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Station wagons was the kings of American driveways, earlier than SUVs muscled in and satisfied everybody they wanted three tons of auto to purchase groceries. These long-roofed beauties supplied one thing magical: precise usable house, car-like dealing with, and a sure unpretentious appeal that in the present day’s crossovers can’t fairly replicate.
They hauled households to Yellowstone, moved school youngsters into dorms, and proved that practicality didn’t should imply driving one thing boring. Positive, minivans finally stole a few of their thunder, however the very best wagons supplied a driving expertise that made you neglect you had been piloting the household hauler.
Let’s check out station wagons which have began to fade into obscurity, however deserve a remaining look.
Chevrolet Nomad
The ’60 Nomad sits on the intersection of beautiful and sensible, a uncommon place in automotive historical past. With its distinctive B-pillar trim and swooping fins, this wasn’t only a sedan with more room bolted on — it was a correct model assertion that occurred to hold baggage.
Chevy constructed fewer than 7,000 of them that yr, making it one of many extra unique methods to haul your stuff within the ’50s. The Bel Air seems to be had been there, however with a rear gate that truly opened and room for tenting gear or golf golf equipment.
It’s the wagon that proved household responsibility didn’t require aesthetic compromise.
Studebaker Lark Wagonaire
Studebaker’s Wagonaire answered a query no person knew they had been asking: what in case your wagon’s roof might slide again? The rear roof panel retracted ahead, making a form of automotive convertible-meets-pickup state of affairs that was genuinely helpful for tall cargo.
Positive, it added complexity and potential leak factors, but it surely allow you to haul a fridge upright or throw in a Christmas tree with out Tetris-level packing abilities. The Lark itself was a good-looking compact wagon, and this sliding roof trick made it genuinely distinctive in a market stuffed with standard designs.
Studebaker was circling the drain by the mid-’60s, however they went down swinging with concepts like this.
Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser
The Vista Cruiser took the “vista” half critically, putting in raised skylights within the roof so second-row passengers might really see the world going by. These roof home windows weren’t simply gimmicks — they genuinely brightened the inside and made the again seat really feel much less like a cave.
Beneath was stable Cutlass structure, which means you bought muscle-car seems to be and obtainable V8 energy in a package deal that might swallow per week’s price of trip gear. It grew to become well-known a long time later because the Forman household wagon in That 70’s Present, introducing a brand new technology to its quirky attraction.
At a time when many wagons felt like afterthoughts, the Vista Cruiser felt like any individual really cared in regards to the design.
Mercedes-Benz 300TD Wagon
Mercedes proved that station wagons didn’t should be penalty containers with their W123-generation estates, and the turbodiesel 300TD hit a selected candy spot. These items had been constructed like financial institution vaults, with panel gaps you could possibly set your watch by and sufficient German engineering to final effectively into the subsequent century.
The diesel five-cylinder supplied great gasoline economic system and sufficient torque to haul a totally loaded wagon with out breaking a sweat. Many of those are nonetheless on the highway in the present day, racking up 300,000 or 400,000 miles prefer it’s nothing, a testomony to when Mercedes actually meant it about over-engineering every little thing.
They weren’t quick, however they had been deeply satisfying in ways in which transcended easy transportation.
Chevrolet Caprice Traditional Wagon
The ultimate-generation Caprice wagon was America’s final honest-to-goodness full-size body-on-frame station wagon, and it went out in wonderful model. With obtainable LT1 V8 energy — the identical engine within the Corvette — this stuff might genuinely hustle regardless of their substantial dimensions.
The rear-facing third-row seat was a childhood ceremony of passage, providing youngsters a backwards view of the freeway and a spot to make faces at following drivers. These wagons might tow severe weight, swallow staggering quantities of cargo, and cruise all day at 75 mph with out respiration laborious.
When GM pulled the plug in 1996, it marked the tip of an period for conventional American wagons.
Volvo 850 Turbo Wagon
Volvo took their boxy fame and turbocharged it — actually — with the 850 Turbo Wagon, creating one thing that regarded wise and drove prefer it had someplace pressing to be. The transversely-mounted five-cylinder engine made 222 horsepower and gave this Swedish hauler real sports-sedan efficiency.
Volvo even campaigned a wagon within the British Touring Automobile Championship, proving that racing on Sunday and hauling groceries on Monday was a authentic technique. The inside was pure Scandinavian sensibility: comfy, logical, and constructed to outlive youngsters and Labrador retrievers.
It shattered the stereotype that protected, sensible household wagons needed to be boring.
Buick Roadmaster Property Wagon
The Roadmaster Property was gloriously unapologetic about being an enormous, wood-paneled throwback in an period when everybody else was going aerodynamic. Constructed on the identical platform because the Caprice, it packed an LT1 V8 and will tow 7,000 kilos with out complaining.
The pretend wooden paneling was pure nostalgia by the ’90s, however Buick dedicated to the bit with acres of vinyl woodgrain that regarded higher than it had any proper to. Inside, you bought plush velour, room for eight, and sufficient cargo house to maneuver a small residence.
It was the final of the standard American land yachts in wagon type, and collectors are beginning to respect its anachronistic appeal.
Dodge Magnum SRT8
Dodge regarded on the American wagon’s demise and mentioned “maintain my beer,” creating the Magnum SRT8 with a 425-horsepower Hemi V8 and perspective for days. With its daring, aggressive styling, this was a wagon that regarded prefer it may steal your lunch cash, backed up by acceleration that might run with modern Corvettes.
The inside high quality wasn’t precisely Mercedes-level, however the efficiency was simple and the practicality was actual. It proved there was nonetheless urge for food for efficiency wagons in America, even when mainstream patrons had moved on to SUVs.
Dodge solely constructed it for a couple of years, making the SRT8 model a comparatively uncommon sight that also turns heads in the present day.
Cadillac CTS-V Wagon
The CTS-V Wagon may be probably the most insane station wagon ever offered in America, packing a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 with 556 horsepower and a six-speed guide transmission choice. This was legitimately a Corvette engine in a household hauler, full with magnetic trip management and Brembo brakes to handle the mayhem.
Cadillac solely constructed about 1,800 of them over three mannequin years, and values have been climbing as fans acknowledge what an oddball masterpiece it was. You may carry 4 adults and baggage in consolation, then embarrass Porsche 911s at monitor days on the weekend.
It represented peak “why not?” engineering at a time when such issues had been changing into more and more uncommon.
Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG S Wagon
Mercedes’ E63 AMG S Wagon delivered 577 horsepower via all 4 wheels by way of a twin-turbo V8 that appeared like Thor clearing his throat. With launch management engaged, it might hit 60 mph in 3.5 seconds — sooner than most supercars from a decade earlier — whereas providing heated and cooled seats, an enormous cargo space, and sufficient luxurious options to disgrace a personal jet.
The styling was subtly aggressive, with flared fenders and quad exhaust ideas hinting at what lurked underneath the hood. At over $100,000, it was an costly approach to haul stuff, however for many who might afford it, nothing else supplied fairly this mixture of brutality and practicality.
It proved the European efficiency wagon custom was alive and effectively, at the same time as American producers had principally deserted the phase.
Conclusion
These distinctive wagons show that cargo house and driving enjoyment don’t should be enemies. From the trendy ’57 Nomad to the supercar-quick E63 AMG, every introduced one thing particular to the desk past simply further cubic ft behind the rear seats.
As we speak’s SUV-dominated panorama makes these long-roofed legends much more interesting to fans who respect their decrease facilities of gravity and car-based driving dynamics. The wagon market could also be area of interest now, however these standouts remind us why the format deserves respect — and possibly even a comeback.
Whether or not you keep in mind them fondly from childhood highway journeys or found them later, these are the station wagons that proved practicality may very well be genuinely cool.
