the classic and stylish station wagon

I feel station wagons have fallen decidedly out of fashion in past five to ten years. Station wagons seem to get shunned by society. They are turned away as drab, unexciting implements that have long been obsolete. They were first replaced by minivans, then sport utility vehicles and more recently crossovers.  For the new models that closely resemble the classic station wagon the automakers create new terminology, such as sport utility and crossover, anything so long as they evade the stigma of the station wagon.

It seems the station wagon is the relic of another time; maybe a better time.  It’s a shame station wagons are not more fully embraced today, because in their hay day they were truly something special and important to the American family, and yes, even exciting.  Since they were largely a product of the ‘50s and ‘60s, the glory days of the American automobile, they were highly stylish.

1950 Buick Estate Woody

1967 Pontiac

It was a time when bigger was clearly better--making low, wide and long the current vogue in auto design. The station wagon was in excellent taste. Its three rows a seating and cargo space gave purpose to the long sweeping lines so in style.   As kid, my grandpa still drove an old station wagon and that last bench facing rearward was always the best part of riding with him.

1957 Oldsmobile 88 wagon

1960 Buick LeSabre Estate Wagon

Another ‘50s element that added to the beauty of American station wagons was the unrestricted, open-air feel that was so important to create a pleasant driving experience for car owns.  This meant big wraparound windows, razor thin pillars, deleted pillars (hardtops) and vista windows in the roof all used to create an open glasshouse canopy.  American families wanted to be able to pile into the family car for a road trip and have a great view of all they passed.  Families were crisscrossing the nation in rolling works of art.

Then in the ‘60s it was a time of unrestricted high performance.  Cars were offered with huge lists of engine options running from the mundane economy engines to the probably-shouldn’t-be-street-legal, don’t-tell-my-insurance-agent engines.  So, there were the high performance station wagons.  Chevy Nomads (extra-stylish two-door station wagons) were given the now legendary Chevy small-block V-8.

1957 Chevy Nomad

The Oldsmobile 4-4-2 station wagon was probably the greatest and most outrageous of the high performance wagons. It was offered with the vista roof and the Hurst hi-po package which included: 455 cubic inch big-block V8, fiberglass ram air hood, heavy duty suspension, disc brakes, duel mode tailgate (swings down and swings sideways) and power everything.

Old cars & family history

Cars are significant family possessions probably second only to the family home in importance. They are often bought when the family is young and the cars grow old and familiar as the family matures. (The back seat of the family car becomes a safe and comfortable place—a favorite for drowsy children.) Thanks to the passing of time and daily use, the cars and their families also grow closer. Later on the family’s many memories are tied to the cars they lived with.

In my family, the family cars and family history are closely tied and interwoven. In fact the family cars provide the timeline and structure for the history. Family stories are often told: “We drove there in the Bonneville so it must have been the mid-60s” or “the Buick was still new so it was probably 91 or 92.” It also helps that cars are often bought at family milestones such as marriages, births, moves and new drivers.

As part of a family, cars get to take part in daily errands, family events, and road trips. They get into family photos—they get lavished with attention and they get neglected. Years later when they are old and probably gone, replaced by another, they are an important part of the family memories. We look back on them as part of what made ‘the good old days.’

Something interesting about old cars that are kept in the family is that they are a lasting and tangible piece of times before. It’s a piece of your father’s life before you were born, maybe before he was married. Or it’s the car you grandfather bought and drove while you mother was a child. It’s a remainder of the lives your family lived and you didn’t. The car was there though and you’re sitting in it—you’ve driven it too.
 

These are my mom’s younger siblings standing before the family’s Pontiac bought new in 1956. (Oldest to youngest: my uncle Sal, Aunt Irene and Uncle Robert.) This car brought newborns home from the hospital, later taught those kids to drive and then took part in their youthful antics. It also pulled trees and off-roaded.

My uncle Sal would, 35 years later, restore it to like-new only to lose it in a divorce. The second photograph shows how it looked in the 1980s after being painted blue.

This 1964 Chevy Impala was my mom’s first car besides the family hand-me-down ‘56 Pontiac. She says she loved it. It was later stolen and taken for a joyride and police chase. My mom eventually had the car returned to her but not before it was driven over a fire hydrant, wrecked, then abandoned by the thieves.

Back in the garage is a 1960 Pontiac Bonneville which my uncles tell me was quite fast; I believe them. Pontiac was hitting the drag strips and race tracks hard and heavy in the early 1960s in order to gain some brand recognition. It was a great time to be Pontiac loyal.