By Robert Emslie
Before SUVs made them as rare as Siberian Tigers, station wagons seemed to get the most automaker attention when it came to innovation. Whether it was sliding roofs allowing for giraffe transport, tailgates that would make Doug Henning proud with their seeming magic multiple opening options, or rear seats that fold into the floor, wagons were bastions of ingenuity.
Of course, none of that could save them. Their identification with suburban squareness condemned most of them to the annals of history, leaving only a few hip – and mostly foreign – sport wagons to carry the flame. And those that remain to this day don’t seem to enjoy the same level of big brain on brad attention as their predecessors. Sure Audi offers all wheel drive in the A4 wagon, but you can get that in the sedan as well. Volvo – once synonymous with wagons has seemingly given up on not just making them special, but making them at all. Dumb-asses.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t still have Paris, and by Paris I mean a history rich in Magi-gates, remote-actuated rear vent windows, and Vista windows, all wagon-unique features of a by-gone era. You might remember some of those features with the fondness usually reserved for an old baseball mitt, while others of you may be so young that such things are only represented by grainy black and white photos in dog-eared old magazines you found when looking for your dad’s Hustlers. Either way, which feature do you think was the best?
Image source: [kitfoster.com]
Kamil Kaluski 
Jeff Glucker
The Wagonaire was great in theory, but in practice the cars were often leaky. Studebaker had to rush out a solid-roof wagon.
I'd say the Ford two-way tailgate for 1966 was a pretty great idea. Very handy and it worked well.
A roll-back roof has been my one big 'want' in a wagon. Nowadays, it wouldn't be difficult to seal the top.
I want room to move something big about a half-dozen times a year, but don't want that excess capability and it's mileage penalty, otherwise. This would be perfect.
GMC revived the Wagonaire idea with the Envoy XUV sport utility in 2004, but it didn't sell well and was dropped in less than two years.
<img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/GMC_Envoy_XUV_.jpg/800px-GMC_Envoy_XUV_.jpg" width=400>
It doesn't get any better than this 1958 Ford SW All-In-One Camping Special With Boat.
<img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4109/4994664933_fe2c5ce31a_z.jpg"width="500"/>
In effect, your response to this question is, "All of them. At the same time."
Exactly. You can't have one without the other in this case.
I think I just jizzed a little.
[youtube wg0fShIQIpQ&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg0fShIQIpQ&NR=1 youtube]
You beat me to it. Our '71 Pontiac Safari (just for the fun of it, pronounce it like a Rasta, Sa Far I) had the clamshell tailgate, which was just plain slick. Until it got worn out, and my Mom had to work the key while I pulled the damn thing up at the supermarket parking lot. I used to terrorize my little brothers, telling them I'd hold their heads between the gate and the window if they didn't behave.
Vista Cruiser roof windows.
Also, curious Brad wants to know … what is "big brain on brad attention?"
I'm pretty sure he's referring to the hamburger scene from Pulp Fiction. (Though I think Brett was the soon-to-be-dead person with aforementioned brain.
Yup, it's Samuel L. Jackson's NSFW respect.
[youtube Hrm-rPSCIBw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hrm-rPSCIBw youtube]
As a kid, I always thought the Ford game table (that went between the facing rearmost seats) in the Country Squires was a pretty cool idea. I seem to remember there was a checker board on one side and backgammon on the other.
Then again, it may have just looked cool in the brochure but wasn't all that practical. "D-a-a-a-a-a-d! Quit going so fast around the corners…the checkers are sliding off!!!"
Sporting real wood.
<img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_dz1Yda1-SwQ/THMYYV4Zu_I/AAAAAAAAAYA/EexFoeInUT8/s1600/blind+dog+board+photos+047.jpg" width=500>
Oh, one more. The GM "clamshell" of '71-76. (The metal part slid down into the floor, and the glass slid up into the headliner.)
Seemed like the most futuristic thing in the world.
Edit: Sorry, the above video was being posted as I wrote this.
Toss up between the 6-speed in the CTS-V Wagon. Or the fact that way back when you could order a Ford wagon with a 4-speed and a Super Cobra Jet engine complete with the shaker scoop.
Or a 421 Super Duty in a 1963 Pontiac Tempest Wagon.
<img src="http://www.finecars.cc/typo3temp/GB/f1253ca6a3.jpg"width=500>
The fact that a CTS-V wagon comes equipped with a blower is pretty cool, regardless of transmission choice.
Cargo space.
Ample seating room.
<img src="http://bringatrailer.com/wp-content/plugins/PostviaEmail/images/1967_Ford_Fairlane_500_Country_Sedan_Station_Wagon_For_Sale_Seats_resize.jpg" width="500">
1967 Ford Country Sedan
Ha! That's my former car with a blue interior.
A usable third row.
<img src="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v3025/13/19/122700371/n122700371_34219815_1815335.jpg" height=500 /img>
C-Class?
Last-gen E-class (that was from Earth Day, 2009).
Do want.
Actually, I think it was my 58 Chevy Sedan Delivery. No windows, curtains, don't bother knockin'. 🙂
Car-like handling that is actually like that of a car.
Rear seat that folds for a flat load floor.
Four feet plus between the wheel wells.
Six foot plus max floor length.
Slide out picnic table, and load tie downs – Thanks, SAAB!
The ability to jump a 30' gravel dune in complete comfort, along with 8-9 of your closest friends and a keg of beer.
(edit: allegedly)
That sounds like a recipe for foamy beer.
I don't know, but this has it:
<img src="http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/crop/200704/1997-pontiac-rageous_460x0w.jpg">
OR, turbo+AWD.
Sorry, but it was new for '66. The '65 didn't have the two-way.