THE STATION WAGONS WE GREW UP WITH
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- Опубліковано 25 лют 2022
- it may seem hard to believe today, but the full-size station wagon was more versatile than many modern vehicles currently available at dealerships. With the exception of contemporary features - like heated cup holders, headrest-mounted monitors, and about 50 power outlets for everyone's electric gadgets - the station wagon was capable of hauling up to as many as 10 passengers to a ball game on a Sunday afternoon, just a day after lugging a large stack of plywood plus 2x4 framing studs and enough nails to build a tree fort for the kids. It's true: yesterday's station wagon had a larger cargo capacity than today's crossovers. In this video we pay homage to the station wagons of the 60’s, a banner decade for the body style's production run. This is the story or the station wagons of the 60’s!
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Station wagons rule. I miss them
Love my wagon. It's a Buick Regal TourX... only bad thing is they stopped making parts for it when it was discontinued in 2020 so it will be harder to keep in top top shape than most cars.
I drive a 75 buick century wagon in the Netherlands and I love it ♥️
The station wagon. What a perfect people carrier.
Hope you all enjoy the video. I MADE SOME BOO BOOs. I used Dollar signs where I should have not. My brother caught it. NOT re-uploading. We'll live with it. LOL
You also described the Vista-Cruiser as having a rear facing 3rd row seat when the image clearly show it facing forward.. 🙄
@@trudygreer2491 Good catch! You should work for the FBI......oh. wait, you're probably too honest.
Please post positive proof pronto.
Pics preferred
Awwe you forgot about the Pontiac Safari wagon
No biggie. Still great content 👍
The station wagon, no doubt, was truly the SUV of its day!
Definitely 😁 Would Love to see a Country Squier like the One at 1:46 The Video and The Magnetic Checker Board too Just Saying
Without a doubt true.
In popularity, maybe, though you see far more SUVs now than you saw station wagons then, partly because there was just more variety in vehicle body styles back then. Plus, there were already SUVs in the 1960s and '70s; they just didn't call them that yet, truck-based wagons like Chevrolet Suburbans, International Travelalls, Jeep Wagoneers, Ford Broncos, and Chevrolet Blazers, essentially truck-wagons, which is basically what an SUV is, at least originally. I know they've changed over time.
I disagree. The station wagon was truly the minivan of its' day.
@@frankhoward7645 agreed. An SUV and especially CUV for suburban pavement is the worst of about everything. Expensive for no real reason. Compromised cargo (almost no cargo room with back seat up), exposed cargo, no width, cramped back seats, typically poor fuel efficiency by modern standards of economy.....basically a 1st Gen Dodge minivan with the cargo area and 3rd row seat chopped off like a cheap 70s hatchback Pinto secretaries car.
SUVs offer big bucket front seats and lots of cupholders and gadget plugs. Expensive tires that are likely to never see offloading unless you back over a flowerbed. Higher than normal service costs due to cramped mechanicals, overloaded brakes or a 4WD or AWD you'll use once a year if it snows 2" and sunbelt drivers will never use.
The Volvo Wagon and the 1994 to 2007 Taurus/Sable wagon midsizes was the last car truly engineered for suburban needs, with peppy driving character of the Chevelle or Vista Cruiser.
The late 90s Buick Roadmaster and Caprice wagon was the last of the massive pondering boats, and they likely killed the wagon.
My grandpa owned two station wagons: a 1973 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser with the electric clamshell tailgate, and a 1977 Chevrolet Malibu Classic Estate. Loved both of em.
Those were BOTH amazing wagons and unfortunately during the 1970’s the Country Squire seemed to be the quintessential family hauler and overshadowed the offerings from GM and Mopar put together.
you forgot Plymouth! .. my mother drove a 66 Belvedere II, a 68, 70 and 72 Sport Suburban, a 75 Gran Fury Sport Suburban and a 77 Dodge Monaco Crestwood!
@@727100bear "Tank & Country" wagon s
We had the '73 Caprice Estate, learned how to drive in it!! 454 4barrel, dual exhaust. Hauled ass, and the tailgate was not that big of a deal.
@@painkillerjones6232 The disappearing tailgate was a gimmick mostly. It took up headroom and any storage below. It was sold as the solution to opening it while parked near the front of another car.
My high school ran summer driver’s education classes that anyone who would turn 16 in the following school year had to attend. I attended the summer of 1969 and the school had a fleet of Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser wagons to learn to drive, including one that had a three-speed manual on the steering column that everyone had to successfully learn to drive. The front passenger seat where the instructor sat had an extra brake pedal to prevent us from killing ourselves! 😉 The instructors were regular full time teachers. I was lucky. My instructor was young and loved to run the radio at loud volume tuned to Top 40 rock and roll. Great memories.
All of those driver's ed cars had an additional brake pedal. My driver's ed car was a green 1978 Dodge Monaco 4-Door Sedan. Our first lesson behind the wheel was in a Kmart parking lot.
@@SpockvsMcCoy I remember seeing ones on TV that also had a passenger-side steering wheel, but I never saw one on the road. My driving school jammed the instructor and 4 students into 6-year-old 1972 Dodge Darts; we were always a little grumpy after each trip.
My grandfather (born in 1908) learned to drive from a family member in the 1920s, which was typical. In those days, all automobile controls were manual (choke, starter, throttle, spark advance, steering, brakes, transmission). I didn't learn to drive a manual transmission car until many years later.
@@pcno2832 I believe there were machines that simulated the feel of being behind the wheel...but my school district did not have those. Instead, I remember the nearly retired teacher showing our class horror show movies and pictures of mutilated bodies from traffic accidents.
Learned to drive on a '77 Ford LTD
1972. Family road trip, Idaho to Tennessee in a '67 Vista Cruiser, my brother, sister and I riding in the "back in the back" playing auto bingo. Ah, the good old days
I've noticed more and more vintage wagons at car shows and auctions..
Ah the memories growing up with the family station wagon . My parents owned these back in the day 70s and 80s from Dodge, Chevrolet and Pontiacs from mid-sized to full-sized our last one being the Pontiacs Parisienne Safari. Fun Times.
My family drove across the US in the early 80’s from the east coast to California in a station wagon. My brother and I would climb over the seat and into the back repeatedly. A lot of good memories there. 👍
I grew up with some of these station wagons. Fond memories no modern SUV can match.
Love the video. We always had a station wagon in the 60s & 70s. and a sedan. Drive Inns & Camping were very popular then. Great times to be a kid!
I'm a big fan of 60's and 70's fullsize wagons!
My dad had a total of four station wagons from the early 1960's to the mid 1980's. The one that I liked the most and wish I still had, was his 1958 Oldsmobile Fiesta station wagon, which had factory air conditioning, a rare option back then. It had so much chrome on it, that my dad called it the "chromemobile".
The Fiesta was a hardtop station wagon and similar to the Buick Century Caballero.
Yeah..We had two. 1968 Bel air and 78 impala wagon. Thanks Frank
I’m an old man. As a kid, riding in the “way back” was pretty cool. Nowadays, having kids staring at the car driver behind directly in the face probably wouldn’t be to cool.
But we loved it back then!
I grew up with the 1969 Plymouth Sport Suburban wagon. 383 V8 was great. Yeah. My sister and I loved to sit in the “way back”.
Best days of my life. We went camping and drive-in theaters back then they were beautiful awesome cars .... today they have nothing like that
My Uncle Jerry owned a 69' Ford Country Squire, followed by a 72' Olds Vista Cruiser. He had 5 kids & my Mom had 3. My Mom, Aunt, & Uncle would toss us 8 kids in the back of those Station Wagons & the 11 of us would go cruising to all kinds of places. What a blast it was! Loved those 2 Station Wagons. Still have a Polaroid picture of my Aunt, Uncle, & their 5 kids standing, in front of the passenger side of the Vista Cruiser, in my parents driveway. The photo was taken in the summer of 1973.
My buddies mom and dad had a black 1960 Dodge Polara wagon. Still one of my all time favs
1960 Dodge Polara and Matadors were very rare. More common was the cheaper full-size 1960 Dodge Dart.
Missing from this video is how Wagons were used like trucks for towing trailers, including big camper trailers. These often were also used by some construction companies, double duty, transporting important people to construction sites, and hauling trailers of construction equipment.
📻😁
Make sense, 60’s and 70’s Full sized cars and some intermediates have body on frame with huge 400+ CI engines. In addition to SUV like ground clearance.
We towed a huge airstream through the mountains in 69 with a Chevelle station wagon. I remember sliding all around in the back as we traveled through the smokies winding roads. These were heavy beasts used and abused.
@@kenwelch198
🤣 the days before mandatory Seat Belts. Those Vinyl seats were notorious.
📻😁
Right, back in the 1960's we had a neighbor who always had Dodge station Wagons and they always had engines in them like the 383 and the 413 and his last one had a 440. He used them to tow his travel trailers all over the USA from Vermont to Texas. They would have stickers from various states in the back window.
My '87 mercury wagon was used for hauling horse trailers across the country to different shows and such. Then used for scrapping, hauling upwards of 8k-10k pounds of steel at a time once my grandfather got ahold of it. Now has 400k miles but that kind of history should have killed it. Still runs damn near like new.
Absolutely loved this one thanks for sharing. Even now I still love classic station wagons with my favourite memories being touring here in Australia as a kid in a 1966 VE Valiant Regal Safari with a slant six. Have been looking for a a good old school station wagon here for years but I must say I really love the North American built ones as well. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
VE's came out in 68 (car of the year) to be correct. I learned to drive in mum's '70 VG Valiant Safari wagon with the 2 barrel 245 HEMI with 3 on the tree.
@@rossbrumby1957 my mistake the model actually ran from October 67 to February 69 here in Australia
We had 2 Buick wagons growing up a 65 & 67 Sport Wagon. Similar to the Olds one. Also my Mom years later had probably the biggest Olds wagon ever created. It had a 455 in it. We lovingly called it the Enterprise.
Awesome classics Michael . Thanks for the comment! We hope you subscribed to our channel if you're not a subscriber yet! It really helps us out. Boca Brothers
My parents owned a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Townsman Station Wagon in Dusk Pearl and India Ivory. I have only seen photos of it because it was sold before I was born.
Love it. I grew up in station wagons : 1972 Ford Custom Ranch Wagon, 1978 Ford LTD Station Wagon, and lastly 1984 Ford LTD Mid size Station Wagon. Remembered in the older 1972 and 1978 you could put a pile of 4x8 plywood sheets, close all doors and go home better than most pickup trucks does today :)
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Most pickup trucks come with a standard 6/1/2' bed so unless you ordered one with an 8' bed, you couldn't haul those plywood sheets without them hanging off the back. Meanwhile, a modern minivan will take those sheets with the tailgate closed.
@@frankhoward7645 you're absolutely right about pickup trucks and that's why I bought a Sienna in 2005, that I still own. I remember, no joke, the first thing I did when I was at the dealership before I buy was to measure the cargo if I could insert a 4x8 plywood sheet with the tailgate closed. The salesman was looking at me as if it was a joke, we laught, the rest is history.
@@FullTimeGT I remember loading sheetrock into the back of my Dodge Grand Caravan. The guy next to me was loading the same thing into his pickup. It was raining. Guess what happened to his.
@@frankhoward7645 hahaha
For me it was our 1975 caprice estate. The road trips, the camping trips, the drive in and me and my sis in the back in our PJ’s. Beautiful memories I will cherish forever
My family had 3 Ford wagons when I was growing...1967 Country Squire, 1972 Country Sedan and a 1978 LTD II S wagon. I would love to have any of them back today...they were great cars that look us on many a trip in the 70s.
The last LTD II wagon was in 1977...the final full-size LTD wagon was in 1978.
Loved it!!!!!
Sensational video! Thank you,
This one brought back loads of wagon memories!
My family started out with a 62 Ford Country Squire. She was black with the woodgrain sides, and red n white interior. When the dealer dropped off the wagon to my Pop's business, the salesman was giving him a demo on how to operate all the bells n whistles. Well the tailgate caught fire because the dealership used long screws to hold the name plate of the dealer on. They had cut into the wire harness. They towed that burned up hulk back to the dealer!
The next one was a 69 Pontiac wagon. I took my driver's test in that tank...passed on the first try too.
Then we had a 76 Pontiac Grand Lemans wagon. I ended up taking her up to College, where she was the vehicle of choice for all road trips in Michigan.
My best friends family had a 71 Ford wagon that we always used for the fishing trips down the Jersey shore.
Miss those days
They were so beautiful !
1958 Chevy Nomad wagon, 1963 Chevy wagon, 1972 Ford Country Squire, 1979 Chevy Caprice Classic wagon.
I miss them all.
We do too! :( Thanks for watching and the comments! Please help us out by subscribing to our channel if you're not already one? Michael - Boca Brothers
I bought a 1971 Plymouth Satellite Custom in 1971, I used it for a young family, and for trailer towing a camper for the next 10 yrs or so, back then you could order a trailer tow pkg. included big 383 engine, hvy duty cooling ,class 4 hitch ,wiring and different rr axle ratio .
I remember the malabu wagon we had. The seat had that upholstery line in the center of the seat. My brother and I would fight if one of crossed it. Oh good times. Memories.
Lol memories. Me and my sister. You crossed the line, stay on your side of the car! 😂
I really like these wagons.
GOOD OLD DAYS I LOVE THESE OLD WAGONS ,, I HAD A 1966 CHEVY IMPALA WAGON ,COOL LOVED IT..THESE CARS ARE THE GREATEST ..THESE DAYS ,CRAP..TO SHORT OF A VIDEO , WE WANT MORE WAGONS YA!!! THX.
Practical and down to earth. All you needed, wanted and required!
I learned to drive in a gold 1972 Chrysler Town & Country with wood paneling.
Mom told me "The power steering is so easy you almost don't have to steer."
Great cars of the past but only if our parents had one. lol Thanks for the comment! We hope you subscribed to our channel if you're not a subscriber yet! It really helps us out. Boca Brothers
My grandparents had a 1972 Chrysler Newport Royal.
My mom and dad ordered a 1965 country sedan, 390 engine three speed column shifter, with overdrive, four barrel carburetor, that old Ford took us every where in the sixty and seventies, what a wagon.
Had me a 64 Chevelle Malibu wagon. One of the most gorgeous looking wagons from a bygone era
Hell, almost everybody drives a station wagon now. They are just a little taller, have a little more ground clearance and sometimes all four wheels pull it....I'll never be convinced that a CUV or SUV that sits on a unibody isn't just a glorified station wagon. The truck framed ones are a little different but still.
A wagon was to me like a passenger car with more seating. To me, an SUV is like a truck. I love my 95 Caprice wagon and al the wagons I owned but I hate SUVs.
Title on my suv is marked SW as body style
@@bigcharliesmodelgarage296 So it goes. A rose by any other name is still a rose.
@@gregvarner9562 indeed l love station wagons.
@@bigcharliesmodelgarage296 They are the OG.
I still own two Ford Crown Victoria wagons, a 1991 and a 1987 both of which are great cars with all the power features and 302 V8's.
My folks started out with a ‘54 (2-door), ‘61, 65, and 2, 70’s. We kids picked up after that with a ‘65, ‘67 and ‘77.
I love old wagons
Growing up, my parents had a 1974 Pontiac Grand Safari. I used to love sitting in the fold out jumpseats in the back.
Love how it began with the Country Squire and wrapped up with the Colony Park…..that beautiful white 70’s version was my favorite!
Dad gave me his white 63 Rambler Ambassador 880 station wagon in 1970. It had a 327 V8 with positraction. I loved that car and took my friends everywhere. My HS girlfriend and I would go to the drive-in movies. The rear seat folded flat with the fronts which was really cool. That station wagon saved us from our virginities. Lol.
6:04 First time I have ever seen a Super Bee wagon.
The Alex Chilton reference earned my subscription. A+
AWESOME!
That was the most comprehensive wagon expose I’ve ever seen ! Yes , I’ve sat in the back of a few of them . I even possessed one myself , for a minute .
I had a 1980 Pontiac Safari wagon, it was cool. Wood grain, wire wheels, white walls, chrome roof rack, and a rear facing 3rd seat. Lots of power stuff, seats, windows, and more.
Friend's parents had some. We piled into them when parents took turns to bring us to the roller skating rink in the late 70s.
The Modern Day Cowboy turned Family Man mode of transport - you could take the whole famdamly in 1 horse with all the horses under the hood!!!!!! Thanks Boca Brothers!!!!!!!!Thanks to all the Mothers and Fathers for these memories as well= Great Memories and Great times had by all!!!!
My dad always bought Plymouth fury wagons for his business needs. We had a 64 with push button transmission and then a 1969 or 70 and then a 1977 grand fury with wood panels.
1977 was last year of the big Gran Fury.
The thumbnail is exactly what I remember being our first new car, 1966 country sedan, white with blue interior.
All we had when we where growing up was station wagons to accommodate seven kids.🙂👍On one family holiday in the 1970s my dad put a large sign that read"overpopulated"and hung it in the rear window so the hitchhikers would see it as we drove past.👍We received of peace signs and laughs when we waved back at them!✌
Super Sleepers: Full size station wagons with highway patrol interceptor packages. IF you knew what codes to use when ordering you could get a very upgraded station wagon. Cop cooling systems, cop engine, cop suspensions, cop electrical systems, etcetera. Some rare codes even involved strengthened frames and bodies.
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I'm glad you included the very often overlooked high-end Chrysler wagons. My parents had a 1965 Chrysler New Yorker station wagon, which was the last year Chrysler made that model before they started the Town & Country model in 1966. We always thought we had the last of the true classic wagons before Chrysler went a little bit more mass market with the T&C marque.
Brings back memories of being little more than a toddler going on vacations in our ‘73 Chevy wagon. No seatbelts in use for anyone let alone child car seats, climbing back and forth from the front seat to the very back. I had a terrible habit of chewing on the back of the front seat making holes in it which irritated my father to no end. Standing up holding onto the dashboard watching the scenery go past, all things that would get parents ticketed in todays world!
I was conceived in the back of a '57 Chevy Nomad. After I was born, the folks bought a Rambler SW, put a crib in the back and that's how I got my travelin jones. Yep, a crib. No car seat or seat belts, yet somehow I survived it.
LOL......
My father-in-law had a '59 Pontiac Catalina Safari and he drove 6 people to work with him. It was an income source for him and for his family, bless him. I later rode to my factory job in a succession of co-worker owned 9-pass wagons, usually in the tailgunner seat.
So cool!
Was waiting to see the iconic '64 Pontiac Catalina Safari with the 389 like we had as a kid. The power band was between 60-90mph. What a beast!
I remember when we bought a new 1965 Pontiac Catalina and it was cool 👍🏻✌🏻🇺🇸🇺🇦
In 1960 my parents had a 1958 Ford Country Sedan , My Dad was in the California National Guard and was assigned to go to Fort Eustis Viginia so Mom and Dad loaded up us five children I being the oldest at eleven years old into this car and away we went a cross country to my Dad's assignment for six months of schooling on the Heuy
Helicopter later to be the work horse in Vietnam Nam. WE had a car top carrier for our luggage and over load springs for the suspension ( almost a low rider) boy what memories US kids had the best parents in the world ,,,,miss the dearly Dad passed in 1970 and
Mom passed 30 years ago today 3-14 -1992 Love you both!
My folks had a 1968 Ford Country Squire LTD.
There is one I still see around town every now and then.
My wife said her family called the back the "way back". We called it the "big back" in my family. Ours didn't have the optional toy box, but it did have the seats the folded up from the cargo area.
When I visited Norway around a decade ago, I noticed a ton of station wagons on the road. A lot of them were compact Volvos which weren't really sold in the United States because we culturally had shifted to the bulkier gas guzzling SUVs. Growing up in the 60s & 70s, the sight of all of those sensible cars with flexible cargo space made me strangely happy. (And no faux wood panelling amongst them...)
My Mom had one of the rarest '60s American wagons - a 1961 Chevy Corvair Lakewood. Thereafter, we had a 1967 Chevy Malibu Concours wagon until Mom got a 1970 Volkswagen Squareback. Throughout the 1980s, I drove one of the rarest German wagons - a 1971 Audi Super-90 'Variant'. Today I own a European 1984 Mercedes TD wagon with manual windows, manual HVAC, and 5-speed manual transmission.
My sisters learned to drive on the family station wagon and I definitely would like to see the return of proper, full-size, station wagons like these.
It would really be something to order brand new a '67 Impala wagon with big block and four speed. Wowie.
Spankin Brand new! Thanks for watching and the comment! Boca Brother!
We had a 1956 Pontiac Safari wagon growing up. It was a two door and mom hated it because someone had to get out in order for us kids to get in the back.
LOL...Aunt and Uncle had a 1960 Safari. Thanks for sharing. Will you please help us by Subscribing to our channel?
One of the best fights I ever saw was in the cargo area of a 66 olds wagon!
My mom grew up with a 1957 Nomad, and latter a 1967 Country Squire that she drove and dented in college. My grandfather had many more through the 1980's. We had a late 70's Malibu as well the neighbor across the street.
The Mercedes Benz 300 class E wagon was totally awesome; the Volvo wagons of the 1980s (the bricks) were amazing too
I'll bet the Mercedes rode a lot better than the Volvo, though. I remember being stuck in the back of a 740 for an hour or so and the ride was unbearable, more like a little truck than a big car.
From The Datsun Maxima wagon existed from 1981 to 1984 and it was a good car. It even had an optional diesel. I do not know how they were able to share so many engine parts with the gasoline L-series engine, but make it work. Olds couldn't do it.
The Nissan Maxima that replaced in 1985 to 1988 was awful. A great engine bolted to a garbage car.
We had a 1967 Ford Country Squire, 390ci, white with woody sides, dual side facing seats. I was 6 years old when I went with Dad and Mom to pick it up at the Ford dealer in Wilmington Delaware. I sat in the side facing rear seats on many long 75mph interstate trips to visit grandma. I lived a fџҁӄing cliché.
The memories. I can still remember the new car smell of my dad's 1968 Bel Air wagon! Thanks for watching and the comments! Please help us out by subscribing to our channel if you're not already one? Michael - Boca Brothers
Mom's '41 Ford Woody...painted maroon with a four inch brush...four seats...four doors...Mom hauled around my sister's Brownie troop of 13, with me cornered in the rearmost seat next to the tailgate.
I do home remodeling and my work vehicle is an 85 Caprice Estate. Not a week goes by without getting a thumbs up or someone telling me about their childhood experience riding in the back of their family wagon. When I go to the big box home center other contractors look in amazement at the size and amount of stuff I can pile in or on my roof rack!
This is about the 6th GM wagon I have owned since starting in the late 80's. All the parts from this series (78-90) are interchangeable (even many body parts). When its time to move on, I strip off the good stuff I can use and call these guys who use my car for the local demo derby!!
my uncle Paul had a early 70's dark blue Plymouth Suburban Station wagon.
1967 Ford Fairlane wagon for my folks.
Squire option that year on the Fairlane.
I grew up with my grandmother's Pontiac Catalina Safari. It was sort of special to me because it was completed in the same year I was born, my grandfather cared for it like it was one of his children, and it ran and drove up to the day we junked it.
I have a '70 Torino "plain Jane" wagon that came with a 429 SCJ "drag pack" engine, 4 speed transmission, and 391 traction-lok rear differential. Ford produced seven 429 Torino wagons '70-'71. 6 had the Country Squire trim. 4 of those had ram-air shaker hoods. I have the only one that came like mine. Ford Museum has tried to buy it from me 3 times over the years, but I'll never sell it.
my dad had a vistacruiser, just like the one pictured. i miss the station wagons.
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Mom and Dad had a 69 Pontiac Catalina station wagon. 400 cid with turbo 400 trans.
That boat could fly!
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@@ThisOldCarChannel just subscribed. Best wishes!
The GM Clamshell Tailgate had defects that scratched the paint when in use. GM experienced a UAW strike that gave it time to fix the defects before delivering to the public.
Only the 1971 model year?
@@SpockvsMcCoy I read about it in an article that listed all the fixes GM made during the strike. I only ever actually saw one Clamshell Tailgate in operation. I think I was surprised it was so fast.
@@josephpiskac2781 I've always considered the clamshell design to be gimmicky and potentially dangerous.
@@SpockvsMcCoy I think I realized that when the bottom disappeared into the Tailgate floor it carried all the dirt snow and rain water with it. Over time the well that received the gate would become a mud pit.
@@josephpiskac2781 There were large drainage slots in that well so the tailgate was at least partially exposed underneath.
I've been around the GM Skywagons (Oldsmobile Vista Cruisers, Buick Sport Wagons, Buick Roadmaster Wagons, and Oldsmobile Custom Cruisers) my whole life. Still driving a OCC today. I've found it pretty essential to be a part of online wagon communities that can help support ownership of these old wagons when they need mechanical help or to find parts. For those who own these GM Skywagons or the equivalent Flat Top Wagons, come join us at the "GM Skywagon Club" on FB.
Awesome! I'm joining! Thanks for the comment! We hope you subscribed to our channel if you're not a subscriber yet! It really helps us out. Boca Brothers
@@ThisOldCarChannel - I'm Warren's real-life friend Bill Stephens. I'm looking forward to seeing you at the GM Skywagon Club on Facebook. As I said above, I owned three '69 Vista Cruisers. I daily a '92 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon now (March 1, 2022). Warren has owned multiple BREWs, a '68 Buick Sport Wagon (Buick's version of the Vista) and still owns the '65 Vista that his father bought new.
We had a 1965 Dodge Coronet wagon followed by a 1967 Dodge Monaco wagon. My parents would drop the seats and put pads in the back for us to sleep on while they drove through the night on vacation.
My family had a 1964 Ford Country Squire when I was about 10 or so. We used to take it to Canada camping every year. Loved that thing. I think it had a bad ass 390 in it. Long gone when I learned to drive though.
It was weird facing people behind you , in traffic and at the light. No seat belts, we were all over the inside of those cars. What a wonder time. I wish I could go back and stay.
Grew up in these. '68 and '73. Loved the way-way back. The car lived long enough for me to drive it for a short while.
My first car was a 1967 Ranch Wagon!!!!!!! With a 289!! Great car!!
In the 70's I was one of these kids who fight to be seated in the back of the station wagon. Oh! The good things that they never came back.
My mom had a 79 fairmont squire wagon I loved that car then my first car was a 86 Plymouth reliant k wagon i also had a 85 Subaru gl wagon a 95 Buick century wagon and now a 1986 olds custom cruiser I love wagons
OMG....my dad bought a station wagon and I remember us taking trips to Alabama to see kin ....the door was as the first opened down or swing open. Loved the seats hidden in the back.....we discovered under the mat was a hole in the floor so we used it instead of pee stops along the road and going into woods 🤭
My First Car was a 1971 Chevy Kingswood Wagon... I'm currently putting together a 1956 Rambler Cross Country Wagon. Thanks for Sharing
I retain so many memories of our family trips to the city to see our grandparents and aunts traveling in the back with pillows and covers for the trip home or with the rear seat up as we took other family trips. It frightening to now think of the safety concerns regarding rear collisions or car flip but at a time when the seat belts were rarely used, these what-if scenarios never came to mind. I'm not sure of what model we had but I do remember it had the wood side, rear-facing 'suicide seats' and the double action rear gate/door. We moved from that car to a pickup truck with a cap and insert with benches and a table that could be converted to a flat surface.
I envied my Dad's 1960 Olds Dynamic 88 wagon. 455 engine and the speedo had a color change from green at low speed to orange then red a high speed ... very cool
My parents first vehicle was a 76 Chevy Impala station wagon. Love them clamshell style.
I grew up in the 80s and 90s. I can still remember seeing station wagons all over the place before SUV's took over. The Taurus, Camry, and Accord were very common in the midsize market. Huge Caprice and Country Squire wagons I'd see very often. Little K Car, Escort, and Cavalier wagons too.
Camry and Accord wagons were rare.
@@SpockvsMcCoy It wasn't until the early to mid 90s when I began seeing many of those 2.
Taurus, Camry and Accord would have been "compact" wagons, not "midsize" if they existed in the 1960s. Chevy II Nova, Ford Falcon/Mercury Comet, Plymouth Valiant/Dodge Dart, Rambler American...those station wagons were classified as "Compact station wagons", before "downsizing" became the norm in the late 1970s. Today a "compact" would be considered "full size", as no one makes a full sized car any more.
My mom owned a 1985 Nissan Maxima sedan and someone across the street had a 1985 Nissan Maxima station wagon. It had all the same things go wrong with it, and just as often. It also had the same electronic gizmos, like the robot voice. I now realize that when auto magazines called the interior "Tokyo at night" that they were probably referring to Shibuya crossing.
Nissan quit making that model of Maxima and the station wagon for 1989. Good riddance, that was the worst Max they ever built. The replacement was great.
Cool 😀
I love wagons always have . My parents were Ford people and had a 57 2 door ranch wagon, a 60 country squire, 63 country squire, my favorite 66 country squire with a 390, and a 69 country squire with hideaway headlights which had a cool look. Kids grown up and no more wagons 👎. I'm on my 6th wagon and my favorite a 65 Nova wagon with a factory 283 . Looked for years till I finally found one that survived! Thanks for posting, I enjoyed it!
My mother drove a 65 Opel Kadett wagon followed by a 75 1900 Sportwagon.
They were followed by a VW Dasher , a Quantum, a Mercedes w123 and w124, a BMW 5-Series and 3-Series Touring , a Cadillac CTS and finally a 2020 Buick Regal Tour X.
I remember the Opel Kadett wagon.I was born in Germany.Oddly enough,they came only as 2 door versions.If my memory is still correct.
In Germany wagons were used mainly for delivery purposes which is sad because they could have been fantastic family haulers.
@@MultiMusicbuff I am from Germany and like you mentioned they were used as light delivery or service vehicles in the past.
Today they are often the most expensive version of a given model and are more prestigious than their sedan hatchback or coupe variants.
All the luxury marques offer wagons and especially in their performance models they are aspirational vehicles for many.