Thursday, July 29, 2010

When the Station Wagon Was King

Awhile back I came across an old magazine with these two wonderful old car ads. If you've been following Hemmings at all, you've probably noticed that the old family roadster is enjoying something of a second life. Here are two ads for wagons from 40 years ago.

They call that vanishing tailgate "the clamshell tailgate." And then there was the Vega, which was disappointing in all its body types. Meantime, Ford was dazzling us with the "woody" exterior flourishes. A friend of mine had the Torino wagon. It had the windows in the roof, the "Vista Cruiser" windows, so you could look at the sky. Hers was just plain dark blue though. No "wood."

Things have changed a lot in 40 years haven't they?

Except parents are probably still telling kids, "Don't make me have to pull this car over."

5 comments:

Radioman KC said...

Apparently you don't own an SUV? In surburbia, most vehicles have lots of space in the back. But arent' so large! Just walk through Walmart's parking lot and see that most suburban vehicles are today's 'wagons' called suv's!

Capt. Schmoe said...

I always liked to ride in the "Back Back" as moms couldn't reach me to smack me when I was back there!

Ann T. said...

Dear The Observer,
Oh, talk about memory lane! We never had one, but four doors down from us, the family with the seven kids did.

You could bounce from one side to the next as Mrs. H. turned the corner in that boat.

Nobody swings like Ford,
Ah-hahahaha!

Thanks for sharing!
Ann T.

Bob G. said...

T.O.:
An era when cars were CARS...and trucks were TRUCKS...and never the twain shall meet.

Even "compact" car models (Vega, Pinto, Reliant) had station wagons.

But you HAD to love those (9-passenger) SAFARI CRUISERS and COUNTRY ESTATE land-yachts!

Great place for a 6 year old to nod off while riding down to the jersey shore...LOL.

(no seat belts...and none of us were killed or injured...truly amazing, huh?)

Love posts like this.

Nostalgia R Us!

:)

The Observer said...

Radioman: Nope no SUVs at our house. Bob G. stole my thunder a little. I still think of SUVs as trucks. Wagons and minivans are cars--large ones, but still cars. I grew up in the era of "one car and one truck."

Capt Schmoe: Ah, yes the "back back." Not everyone can ride back there--the view of the road makes some folks car sick. Not unlike the view out the back window of an ambulance! (Early EMS employee screen...)

Ann T: We had small ones--VWs--Squareback and 412 wagons. In my family if it was big and handled like a truck--well, it was a truck!

Bob G: Sometimes I'm amazed at what we did. I spent much of my pre 10 year old years rolling around in the back of a 2 seat sports car! And yes, trucks are trucks and cars are cars. We had VWs and Saabs, and Ford 4X4s as I grew up in the snows of Vermont.

Thanks everyone for visiting! Now that I'm "older," I enjoy these moments of nostalgia.

The Observer