More on the 2007 Station Wagon Owners Association of America convention
Click image for photo gallery
"Obsessively covering the auto industry" means that when presented with an opportunity to check out some historically interesting cars, we do it. If you don't like station wagons, you might want to scroll down and check out one of our other articles for the time being. For the rest of you who grew up with the classic Detroit-style land barges, check out some of the pictures that we were able to snap last weekend's Station Wagon Owners Association of America convention. With the help of some Volkswagen media guys (who truly went the extra mile to get "the shot") and some station wagon lovers in attendance, we lined up a pretty cool shot that illustrates the progression of VW's station wagon offerings in America. This brings up an interesting point. Volkswagen wanted to show that it sees itself as being a genuine part of classic Americana. With vehicles like the Beetle, Microbus and Karmann Ghia receiving admiring stares from those who remember them from their youth, it's not hard to see why VW feels that way. Likewise, the next generation grew up seeing Volkswagen GTIs on the roads, effectively starting the "hot hatch" category. The Jetta is a particularly American success. While it is the best-selling Volkswagen here in the States, it's hardly mentioned in Europe. So, an argument could be made that the new Jetta Sportwagen belongs right beside the big American station wagons of yesteryear. And so that's where it went, as you'll see in the attached gallery.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dave 11:50AM (8/01/2007)
Those LTDs are gonna eat the Jetta!
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tbyron 2:15PM (8/01/2007)
Those are not LTD's. The LTD was the sedan. Wagons with wood paneling were Country Squires (without the paneling, Country Sedans). But, man oh man, are those relics. Where are the Olds Vista Cruisers and Mercury Colony Parks?
leather bear 4:39PM (8/01/2007)
Don't forget the Ranch Wagon, which was the base model below the Country Sedan.
Don 4:45PM (8/01/2007)
I can't tell you how many hours I spent carpooling to school in those comfortable behemoths.
It's probably when I did wagons like the Magnum so much.
Bill 12:19PM (8/01/2007)
My God I have so many stories involving a family friends (2) LTD wagons. One was a 74, another was a 77. Those cars were a riot.
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polar 12:04PM (8/01/2007)
Looks like a VW thing to me... Station Wagon Owners of America, right. Nice VW in everyshot.
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Adam 12:04PM (8/01/2007)
It's amazing how big the New VW looks compared to the old ones. Yikes!
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Brad 12:05PM (8/01/2007)
That brings back memories of going to Florida in the Olds Vista Cruiser with the wood paneling.
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Don 4:47PM (8/01/2007)
Amen!
A&W 12:06PM (8/01/2007)
Not many owners showed up it seems. Where is the Dodge Magnum? Or better yet a 1970's Dodge Monaco wagan? My brother who was just learning to drive almost cried when that baby blue boat pulled into the driveway. He changed his tune once he found out how handy the fold done seats were though.
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500 3:15PM (8/01/2007)
A&W, do you mean the old Magnum or the new Magnum? The Dodge of that name from the late 70's/early 80's was a (huge) 2-door coupe. And if you mean the current Dodge Magnum, Chrysler does everything they can to avoid calling it a wagon. Stupid. If they would simply market it as what it is, they'd probably sell more of them.
Avinash machado 12:12PM (8/01/2007)
Thanks for the pics. I love these classic wagons. The LTDs were great. Sadly that era is long gone. Hopefully someday I will be able to buy a nicely restored one for a good price and use it as my weekend car.
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Mattias 12:19PM (8/01/2007)
Another cool station wagon: http://www.chrysler.de/300c_touring/index.html
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porker 12:48PM (8/01/2007)
You can still buy some very nice '94-'96 Buick Roadmaster and Chevrolet Caprice wagons off eBay. I found my '95 Roadmaster Wagon near Chicago, in Crete, Illinois, and drove it home a few years ago. My Golden Retriever thinks it's his because he has his own door! The LT1 makes it quite a sleeper, too.
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C\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'est Raoul 2:00PM (8/01/2007)
I am fond of SW.
Those are quite rare in the US I think.
Let's not forget Subaru, truely the SW specialist (huge chunk of their market, and SW aren't simply a quick derivative of the sedan).
Volvo should be in the same "boat" litterally...
VW also had a huge selection of them as in Europe (Fox, jetta (nearly all makes), passat, santana/quantum. I love the old passat syncro SW.
I also love the rare Merc, and rarer BMW.
Toyota had few models (Corrola, the AWD one was nice, LT5 or smthg like that, the Camry was the last one 95'ish), Honda even less I think (Civic AWDearly 90's, not a real SW). Nissan had a couple a long long time ago).
Apart from Saturn and their SW and LW lines, and the nice Magnum (is that called Magnum in SW), there aren't many american now, is it? The big 3 went SUV and Van. Things that can't work out well in Europe or Japan (gas$, space). I love those huge Caprice estate.
I wish SW+ AWD+diesel combo would be available...
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Mattias 3:11PM (8/01/2007)
Rare? Here (that's Germany) more BMW and MB SWs are sold than sedans...
Andrew 2:16PM (8/01/2007)
I'd like to see more wagons with rear-facing third rows. I guess that's not going to have any time soon though, 3-row crossovers are the thing now. I think Volvo and Mercedes are the only ones that still offer it, and only then as a special order option. I'll take a black E63 wagon, or V70R!
I grew up riding in the way back of an Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser. Too bad they hadn't invented rear AC vents yet, that dark blue sum'bitch was hot in the summer time!
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AlexP 2:20PM (8/01/2007)
I had an 1997 Escort wagon... :(
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Jason 3:31PM (8/01/2007)
We had a '77 LTD Country Squire (the white wagon in the main pic) when I was a kid. It was bright red with wood paneling and red vinyl interior. I hated the seats in the summer because my dad rarely ran the a/c.
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A&W 3:49PM (8/01/2007)
Yeah 500 I meant the new Magnum. I agree. They clearly intended to make a really macho station wagon instead of an anti-mini-van,SUV-wanna-be,tall station wagon. They should have said so. I also meant down instead of done.
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