlier.
