A Nostalgic History of the Station Wagon
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- Опубліковано 31 січ 2023
- The editors of the website "MotorBiscuit" put it simply: “If you’re of a certain age, you remember the days when station wagons filled the roads.”
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Script by THG
#history #thehistoryguy #cars
Back in 2006, my wife and I were shopping for a new pickup truck at our local Dodge dealer. I had found the truck I wanted on the lot and was making the deal while my wife wandered around the showroom floor. When she didn't return after a few minutes I was forced to go find her as her signature was required on the paperwork for the truck. I was looking around and at first couldn't spot her, until I saw movement in a car sitting in the middle of the showroom. My wife was sitting in a brand new Dodge Magnum R/T....the last of the great station wagons. V8, rear wheel drive, folding rear split seats, seating for 5, etc, etc. There was a little bit of drool coming out of the corner of her mouth as she lovingly caressed the steering wheel and shifter. The look on her face was that gaze given a lover, a gaze I knew well but this gaze wasn't for me. I got her out of the car and we signed the paperwork for the pickup. She then told me she really wanted a Magnum(like I couldn't tell...). Her present car was an '02 Taurus wagon and we were still paying on it. I told her we'd get a Magnum after both the Taurus and new truck were paid down/off in about 3 years. She relented, but still looked at every Magnum she saw on the street. Little did I know what fate was to play in 2008 when Dodge quit manufacturing the Magnum. In early 2010 I went looking for a Magnum for my wife to fulfill the promise I had made. It couldn't be new tho....there were no new Magnums. It took 3 weeks to locate a low mileage Magnum R/T with the extras I wanted. I went and looked at it without my wife coming with me. I checked out the car completely and it was in excellent condition with only 55K miles on it. I put $1000 down to hold it until the next weekend. We were due to make a Sam's Club run to the city where the car was. I got the Taurus title out of the file cabinet without her noticing and we went on our monthly road trip to Sam's driving the Taurus. We pulled into the used car dealer and she got a quizzical look on her face and I told her I was checking out something. The dealer had parked the Magnum inside their service department so it was not visible from outside. My wife and I walked into the dealer and I asked the salesman about that special he had running....he took us back to the service department. She about fainted when she realized that the Magnum she was looking at was hers if she wanted it. She walked around it, then sat in the drivers seat, when I asked her again....she nodded emphatically! The salesman and I went to the office to put the paperwork together. I had to pry my wife out of the Magnum to sign over the Taurus title and to sign the Magnum paperwork. The dealer had even filled the gas tank on the car. She drove to Sam's, we did our shopping and loaded it all in the back of the Magnum, then she drove home. It has 13 more years and almost 200K miles on it now..... she still looks at it the same way....
My wife wants me give up my 2005 Magnum RT, 180K. NOPE!
Now that was a good read👍👍.
Man,.
You ain't never cut Martin Luther the King's hair...
@@MB5rider81 Yes I did
In 2019 I was finally able to get an 05 Magnum R/T with only 79K on the odometer. I know how your wife feels and hope she has many more miles to go.
I remember one auto magazine reviewer calling the station wagon "Like a front porch on wheels and just as comfortable"
So true
That's such a great description. As for comfort, how's this: in my mid 20s, I slept funny once, my back muscles were all goofed up bad enough that I couldn't stand straight or walk right. The same day, I drove my 1990 Mercury Grand Marquis Wagon. 55 miles later, my back issues were gone. Another time when I was driving it for a while, I got out of the car at the end of the day feeling _so_ relaxed, like I had just taken a refreshing nap.
Station wagons have a special place in mexican culture as well! Here in Mexico we call them "Mariacheras", they are part of the mariachi iconography and culture because they became the iconic vehicle of choice for many mariachi bands, in modern times other types of vehicles are called Mariacheras if they transport a mariachi band, but the originals will always be the station wagons.
This is cool. Thanks for sharing.
Thats really cool!
The Guitarron, alone, must take the seat of honor . . .
amazing fun fact!
I thought they would be called border crossers!😂
We were homeless for a while in the early 80s. We (mom, 2 brothers, me and a dog) lived in our stationwagon. I will always think of that time when I see one and this video brought back a lot of memories.
I had an unhealthy fascination with the tail gunner position on the many airplane models I built as a kid. Every time we’d jump in our station wagon (s) I’d jump into the rear facing seat for the trip. Every mile covered was with me looking for imaginary Focke Wulfs and Zeros to fend off while the pilot and copilot (aka Mom and Dad) flew through the flak.
Thanks for jarring loose some old and very dear memories.
Why was the fascination unhealthy? Seems to me it was just the fascination of a young man. I had many as a young boy, and have many still.
I recall doing something very similar during family holidays touring through Germany in the sixties. Our parents used to buy huge trays of cherries and we would fire the pips out the windows of the car at the passing Chermans! We were side gunners! Rolling your tongue up like an impromptu peashooter and strafing. Oh the shame of it now! The locals were always so warm, kind and indulgent of us children wherever we stayed as I recall and were definitely undeserving of this revolting behaviour. 🥺
😂😂🤣 👍🏻
>pilot and copilot (aka Mom and Dad)
so it was your mom was the captain (left seat)? and dad the FO?
ua-cam.com/video/YbMGXXrF7ac/v-deo.html
I learned how to drive in a 1974 Pontiac Grand Safari 9-passenger wagon. Parallel parking was a requirement for passing the drivers license test at the time. Once you learn how to park a station wagon, every other car is a piece of cake. Great memories.
Ah the clamshell, such an odd design.
I learned on its corporate twin - a 1976 Chevrolet Caprice Estate wagon, with the clamshell disappearing tailgate/window combination, three forward facing seats & enough cargo room behind the third seat for all the luggage. It was legally equipped, if you counted seatbelts, to hold 8 people, but with a little squeezing we once got 14 in (that included three in the "way back." And, yes, with it's 400 cubic inch V-8 and loads of torque, it was a killer of many a souped-up Chevelle and Torino at stoplights.
@@CPTDoom our Pontiac had the 455 high-altitude engine that was sold in Colorado; maxed out at about 11 mpg. Before the ‘74, we had a 1963 Pontiac Catalina Safari wagon which is the first car I can remember. In that wagon the third row faced backwards.
I still have difficult time believing that one of those could fit in a parking space.
I took my test in a 73 Ford LTD wagon and it was fun to parallel park for sure! Lol
My station-wagon memory: This was around 1978, when I was in 3'rd or 4'th grade. My class was on a field trip, perhaps to visit the local fire-department or something like that. Rather than taking a bus, a small group of parents drove the kids in their cars. I ended up in the back of a station-wagon with about four other boys. The mom driving us stopped at the bank along the way. Exiting the vehicle, she locked the doors and closed the windows, saying: "I'll be back in a few minutes, kids," before walking off. And immediately one of the boys unleashed a fart of biblical proportion with a stink right out of hell in the small, enclosed space. Chaos ensued, with panicking boys retching and gasping for air, lunging desperately around the rear of the station-wagon. We tried to open the windows and unlock the doors, but soon discovered that the windows and locks could only be operated from the driver's seat. Unfortunately, a metal grid prevented us from getting to the front seat. Child safety features, no doubt. I don't think we figured out who the guilty party was, but vicious accusations and choice words were ricocheting off the walls of the infernal station-wagon. It seemed there was more fart than oxygen in the small space, and the stench lingered interminably. Finally, after what seemed like several centuries, the mom returned from the bank and drove us to whatever the class was visiting that day. The stink gradually faded from our sinuses, and yet the memory of those infamous five or ten minutes is forever burned into my brain. God bless the humble station-wagon for all the wonderful childhood memories it has given us.
What a comment
That was a police wagon, or a K-9 unit, and you neglected to mention the matron was taking you to juvie.
Thank you for sharing that memory. It's just the beginning of the day and you've already started it off with a hearty belly laugh for me.
First car I ever held the steering wheel on while it was in motion was a mid to late 70's station wagon my granpa had. He put me on his lap and let me steer. Miss that man dearly.
My uncle let me back out his brand new 74 Ford Country Squire in a rustic copper color, but no wood. It was more of the base model. I proceeded to back out this monster at the ripe old age of 7 barely able to reach the pedals and still see out...he said I did a fine job of backing the moster out of his fairly new 2 1/2 car garage. Tis was all done much to my Aunt's consternation, and nervous fiddling. :) Thanks Uncle Richard! IT's a memory I cherish along with your memory.
I remember as a little kid asking my father how Santa Claus got around when there wasn't any snow. He says: "Well, son... he drives a station wagon." Seemed logical to me.
Yep, I’m of that certain age.
“Wood ingrained in the auto industry.” I saw what you did there. 🙂
Just for the comments section's sake, Wood Paneling was a common thing from the 1960s - 1980s. That's why so many of the 1970s video game systems had it, for example. The Atari 2600 had it, but they eventually made an all-black version later referred to by fans as the "Darth Vader" version.
I was born in 1961 in Southern California and station wagons were ubiquitous. When I was a teenager my buddy would pick me up in his parent’s station wagon and he called it the five door funny car. I can remember sitting in the back facing backwards as we came down from Big Bear mountain and the experience was vomit inducing especially if you’re dad was smoking a cigar.
My Dad had a HK Holden station wagon, which we drove from Victoria to Ayers Rock in central Australia in the mid 1970's, no paved highways through the desert back then, just corrugated dusty roads, we'd camp out at bore tanks and radio repeater stations, it was an incredible adventure for a kid and that old car never missed a beat.
My dad had a such a fascination for woodies that he use to paint it on the side of my old 72 VE Valiant V8 318 station wagon a woodie paint pattern, i never understood why until it was to late and my dad passed away.
❤
Us kids would get into our pajamas, mom would pop some popcorn, and dad would carry pillows to the Plymouth station wagon. We would go to the drive-in and my sister got to sit in the front seat with the popcorn bowl. My brother and I would look over the front seat with our blankets. Can't remember the end of movies, how we got home, or how I got into bed.
67 Chevelle wagon, twin mattress fit in the 'back of the back'. And I Am sorry for anyone whose parents listened to reo speedwagon.
Great writing!
'63 BelAir.... with a 230CID Six. Drive-in theatre, eating home-made popcorn from a paper grocery sack.
Ahh, the days.
@@glennoconnor2980 How my Mom managed to pop 3 grocery bags of popcorn and get 5 kids to pile in a wagon to see Beneath the Planet of the Apes is beyond me.
Daddy would carry us into bed. Ah, the memories.......
D-pillar superiority gang rise up
Gangs are bad
All rise
Crossover scum need not apply
Now lay back down
D-pillar rot killed my '94 Sable 😢
We still have our 1982 LTD Country Squire. We even gave it a name. It brought us across country and now sits in the driveway. I hope to rebuild it and use it again as it was great for hauling everything from people, plywood sheets, lumber and groceries. Much more practical that the minivan we drive now.
A wonderful Sunday morning listen. Thanks for taking the time to produce this.
I grew up in station wagons: '58 Dodge Sierra, '63 Dodge 880, '68 Pontiac Bonneville (w/428ci engine), '72 Dodge Monaco (terrible car). My parents continued with Buick wagons through the '1990s. I inherited the '92 Roadmaster and used it to pull our classic travel trailer for 15 years. My wife and I now drive a '95 Roadmaster with the factory installed Corvette LT1 engine. At classic trailer shows, the Roadmaster gets more attention than our '53 Silver Streak Clipper.
It's a shame we can't hit the like button more than once!!
Ya can. Liking in the comments is much the same to the algorithm. 😎✌
Tell yer' friends....
@@jacksunstone8771 So what you're say is that saying something on the comments drives the algorithms in a positive direction. The more something good is.... ?
Just don't hit it twice.... I've made that mistake
I hit my like button for you! So you can count two likes!
I recall the joy of identifying makes and models of automobiles by appreance. Today most vehicles (high price to more affordable) all look the same. I honestly do not know why. I am fortunate to have lived during an era when people appreciated indivually.
We traded individuality for safety two decades ago. Side impact tests dictate belt-lines (bottoms of windows) heights. Roof crush tests affect the size/shape of pillars. There are regulations that control how high/low bumpers and lights can be, the shape of hoods in case you hit a pedestrian, the surface area of mirrors, etc. All cars sold in America must meet the same standards so they end up looking similar.
Yeah. I think cars are UGLY today. I dislike the generic bubble look on them. Even the luxury brands look generic now too. Sigh.
We had a station wagon in the 60s. A blue Dodge. My siblings and I loved rolling around in the folded down back, playing games and singing songs. No seatbelts. At night we'd lie down in the back and watch the stars, moon and streetlights go by. Sometimes we just went out for a drive at night. My father liked driving at night. Just around our small town. Sometimes to the beach.
My Dad bought a new 1967 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser for my mom. The family used it for everything possible and it I got my drivers license in it 73, drove it for years after. We loved that car. I learned how to work on cars with it, changed brakes, transmissions, rear differentials, spark plugs and timing, timing chains, water pumps, etc. It was a great date car for drive in movies. Along with sitting in the front seat when cold it, when warm nights aloud we would park back end to screen roll the back window down, drop the tailgate and stretch out in the rear facing seat. It was cavernous and carried a lode of furniture, Blue Birds, or anything you could imagine. Loved that car.
Kids today will never know the excitement of riding "in the way back."
Well, my kids “sort of” do, because we have a full-size Ford E-350 12-passenger van. They fight over who gets to sit in the rear ALONE (we have 4 kids). But it’s not quite the same as the “way back” rear-facing of the station wagon my parents had when my brother and I were kids.
@@trumpetmom8924 Sort of counts!! 🙂
@@marcberm To be fair, the 1971 - 1976 G. M. "Clamshell" Wagons did have front-facing seats, so it's close enough. Maybe a few other Wagons from the 1950s - 1990s were the same way, but I don't know each model across each make.
When REO Speed Wagon became a thing in the 70s, it was playing on the radio one day. Dad asked who the band was. I told him. Of course I pronounced it like the band pronounces it. He corrected me pronouncing it properly because he remembered the company and gave me a history lesson on the spot.
My dad used to blast REO Speedwagon, while driving to school in his REO Speedwagon.
I did not know that REO and Oldsmobile come from fellow, Ransom E Olds.
By the time REO Speedwagon was in the radio, it was FM radio and cassette tapes. 8 Tracks didn't last as long as were think it did.
Born in 1956 , my grandmother in New York got a new car every 3 yrs , we lived in California, she asked my dad if he wanted the car before she got a new one, we had already received a 1956 Potinac Star Chief, we had took a train to go back , ( boy that was fun ! ) we all had fun driving it home , my parents & my brother & myself , then in 1965 she gave us a 1962 ford country squire, that was a boat ! , I learned to drive in that car , a lot of great memories in that car , turquoise blue metallic, all my friends knew it was me in that car , I found out that ford made different colors in the east than here , you never saw an another one like it around here , my dad took real good care of that car, he died right before I graduated from high school , then 4 months later the car died, I sure miss him , and that car ❤️🚗
I got my first station wagon in 1965, right out of high school. It was a 1959 Rambler American station wagon, and I positively loved it. I got my next car about a year later. A 1960 Plymouth Suburban Station Wagon. It was a huge barge of a car compared to the Rambler, and I had just entered the Air Force, and acquired a brand new wife along with my used car. That old Plymouth took us all the way from Milwaukee Wisconsin, out old Route 66 to Edwards Air Force Base in California. We got everything that we owned inside of that car complete with the Okie Style mattresses and beds strapped to the top. We looked like something out of Grapes of Wrath driving around Las Vegas where we spent one night. A year later that car drove us all the way back to Milwaukee again. This time with everything we owned strapped to the top and the baby's crib mattress inside the car bolstered with baggage. And it always got us where we had to go. I've always owned a station wagon, or it's modern variant the SUV. I wouldn't know what to do with a sedan. I had a 67 Oldsmobile at one point, followed by a 68 Dodge. That Dodge had so much power and rode so smoothly that my wife got a speeding ticket one time cuz she didn't realize she was going 80 miles an hour, the car was so smooth. All of my wagons had a way back for the kids which they absolutely loved, and yes fought over who was going to get sit back there. I am of that certain age, and I thank you very much for the Memories.
I basically grew up being transported by my parents in their 1956 Ford station wagon that was bought new by them in '56. I still have a fondness for the utility that one of them represent.
I always loved the sculpt of the '55 and '56 Fords.
They still make station wagons like the '50s models. They just call them crossovers. It's the low '60s, '70s and '80s style wagons they stopped making.
My parents bought a 57 ford wagon a month before I was born.
@@richardmoramarco6754 Still getting broke in then. 😆
@Jack_Russell_Brown Oh my God!
You don't sound a day over 260!!!!
Holy schidt!
I remember Whitefront stores!
And Woolworth's
And Earnst!
Pay n Save
Pay n Pack
Value Mart
G.O. Guys
Piggy Wiggly even.
And my personal favorite,
Wigwam
I'm a little younger.l a l I t t l e younger .
Your in your prime, my friend!
To your longevity 🙏
Ah yes. Exactly. I have memories of my dad hooking his boat up to our 67 Chevy impala station wagon for our family trip to a lake cottage in Northern Michigan. My sister and I playing around in the back during the trip, making a 'tent' with a blanket and pretending to be camping as we rolled down the road.
My General Motors custom cruiser finally gave the ghost 4 years ago.I still mourn it's passing. Among many other wonderful facets I loved its completely smooth ride.I also loved that you could fit 4' by 8' sheets of plywood or drywall in the back With nothing sticking out the end. And that rear facing rear seat was such a gem.
I had to restore my donated Custom Cruiser. I live driving it.
This history lesson brought back a lot of memories about cars. When I met my husband he drove a Chevy van (full-size). He said his Scout troop called it the Adventure van. And it had many more adventures before it died at 400K miles. After it was towed away, he wrote a letter to the dealership where he bought it. This letter read like a eulogy to this much-enjoyed and used vehicle.
Apparently, you didn't walk off in bare feet....
I had 2 Volvo estates (estate is what we call station wagons in the UK) they were great cars. I moved a 3 seater sofa in one once. Ot fit inside no problem 👍
My Dad had a 65 Olds 'Vista Cruiser' harboring a 265 Olds Rocket V8, which required high octane leaded gas. Dad always ran Sunoco 260 fuel. Man, that high lead gas smelled fantastic. It was called vista cruiser because there were tinted windows over the rear seats.
I had a 1969 Olds 98 with a HO 455, 10.5:1 compression ration, that required high octane premium fuel. The gas cap even specified "premium fuel ONLY". I too bought the Sunoco gas. I recall the pumps with a turn knob on the side that would change the octane rating of the fuel the pump would deliver. I think 105 was the highest (it might have been 108) but since only leaded fuel came from that pump, the lowest octane was pretty high too at 90 or 91.
I own a 1979 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser to this day. It has the low compression 8.5:1, 403 cubic inch (6.6ltr) V8 so it'll run on 87 octane unleaded.
Yes to Sunco 260! I ran it in my 1965 Buick Gran Sport!
When I was in Junior High in the early 1980s, I was one of the few girls who opted to take Industrial Arts rather than Home Economics, reasoning that I could learn to cook and sew at home. I loved wood shop and metal shop, but the class that would follow me for life was the technical drawing class that in part led to my GIS career.
The big project I recall was that we had to find a photo and enlarge it by grid squares. We were instructed to find a magazine photo of a car to enlarge and while 99% of the students (being boys) used fancy sports cars, I opted for a woody station wagon. The teacher loved my drawing so much he begged to be allowed to keep it and hang it on the wall, where it presumably remained until he retired.
My station wagon memory: In 1984, my parents bought a Volvo 240DL, which, as i later learned, was a fairly expensive vehicle for the time. It was bought to replace a Toyota Celica that my mom got into a bad accident with. She got away with only minor bruising on one of her hands and arms, but the Celica was totaled.
The Volvos of the 1980s had the reputation for overbuilt safety, which no doubt influenced my parents' decision to get it.
On the many road trips we took in that station wagon, the rear seats would be folded down and we kids would be able to lie down and sleep in the back. It wasn't a true full-sized station wagon with the third-row rear-facing seats, but it was a remarkably tough car that lasted 250k miles and survived several crashes. 😂 The other main things i remember about it was the quirky Swedish engineering in it, from the weird push-button headlights, to the interior door latches that were SO HARD to operate for a young child, to the fact that the vanity mirror, which is usually located in the passenger sun visor in most cars - was placed in the glove compartment door! You'd have to open the glove compartment and then flip up the mirror. 😂
..."and the fading memories of people... of a certain age"..... well said Sir!!!!
At 31, I just about remember some of my neighbors and relatives still holding onto their old station wagons when I was very young. That was just about the time they were starting to be replaced by the mini van as the go-to choice of vehicle for hauling your family around. Then those were, in turn, replaced by crossovers around the time I was starting college. Funny how trends come and go.
This particular trend might appropriately be described as a downward spiral
I’m 28 and my folks had a 95 Taurus wagon. While the lack of dependability of that car has kept me away from Ford, I have always tried to have a wagon if possible. You get the cargo room of a crossover without the garbage looks and handling. Genuinely don’t see how crossovers are so popular. They don’t highway as well as a wagon and they can’t off road like a real SUV.
I was born in 1991, and my Dad held on to his 1989 Chevrolet Caprice Estate until 2000 or so. I know it was an 89, because that's the _only_ model year when they had the 3-point seat belts in the middle seats, while _not_ having the front seat belts stupidly attached to the doors.
I'm 32. Born in 90. I'm obsessed with with station wagons. I've only owned one 1985 Caprice Wagon, I loved it!
I had a Chrysler Plymouth Volare Deluxe station wagon. It was built solid like a tank. I remember a woman crunching into the back of it. I felt a tiny bump, but the station wagon had a tiny dent. Her car was totaled. Hopefully she learned to pay attention and not drive into other people from that day forward. It was probably the best car I ever had. Going camping, could fold down the back seats and sleep in the back in a sleeping bag. I helped countless friends move with my station wagon, not to mention it had a stainless steel luggage wrack on the roof. Taking 4 friends to a place? No problem! The back seat had 3 seat belts and of course the passenger seat next to the drivers in the front - so with me - 5 people easily driven safely. Still miss that car to this day.
Love wagons. The last gm wagon was the Cadillac CTS Wagon in late 2000s.
2014. One of my dream cars is a 2011 awd manual CTS-V wagon. Insane ride
Dream car !
My last car before I switch to cycling only was a 2001 Ford Focus SW and I absolutely loved the thing!
From a station wagon to a bicylce is quite the jump.
@@richardupcott9026 Indeed! :D But I moved from living in the countryside to a big city and a bicycle made a lot more sense.
When we got back from Germany in '72, dad bought a station wagon in New jersey ... I think a lot of folks returning from the military bought them at Kardon. There was a dark blue one with the cool seats in the back or this metallic green Chevy Greenbriar. He said the other one reminded him of Air Force 'blue' so we got the green one. Used it for the trip to Bakersfield which would be his last duty station before retiring from the AIr Force. I spent that trip in the back seat, flat on my back, mostly, with the seats folded down with the stuff, two cats and a ton of books. Fun times. There were lap belts, but those 'new fangled' shoulder belts never came out of the plastic holders above the doors. Of course, in the back,, no seatbelts for me. Was great. The interstate system was getting closer to be completed, so no two lane highways from our trips cross country in the 60s, but still as fun (or boring crossing Texas), but a trip to be recalled, being of a certain age.
Back in my high school days my friend's dad had a 60s era Chevy station wagon. A bunch of us were model rocket builders and flyers and used that old wagon to haul our stuff to the park where we launched. One time we decided to go just before the 4th of July. In Michigan at the time most fireworks were illegal except for sparklers and smoke bombs, but there'd be roadside stands popping up to sell those. We pull in with a wagon full of rockets and the guy's eyes pop out of their sockets. :-)
As a man of a "certain age" whose mother had a Country Squire that she purchased from our uncle Bill when we moved from Chicago to Virginia, I can attest to the coolness of the station wagon. The moment I saw two side facing bench seats fold out of the rear floor, I knew things were looking up. Having graduated in 83 I also had the privilege of owning an 8-Track, discovering REO Speedwagon on the Juke box, and seeing"The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" at a drive in theater from the back of a station wagon. I kind of feel bad for the youth of today. While they have access to more information than we could ever dream of, it seems that it has come at the cost of quality. Thank you for today's show.
We moved so often as a kid when folks asked where home was my siblings and I said "The back of our station wagon." Thanks for the trip.
My first new car was a 1979 Ford Pinto station wagon. Bright baby blue ! I paid cash for it in the fall of '78. We lived in N.C. I went to college in Wisconsin. Drove it back and forth several dozen times. Cross country to California and to Alaska. Got married and had a son while owning it. It was totalled in 1984 when a tornado hit our town. Had 283 k miles on it ! Best car ever and mow im 63 and still miss it !
My first car at 16 was a 1968 Plymouth Fury III Custom Suburban station wagon. I loved that car. It was fully stock except for some Cragar mags, with a 383, 2 bbl carb, but would do 98 in a 1/4 mile. It had an automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes and a/c, yet I could open the hood and see everything and recognize everything, so easy to work on. Also my aunt and uncle had a Vista Cruiser when I was a kid, my cousin and I would lie on the back seat looking up through that window in the roof, good times.
My parents 1966 Valiant 225 slant motor was no slouch. If you could imagine a wagon full of bags and 2 adults and 3 kids speeding downhill. At the bottom was a narrow bridge and coming the other way was a rather large truck. We passed him doing 100mph. This was the early seventies , I was 12 and thought I would never see another birthday at that moment. Fun times.
Dodge slant six, was a indestructible engine, but if that wagon was going 100mph, it was about everything it had.
Amen brother life was good in the old wagons lol
🤣awesome!
My dad owned a Valiant with the slant 6- he kept a spare ballast box in the glove compartment- they were prone to fail.
And then we had a 1977 Volare station wagon with the same engine, plus pollution controls and it was pretty anemic.
Interesting episode that will, without doubt, trigger *numerous memories* among members of this channel's core audience 😉 For me, among my very first. As a child of no more than 3 or 4, in the mid-'50s I wandered away from home. I don't remember why, but I do remember the car of the person who found me and returned me to my parents. It had a wood paneled exterior and speaks of a very different time in multiple ways.
Sigh, and now you are old like me.
@@higgme1ster A rather inevitable outcome unless you'd prefer to die young 😅 Each gets an indeterminate span in life. And while we cannot choose when we live, I have no complaints regarding fate's timing.
Thanks for the look back! From 1959 to 1970 my family had a Calypso Coral Chevrolet Brookwood wagon with 6 cylinders, rubber floor mats, and no radio. We made many a family trip in it. It might still exist if body rust and my father's misguided use of non-detergent oil in the engine hadn't killed it.
Grew up in the 70s and 80s. Mom and dad had 2 wagons. I loved them. Roomy comfortable and and just unique. My dad bought a Buick Riviera 82 wagon in 83. Loved that......wagon.
My favorite station wagon was a Morris Minor Woody that I had in the 70's. I drove it up and down the West Coast and a few times out to Colorado. It wasn't fast, but I wasn't in a hurry. It was quite reliable and if there was a problem, I could fix it.
#1 of a "pack" 7 kids growing up in the 70s, we had at three of them. :) fond memories. Thanks for bringing those memories back. :)
In the late 70s, I was a chauffeur for the Neiman Marcus greenhouse in Grand Prairie, Texas. We had four green station wagons that the chauffeur used to pick up our guest at DFW airport and other locations around Dallas. These were the rich and famous of the world. Liz, Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, and so many others quietly visited this luxurious health Spa only known to the the Rich and famous. I had the pleasure to drive these ladies, not only from the airport, but on private shopping, sprees at Neiman Marcus, concerts at the symphony, and so much more. The green station wagon‘s were an icon at the airport, and everyone knew who we were and what we represented. It was an amazing time and experience. Most of the chauffeurs also drove ambulance for the Grand Prairie based Southland funeral home. We all have some amazing stories. Vehicle‘s were very stable even in the ice and snow and with the large engines we could really haul some ass! And of course, growing up we had a Ford country squire, station wagon, which I have tons of memories sleeping in the back and more. Great story good nostalgia… Thank you.
Crossed the USA on a family road trip when I was 6. In a '68 Chevy Impala wagon.
Learned to drive in mom's '73 Chevy Caprice Estate wagon
Bought a '69 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser in the early nineties and drove it around for eight or nine years until it threw a rod.
I love station wagons! Such great memories!
I started my mechanic career at a Buick dealer in the eighties. I remember those land yachts. Miss the room those things had.
My mom had a Buick wagon in the early 70's that we called Black Beauty. It was supposed to be the largest one they ever made, and had the hidden clam shell seat in the way back.
@@goodun2974 Those Clamshell Wagons _were_ the longest, although I think they differed a little from year to year and from make to make among all the ones G.M. made. I just looked up the specs for one: the 1974 Buick Grand Safari was 19 ft 3.3 inches.
@@101Volts , that might well be the one; I'll have to ask my siblings what they remember about it (though I was the oldest). We previously had a Volkswagen camper for several years; we took it on long family trips, but my mother hated driving it day to day because it was very poorly aerodynamic and even the slightest breeze made you wrestle with it on the roads, so my folks traded it in and bought the wagon instead. It was at least the size of a hearse, perhaps larger! It was reasonably comfy for road trips to Canada with my folks and us 4 kids.
@@101Volts , My brother thinks it was a 1972 Buick Estate Wagon with a 455 V8 engine! Looking it up, it was supposed to be the 2nd largest wagon they built, but actually the roomiest inside? I do remember that it was enormous!
@@goodun2974 Ah. If it was a 72, it was 19 Ft and 0.3 inches from bumper to bumper. (I'm referring to the site "Automobile-Catalog" for these specs.)
I sat in a 73 Impala Clamshell once that was for sale maybe in 2016 or 2017, and yeah, they're darn long. The one I saw probably needed a good bit of work done to it, I didn't look at it for very long. It was the type with the horrible vinyl-topped roof, so I'm guessing the roof might have had some nasty holes in it.
A Volkswagon Camper? No wonder one would wrestle with it, with the engine being so low powered. I guess one could take one of those engines and add Water-Methanol Injection to it and then increase the engine timing, but other than that, there's not much to say for what little power output those VWs had.
I grew up in a Wagon too, but later, and it was an 89 Caprice Estate - a bit shorter, but still very comfortable on the road.
I'll never forget traveling from Mountain Home AFB to Travis AFB in 1974 with my new wife, listening to the REO Speedwagon cassette tape, in our black '66 Ford Country Squire Wagon with our black lab, Jasper. I was about to be transfered to Thailand for a year in support of F-111F's in the VN war. Your history of the station wagon brings back a wide range of emotions and memories. That's my quick story.
Beautiful bird and beautiful car!
good memory
We had the exact same wagon as well, remember how bad the exhaust fumes were in the back as us kids sat in those folding twin seats!?
I am that age. Dad's car was a'58 Ford wagon, yellow with a small V-8 so he could take buyers on Real Estate caravans every weekend. That was replaced by a white '64 Ford Galaxy style wagon with a 292 and a Fordomatic 2 speed transmission, the one I drove for my drivers license test in 1969. After that it was a nice '64 Valiant wagon with a Slant 6 and pushbutton transmission. THAT was a great little car. Thanks for jogging my memory. History that needs to be remembered.
“The History Guy” in my opinion has to be one best programs out there. Thank you ans keep up the good work.
Station wagons were big here in Australia too. I'm a person of a certain age and have fond memories of them too..
Got my driving licence in a 1966 Falcon wagon. Fine car.
That story about the daughter crying hit a little close to home for me. I have a 1993 Caprice Classic wagon and when we drove it away from the previous owners house his son was balling his eyes out. I nearly turned around and nixed the deal right then. I grew up in a 1984 Olds custom cruiser and the caprice reminds me of it even has the same red interior and just floats down the road.
C.u.v.'s are a station wagon with a birth defect. Stale looking cramped up, CHINISE SHIT! SELF SEAL BERRINGS? MADE IN CHINA? HOW YOU KNOW THAT THOSE BERRINGS EVEN GOT SILICONE SHIT ON EM? you could be driving up some interstate at 60 mph and the wheels would come off! I used to greasey own wheel bearings.
You're one of life's (fairly) good guys
You didn't actually take it back ....... but Points for considering it
Fact is the guy would have sold it anyway *and* maybe blamed the lad for loosing the sale if you had.
@@babboon5764 chip chip cheerio and all that sort of rot, you are the first GOOD REMARK I GOT IN 67.2 YEARS signed...A SORRY SLOB FROM THE STATE'S! born with a 🎯 on his ass at birth with every rotten brake they could find, and if they couldn't find one, they'd invent one! Bounced around the whole world! I DUNN SEEN, HEARD AND DONE AT ALL! I draw SCHOPRENIC's like a junkyard magnetic attracts a bagga drywall screws! In fact, a London times editorial cartoonist would draw a "HAGGARD HUMAN HEAD ON THE TOP OF A DRYWALL SCREW! all over the world , ever visit buffalo? It's own name cancels it out that one skyscraper, commin in from Hamburg, looks like it givin ya the middle finger! Visiously UNFRIENDLY, I'm too busy runnin for my life to even TRY to make friends! My oldest nice LIKE, YOU GOTTA EXPERIENCE HER! SHE'LL HAVE YOU IDICTED AND HANGED FOR EVERY VILE REPUGNANT LIE SHE CAN FAKE UP IN HER HEAD BEFORE YOU CAN SAY houdy! Then, RUN FOR COVER! there's this cursed football team that either has decades of loosing seasons or they blow it in the end, nanometers from the brass ring..GEE I WISH THEY WOULDA WON THIS FUCKIN SUPER BOWL AND I'D HELP EM PACK! I never seen so many obece sports SCHOPRENIC's! If they win, they plant a wet kiss on the lips of a murderous traffic cop and if they loose?? They slug the wife, abuse the kids and skin the cat! The cops are hoodlums are the cops, this shit phone. 200 charecters, like, don't even let your car tank near here! You're safer in the slums in Soho! Look at barffalo's skyline? FLATLINE!
I wore out two Caprice Classics, one after the other. Wish I still had one. We named one the S.S. Shelley Winters, and the other one was the White Whale.
@@daverockwell1996 Shelly winters. Thee perfect wife!
My dad loved them and I remember using them as our camper when hunting. Lay down the back seat and you had a bed . We would put cans of raviolis on the exhaust manifolds to heat them up for lunch or dinner. Fishing trips and everyday everything
i own 4 buick roadmaster estate wagons.. 1-92, 2-95's and 1-96.. people come up frequently to myself and my wife with nostalgia in their eyes.. lovely cars.. they go well with my 59, 60 & 70 cadillacs..
I grew up in the back of a volvo station wagon and kind of continue the tradition with a 1992 Restomodded Volvo 740 wagon. My wife drives a Volkswagen Passat station wagon but you could hardly compare it to the big American wagons of yore. Its quite a bit smaller, but gets great gas mileage, is surprisingly roomy, given its size and very peppy. We like it.
I hear Volkswagen and I think of the Type 2 "Microbus" and the Type 3 "Squareback Sedan".
While in 5th grade or thereabout in Thailand, I remembered my mom came home saying she was gonna buy a used Volvo 240 wagon (red) from the Dean of her faculty (she was teaching architecture at the university). However, another architect friend of hers bought it instead, and he lived next door to us. So, for many years I would see the car nearly every day but never got to ride in it even though sometimes I got to ride in the neighbor's other cars. I guess this was the reason why when I went to the US to study I jumped at the first chance I got to get a 240 Wagon. Bought one sight unseen on eBay (not a smart move) and hopped on Amtrak from Durham, NC to pick it up in DC and drove it back down to campus right away. Apart from a bit of rust, never had any problem with the car.
Moved back to Thailand 16 years ago, and have been browsing through used car listings for a 940 or 240 wagon (7-series wagon weren't available here) ever since.
Dodge produced the (almost)full size, rear-wheel drive Magnum station wagon from 2005 through 2008. This wagon was based on the Dodge Charger platform. I've seen a few of these wagons very nicely customized.
Then there were the Dodge Polara and Ford Galaxie wagons used as general transportation for small numbers of cadets at the military prep school I attended in the early seventies.
The Magnum is one of those cars that I expected to sell a LOT better than it did. Always wondered if it was the price or the package that killed it?
@@eloiseharbeson2483 The Magnum was competing with the Chrysler mini-van lineup and Chrysler killed the Magnum to avoid that conflict. The Magnum was a much better made car than the mini-vans but more expensive to make. Bean counters killed a great car......
My first car was a 1967 Chevrolet Impala Station Wagon, two-tone Dark Blue body/White top. Small Block V8. $300 with 63k miles. It was 1978. I learned to drive in my Dad's 1972 Ford Country Squire LTD S/W with faux wood panels on the sides and tailgate. On weekends, we would jump in the 1959 Mercury Station Wagon that stayed loaded with fishing poles & tackle and camping gear, tent, & sleeping bags. All the gear was in the back or in this case, the middle seat as the kids would all squeeze into the third seat all the way in the back against the Tailgate.
Fantastic! My Dad was an Oldsmobile man, and traded "Rosie", our sweet old maroon '63 Olds wagon on a used, low miles 1969 Oldsmobile "Vista Cruiser". It had an extra window in the roof above the rear seat, wood-tone sides, and the Oldsmobile "Rocket 350" V8 . So cool. My folks pulled a camper trailer, and us 3 fighting kids all over the US in that thing, and the 3 of us learned to drive on it. Great memories!
I can relate to that little girl that cried when they traded in the family wagon. My parents traded in their green '69 Plymouth Satellite wagon in '77, but I wanted it for when I would be old enough to drive. Was not too happy about it. At least I got to see Star Wars that year.
I did end up owning a 2005 Doge Hemi Magnum wagon. That was a heavy duty cruiser.
In 1975 my dad bought a Ford F250 pickup. It was the only vehicle I had ever known and my dad had promised it to me when I was old enough to drive. Then by the time I reached 15, just a year before I could drive my dad had forgotten his promise and sold it. I don't think I cried, but I couldn't watch as the new owner drove away with it.
Those Magnums were nice looking rides.
@@rustythecrown9317
Mostly. It had a face that only it's mother could love.
@@muznick It's like the PT Cruiser.... loved it or hated it.
I had an '85 Chevy Suburban that my 4-year-old daughter cried when it went off down the street in '99 without us in it anymore. For four years, it had been "her car" and now it was gone.
One of my fondest memories as a child was riding in the very back of my parent’s 1959 Edsel station wagon, on the way from AZ to IN. That car was sold long ago. I would love to have it now. 😊
I saw REO Speed Wagon on 11/4/69 when they played a concert at "Chances R", a night spot in Champaign, IL, when I was a student at U of I. Thanks for the memory, History Guy!
Great topic! Best memories of our family of five loading up the Dodge Colt station wagon for the family vacation. Can't believe what we would fit in there. On top was a rowboat with the tent, luggage & sleeping bags inside. The back seat had us 3 kids with our dog. Best memories ever!!
I remember my neighbor bought a huge Ford station wagon around 1964. It had those extra seats in the back that folded down to make a flat metal floor for hauling stuff. It was great! In 1985 I bought an AMC Eagle station wagon. It was one of the best cars I’ve ever owned. Wish I had it today!
I bought an '85 AMC Wagon in 2003. Sold it after a couple of years, but yeah, that was a special kind of car. I was a little bummed the Eagle didn't get a mention in the video.
@@getmeagator The Eagle should have been mentioned, as should the Studebaker Wagonair, which had a sliding roof over the cargo area.
I have fond memories of my dad's 66 Chevy Caprice wagon with faux woodgrain and a 396 under the hood. Sadly it too was a victim of the gas crisis of 1973. How I wish I had that old wagon now as their value has increased significantly over the years!
my parents car when little was '66 impala wagon with a 327, three speed automatic (turbo 400). ps, pb, and air.
I have a 1967 Ford Country Sedan wagon. It's a behemoth. I'm completely enamored with it. Driving it and driving around in it is a complete joy. Probably the best thing about owning this car is seeing how much it makes people smile.
My dad bought me a 92 buick station wagon, because we had six people and two dogs to drive around. it was wonderful. later we gave it to someone else.
June 1973, my first car was a Datsun (yes Datsun) 510 station wagon. I loved it, I was 17.
I drive a staition wagon as my daily today! I was born in 83 and didn't grow up in wagons. My dad was a car enthusiast so we had German sport sedans, SUVs ,and a conversation van. I kinda think my memories in our Suburban are kinda similar to those of station wagons with the addition of driving on the beach!
My 1984 Suburban has station wagon in the "body style" box on its title.
@@MikeBrown-ii3pt if I remember correctly our 1986 Suburban did too. It was such a great vehicle! It hung around till I was in my late teens. I have so many memories in it. Everything from watching MotorWeek on a tv my dad rigged up in the back seat on road trips (I have no clue why watching a road test of a Porsche 911 on a road trip when I was 7 or 8 sticks in my head so much 🤷♂️) to rescuing some friends that were stuck in a big Mid-Atlantic snow storm when I was 16. It was a white with blue stripes down each side 2500. It only had the 350 and had gotten pretty rusty but if I could find a rust free 2500 with the 454 or the diesel I'd love to have one again!!
What's your daily wagon? Mine's a 91 Crown Vic (last year of the full size Ford wagon)
@@Bout_TreeFiddy unfortunately I don't have a full size rwd wagon but I do get almost 50 mpg! It's a 2014 VW Sportwagen TDI with a 6 speed manual. It's been tuned a little for a bit extra power but mostly for better mpg. I went from 39 to 42 mpg up to 47 to 40 on average but have hit 51 with really good conditions. I work on the side as a medical supplies courier and it's unbelievable the amount of stuff and weight that thing will take. Normally I would have taken my truck for this much weight but a couple weeks ago I put 1200lbs in the back and my 220lbs in the front to drive from Baltimore to Virginia Beach! It squatted in the back a good amount but drove pretty darn well. Oh and my license plate says DSLGATE which I love because only a some people will get it!
When I was a kid we had an early 80s LTD sedan. If I remember right it was my grandfather's car and my dad kept it around for awhile. I've been around a lot of great American land yachts but with the size of the sedan the wagon has to be really impressive!
The “way back seat”! That’s exactly what my brother and I called it!😂 we used to fight about riding back there. My parents weren’t happy when my brother locked me in the spare tire compartment.
For a while my mum drove us to "Our Lady Of Sorrows" school in Wahiawa from Pupukea where we lived, and put the radio on to "stay awake> as she put it, and thus I heard a ton of Motown, a genre I still love to the marrow of my bones.
Pupukea to Wahiawa, Sorrow indeed, passing Chun's Lani's Haleiwa, in your hearse-like vehicle.
Is the beautiful Chinese takeout still there, offering a ladt meal?
" My Fren', I fix you up!" said the proprietor as your vehicle rode up, returning to the dust, six or so surfboards splayed upon the roof with no rack.
No gas required on return to Haleiwa, as it was all downhill from there - the allegory of lives not on Island Time
My grandfather had a 1986 Chevrolet Celebrity station wagon. I got to ride in the way back all the way from Baltimore to Nova Scotia and over to Niagara Falls and back down to Baltimore. It was a great experience!
I'm had one of those, an 87. Surprisingly good car. I got it for $800 in 99, sold it for $500 in 05. The guy I sold it to drove it until 2017. He never had a single major issue with it.
we had a silver 84 growing up in iowa when i was a kid. bought used in 86-87 maybe? Mom had daycare and when we had to go somewhere we load the kids in it with me and my sister in the very back. On road trips to the bigger cities or out of state we would have seats folded down and laying in back playing or sleeping on real long trips. had topper for top which i still have for the real long trips. had dual flip lid in back on floor for more under floor storage we would put coolers in for trips or around town open and use as additional seating since there were 2 levels and it was perfect for 2 5-8 year olds. yeah cops will stop you now for that. it was car both my little sister and i learned to drive in and car i drove to college and used on paper route when raining or snowing. (otherwise used bike or moped i had been using prior to being old enough to drive). I was good at drifting it around corners in the snow. After I graduated college mom wanted to move to arkansas where relatives were and where car made an almost annual trip too for past 10 years. couple weeks before the move my sister once again staying out later than supposed to and coming back from city half hour away and was probably speeding too, hit a deer just 2 miles away from home. totaled car. however she was unhurt and able to drive it home and into our driveway. june 98, the car we called the silver bullet, with almost a quarter million miles, that we spent so much of our child hood in, was no more.
My great, great grandfather had one too
My husband had this model as a company vehicle when we were first dating and then married. We bought it and drove it until, like others, we traded it in for a minivan. It was an excellent vehicle when we needed it at the last minute for a long-distance trip.
We had a string of Pontiac Safari and Grand Safari station wagons growing up. They could hold 4x8 sheets of plywood, or bags of sand, just as easily as a gaggle of kids and did so without exposing to the elements like a pickup truck. And they could haul a trailer arguably safer than a pickup.
I wouldn't say arguably, I'd say definitively they are safer than pickups of the same vintage 😎 theres a reason a lot of them went away in the 80's through the early 00's, as demolition derby cars.
Those bags of sand come in handy during the winter time. A bag of kitty litter doesn't hurt either.
@@MrChuckGrape I learned what positraction was before I was 8 years old because of our ‘74 Grand Safari wagon and my father’s determination to get up a snow-packed road in Colorado.
@@judsonr1 I learned around age 9 when my parents rented My Cousin Vinny.
@@MrChuckGrape Ah yes, a movie not often recognized for its automotive wealth of knowledge even though it was packed full of it: almost like red mud in a car wheel.
Sounds like your parents read the same parenting manual I did with my kids.
I used to have a ‘71 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser in ‘85. What a great ride. Sometimes I miss that Tank. Lots of happy memories. Thanks Dad
I am 55 and still talk about our Ford Country Squire with my dedicated rear sit. My last memory of my family being together on road trips. I love that care and had a Ford Pinto Wagon as my 1st car and it was a Mini reminder of the family rig. Thanks for the video.
This made me smile. Back in the 70s as a young man, I had many good times in the back of a station wagon, parked at night on the beach. ;)
When you wanted to borrow the family station wagon rather than go on a date in your VW Beetle......WHY? They ask. I remember!
IMHO, this is the best episode of the history guy that i've watched yet. I grew up in the back of a station wagon so it kinda touches me right there, you know? Thanks Lance.
I am the proud owner of a 1997 Subaru outback wagon. While it’s no family truckster, it still gets looks from folks, as, that was the first generation of the outback. My kids hate it. My girlfriend hates it. I love it. 264,000 miles and still going strong.
My first truly fond memories of cars involved the 1967 Buick Sport Wagon, as my parents had one that carried our family, all seven of us, on several vacations up north and many trips down south to Tenessee and Georgia to visit family for more than five years. It was this car that was the first one that I drove on a public road by myself at 12 years old. My dad taught me to drive one early February 1969 evening in a blizzard in a 1964 Buick Electra 225 when I was just seven years old, so at age 12, being long enough to operate all the controls of a vehicle, I thought I was ready to take on the responsibility of driving a car by myself, without permission, I might add. Our parents had taken us up to Michigan's Upper Peninsula to our favorite lake for summer vacation; my sisters were across the lake at the privately owned youth camp, so it was just Dad, Mom, my younger brother, and yours truly at the rented cabin for the week. On Wednesday morning, Dad and Mom were out on the boat fishing at the opposite end of the nearly mile-long lake, so I knew they were going to be gone for quite a while. When I noticed the car keys on the kitchen table, the lights in my head lit up like the Mackinaw Bridge at night! I told my brother we should go for a ride but he was scared to go without Dad or Mom; so I took the keys and went by myself. Oh! What magnificent joy! What bliss! I was driving the car without anybody else telling me what to do or how to do it! I peeled out on the hard-packed clay road (Dad taught me a year or so earlier how to do donuts and throw a car around in an open parking lot,) and went around to the other side of the lake with a smile as big as the grill on the front of the car. I did keep the speed down to the posted speed limit - well, most of the time ☺, then decided it was time to turn around and go back to the cabin before my folks returned from fishing. When I turned into the driveway of a cabin on the other side of the lake to turn around, I could not back up because the cabin owners had recently had several inches of sand spread into the driveway (fortunately, they were not there at the time,) which was fairly steep down toward the cabin. So, I went forward to their turnaround area and proceeded to crunch the passenger side of the family station wagon on a tree before succeeding in my turnaround attempt.
Finally free of the sand and nearly in a panic, I returned to the road and slowly drove back to our cabin, where I parked the car in the opposite direction as it was earlier in the horseshoe driveway. I was in my late 20s before I told my parents the truth about where I had done the damage to the car, as I told them that I did it in our driveway, which was supported by a bit of blue paint that was already on the tree right next to the car before we arrived a few days earlier (that was 'convenient!') We've laughed about that incident for nearly 50 years now; in fact, that was one of the last good conversations that I had with my dad before he died with Alzheimer's; that was the last time I recall him laughing prior to his demise. Great memories! Thank you for the history of the great American family station wagon!
P.S. SUVs and even many liftgate cars today are titled as station wagons.
As a huge fan of the work of Ransom E. Olds I salute your letting the world know a little bit about him and the band that bears his name.
I never knew about the band that bears his name until 1980, but I knew of the trucks that did, as well as their merger with Diamond T.
I am sill the lucky owner of two Oldsmobiles, a 2003 Silhouette, and a 1998 Regency. Here in the rust belt, it's a dicey thing as more and more of each ends up on the ground regularly.
Thanks for making me relive some wonderful memories of our Ford Country Squire and the Oldsmobile with the sky roof.
Great video!
Vista Cruiser
@@jjohnsonTX I grew in wayback of a Vista Cruiser.
Yep'ers the Vista Cruiser was the Apex of the station wagons, I always enjoyed the views from those tiny little windows in the roof!!! 🤠👍
All my friends parents had Vista Cruisers. We had a Plymouth Fury III. I’ve got a Vista Cruiser now though.
@@dougcargill6730 but does it have the legendary 455 cubic inch V8? My favorite American motor of all time!
At 15:31- The black & white video is of the historic old grist mill at Spring Mill Park in Indiana. Every summer our family would drive there from Louisville (in our wagon!) for our annual vacation day! My parents were barely scraping by financially, but my brothers & I never knew it, or "felt" poor. WONDERFUL memories! THANKS!
Thx THG for taking me back down memory lane as at 70yrs young I have many xcuntry trips on rt66 with parents, G'ma and sisters in '58 Chevy wagon. No AC so crossed Mojave desert during night. Stay Healthy
Growing up in East Germany, I loved our Wartburg 353 “Kombi” (station wagon). It was made out of metal, not glorified cardboard as the more ubiquitous Trabant! Also, it had a four-stroke engine, not the rattling two-stroke engine of the smaller car. I didn’t care that it really belonged to my grandfather, who skipped the 15-year waiting list by virtue of his sister who lived in the West and was able to purchase it for valuable West German currency. Many great memories of family vacations in this car!
This episode is t-shirt worthy for sure! Just great!
It became the minivan. A very sad moment, indeed.
even Mini-vans are disappearing ~ they're the next station-wagons
This excellent video has brought back memories of a trip that I don’t often think of. In the summer of 1968 when I was 15 years old our 1966 Ford Fairlane wagon pulling a utility trailer filled with tent camping equipment took Mom, Dad, sister and me from central Iowa to the Hemisfair in San Antonio Texas. 289 V8, no power steering, no AC, no radio. Dad was cheap. As you could not get a driver’s license in Iowa before age 16 I only had my learner’s permit but did a lot of the driving anyway. All two lane roads. We had CB radios when they were really useful because you could talk quite a good distance on them at that time. They required a license and the FCC paid attention to their proper use. We used them almost like cell phones to get directions to good camping spots. I remember one family even drove out to meet us at a campground in Texas when we got directions from them. The weather was hot but the Fairlane got us safely there and back. It was about 2 5 years before i visited San Antonio again. My wife and I stayed in a hotel on the River Walk. I actually walked around down town while she was attending a business conference. I could actually walk from the hotel to the site where the Hemisfair was held. About the only thing left was the Tower of the Americas and maybe one or two other structures. In the now 20 years since , I read that there have been efforts to revitalize the area. The only thing in San Antonio that has remained basically unchanged is the Alamo. I don’t remember seeing a station wagon on the road in this last 20 years.
YES, you mentioned the "family truckster" . Omg this brought up so many cherished memories. My best friend's mom had a Buick station wagon and we always sat in the back and played tailgunner for the bomber. My mom had a Ford Fairlane station wagon and it sounded like a race car, it was black and we called it the hearse. I miss those things.
I was very sad too when my father traded our wagon for another car when I was 8 or 9. But since the floors were rusted out, I could understand why it was time.
Back in the day, I had a 1968 Mercury Montego MX station wagon. I used to park it in a remote spot, somewhere, and my girlfriend and I would use the back area (which was huge) for a memorable and intimate time. Oh, the memories.
Thank you so much for this look back. I purchased first car in 1973 that was later deemed one of the most dangerous ever built, a lemon ( pun intended) yellow Ford Pinto Station Wagon. I purchase it to haul my friends, books and golf clubs ( team member) to college. The “ bomb” that it was, I still miss it!
Some of the best journeys in my life started with riding in the back of our family station wagon.
My parents owned two station wagons at the same time, not because we had a huge family, just kind of how it worked out. One was a 1970 Pontiac Catalina, pine green, and a 1976 Buick Estate Wagon, blue with fake wood panel sides. 70’s and 80’s, great times!
My Mom found (second-hand) a '70 Buick Estate Wagon with all the bells and whistles, except it was one of the two-dozen or so that left the factory with a three-on-the-tree behind the 455-four-barrel. That car was a great cruiser, and actually got almost 20 mpg on the interstate.
We had previously had a '60 Studebaker Lark VIII (pronounced 'eight', a reference to the 195 horsepower 259 cubic inch Power Kit V8 up front) and a '64 Opel Kadett 1000 Caravan (two-door station wagon).
Memories....
@@5610winston yeah, my parents was used when my dad bought it, it also had all the bells and whistles. I remember many trips in that car from Indiana to Orlando Florida to see my aunt on vacations, like riding on air.
People kept telling me that the Estate Wagon never came with the manual, my response was to shift to second.
We had a late 50s early 60s Rambler station wagon. I always thought the tail lights looked like the bottom of a clothes iron.
@@telcobilly Flatiron, overall shape of the '60-'61 Rambler and Ambassador bore a passing similarity to the '55-'56 Packard "cathedral" design.
Thank you for the Memories! In 1971 we drove from Chicago to New York there were eleven of us, and the dog and like you said, the luggage on the top!😊🙏
-Feel sorry for you.--Well,Not that sorry.
I was a kid before and during the station wagon's height of popularity. We were very poor when I was growing up and could never have afforded one. Seeing this makes me a bit sad on how much I missed as a child and how much we missed as a family. We moved over two dozen times during my childhood. A station wagon would have been really handy. Thank you for yet another fascinating bit of history.
I moved 5 or 6 times during my childhood and that was tough
i know that feeling we moved when the rent was due, in total about 20 times before i moved out on my own whew!