1960-1966 Plymouth Valiant

The Valiant nameplate has always had an interesting history, full of lots of neat little details and footnotes. I gotta remember to do a write-up or two someday on it. In the meantime, we're still talking about station wagons, much to everybody's chagrin. Only the first two generations offered a long roof variant and sometimes there was a Plymouth badge and sometimes there wasn't. According to my records, the 1965 is the rarest with just over 4500 produced. There were V-100 and V-200 variants of the Valiant wagon and I'll leave that breadcrumb for those of you that enjoy chasing down automotive trivia.

Prepare for barf bag cinema...

Serial One, 1967 Honda N600

Check out this fantastic site documenting the restoration of the very first Honda automobile imported in the US, a 1967 N600, serial number 1000001.

1947-2009 Cadillac Station Wagons

Many enthusiasts just assume Cadillac has been building station wagons from way back when. This is sort of true; until relatively recently, they were all coachbuilt, not factory production models. Here's a great example that was owned by Sammy Davis, Jr.

1976 Cadillac Castilian Station Wagon

Now you know!

1996(?) Ferrari 456 Venice Station Wagon

Not a concept! This was another "Let's build something weird for the Sultan!" car. Production was somewhere between 7 and who-knows-but-it-wasn't-many-because-they-were-ridiculously-expensive.

1957-1958 Packard Clipper Country Sedan

The Packard Clipper station wagon, badged the Country Sedan, is one of those American cars that are highly collectible but you don't see a lot of them floating around. Here's a nice one up for auction (long since over) at Barrett-Jackson. My records indicate that the station wagon, which was really just a rebadged and mildly reworked Studebaker President, was only produced in 1957 and 1958. I don't have the exact production breakdown for the station wagon, but in 1957 there were roughly 4800 Packards sold. How many of those were wagons, I don't know. If you do, let me know. In 1958, only 159 Clipper wagons were made! I've never driven one and it's definitely on my list to do so; what a fabulous longroof.

1973-1982 Anadol SV-1600

Everyone knows that I have a thing for Turkish automaker Anadol. They were just too weird and bizarre to ever survive and that's why I love them. Unfortunately, I've never even driven one, much less seen one in the flesh. Claimed to be the world's first fiberglass-bodied station wagon, the SV-1600 even featured an optional Starsky & Hutch paint theme. This car is on my Christmas list, if you were wondering.

Happy ThanksGETTING!

Unless you're making something or at least helping to clean up, you're celebrating Thanksgetting. There's nothing wrong with that!

Save the turkeys! Eat more vegetables.

1962-1982 Ford Cortina Estate

Over five generations, the Ford Cortina (snappily named after a ski resort) always had a station wagon variant. Here are the first and the last.

No Reg Stickers

The times, they are a' changin'. After a lifetime of dealing with license plate registration stickers, the state I live in (confusion) has decided to ditch them. Maybe it's the same in other states, I don't know. I'm not sure I care. But it's kind of nice to know that I won't have to go out periodically to put new ones on. They say it will save about a million dollars a year. That seems rather high, but maybe that's true too. I still have to register my cars, though. Just no sticker from now on. Weird.

Best Car I Ever Owned (so far)

The Shadowagon left plenty of skidmarks during it's life with me.

I bought this 1998 Volvo V70 T5 twelve years ago with no bright eyed dreams of a car that did anything but serve a functional purpose. It ended up being one of the best cars I've ever owned.

Never having the intention of keeping it past my usual couple of years, it was capable of simultaneously hauling 5 adults and 2 children, was great in the snow and very reasonable to maintain. Yet, it was still quite luxurious, with the world's most comfortable seats, and powerful enough to push 300 hp after extremely easy and relatively cheap upgrades.

It was all of that and more. But time was catching up to it and we'd reached a cross roads financially, which happens with all older cars. It needed a new power steering rack, exhaust, driver window switch (the back passenger on the driver's side window would roll down, but not back up), the headliner was starting to fall and a couple other tiny but annoying things.

And when the SO said, "Hey, maybe it's time for a new-used car?", it got under my skin and The Itch took over. And so, the super station wagon that became known as the Shadowagon, went up for sale. Because of my infamous exploits online, this car is well-known to a group of select car enthusiasts and it was sold so fast that it practically made my head spin. The new owner will replace those things and continue to enjoy it for years and years to come, I'm sure. Hopefully, I can keep track of it.

The longest I'd ever owned a car prior to this was six years. This car made it 12; it was that good. RIP, Shadowagon. May you live forever (and I don't see why not).

Corvair Concept Wagon

It never came to be...

Caption This!

1967-1970 Pontiac Executive Safari

"Click!"...???

1979- Present Vauxhall/Opel/Bedford Astra Estate

As we continue our journey around the world exploring the history, past and present, of the station wagon, we've already taken a look at the latest Opel Astra. But it's worth noting that, over seven generations, there has always been an Astra wagon available. Here are a couple of visual examples of each generation, rather randomly chosen. In my opinion, there really has been only three designs over the nearly 30 year lifespan.

1st Gen Bedford Astravan

2nd Gen Vauxhall Astra Bedford Estate

3rd Gen Vauxhall Astra Estate

4th Gen Vauxhall Astra Estate

5th Gen Vauxhall Astra Estate

6th Gen Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer

7th Gen Opel Astra Sport Tourer

1999-2007 Nissan March/Micra Box

The Nissan March was sold in some parts of the world as the Micra. Over the five generations, only the second offered a true wagon; the rest were 5-door hatchbacks. Billed as the Box, the estate styling was distinctly Japanese. Here in the States, we would eventually know this car as the Note. AWD was optional and you could choose from two dreadfully unexciting gasoline engines, a boring diesel and you were stuck with an automatic, whether you liked it or not.

1982-Present Nissan AD Wagon

Ever wonder what happened to the Pulsar/Sunny overseas? Here's one answer; the AD. Designed for and sold in Japan, New Zealand, Australia and other, smaller, foreign lands, the AD is a cheapo wagon for those folks that don't want for much. Among other interesting nameplates, it was also called the Wingroad and there were several trim levels with great names like Sport Acapello. Here's a video featuring a third (there have been 4 so far) generation strippy version. There aren't even wheel covers on it! But there does appear to be AC, which I suppose is necessary in the Caribbean. But is that a speaker in the stereo?

1990-2008 Nissan Primera Estate

We've already taken a look at the ugly stick-beaten Mitsuoka Ryoga, which was built on this car. The Primera, which we knew as the Infiniti G20 here in the States, enjoyed three generations, all of which offered station wagon versions overseas. Here's a review of the P11 second generation. Neat cargo floor option, but who ordered the hideous Barney exterior color? You could even get AWD (labeled 4WD...?!?), eventually.

1961 Chrysler New Yorker 300 G Wagon

All roads lead to South Hackensack, New Jersey...

To the Bat Cave! Anybody got $65K lying around?

1958 Chevrolet Yeoman

We can't talk about the Delray without discussing the windowed version, the Yeoman. Offered with two or four doors, the Yeoman was the station wagon intended for families, while the Delray Delivery was for utility services. With those notable exceptions, they were the same car and you needed to shell out for a Brookwood or Nomad to move up the line. GM designed in what they considered better safety to the frame, but it's notable that it was discovered that it was actually less safe than before. And you thought GM did dumb things only in modern times! Once again, this was a one year only model and then it was gone.

1958 Chevrolet Delray Delivery

If you thought yesterday's Geo Storm Wagonback was offered a ridiculously low number of years, try this Chevrolet Delray 2-door Delivery. Offered only in 1958, the Delray model designation went extinct after that and I doubt too many people miss or even remember it. This was the entry level model, built on the B platform and you could get it with a 3.9 Blue Flame V6 (highly likely), the 4.6 Turbo Fire V8 or Chevy's first production V8, the 5.7 W-Series Turbo Thrust. Ah, they really knew how to name motors back in the day, didn't they? Most were used up and junked, just like most economy cars, then and since.

1991-1992 Geo Storm Wagonback

A rebadged Isuzu Impulse featuring the horribly weak 1.6 with just 95 hp, the Storm Wagonback weighed only about 2400 pounds. The MSRP was a surprisingly high $11.5K, which made it a no deal for many buyers looking for an inexpensive economy car with a sporty flair. Of course there was no flair, with a 0-60 in the 10.5 range with the 5-speed manual; forever with the automatic. GM decided that the upgraded Lotus-designed suspension and turbocharger weren't worth the trouble. They were probably right because it would have jacked the price up even further. There was literally nothing to recommend this car over a Civic Si hatchback, which could be had for only a couple of hundred bucks more ($400, to be more precise). Buyers agreed.

When was the last time you saw one of these? Rust, rust, rust...with "classic Camaro styling"?!? WTH? Well, he is in WisCAHNsin...

Aha! Stereo, Stereo

So what the heck was needling me about the OEM stereos in the HHR and Equinox? Other than being a really bland design, why did I keep thinking about it? And then it struck me like a frisbee in the face; that stereo, which is made by Panasonic, also ended up in the Suzuki XL7. I suppose that's not entirely surprising, given the relationship between GM and Suzuki, but it's still a bit weird. Or maybe that's just weird to a weirdo like me. The same stereo ended up in other GM vehicles too, of course, like the Malibu.

Chevrolet Equinox...has a different colored face plate

Chevrolet HHR...note the switch blanks - nice job, GM!

Suzuki XL7...same HVAC controls, too

K2 Drives: 2009 Chevrolet HHR

Remember? That guy from the old neighborhood? You know, the one by Little Italy...

Just over 50K miles...hard, hard miles on this one, but that wasn't the real problem.

1955 Pontiac Star Chief Safari Wagon

A visit to the ATM won't cover it.

Yes please and thank you.

K2 Drives: Realization

These things keep me up at night, I tell ya.

Woke up the other morning and had a realization concerning the Shadowagon's replacement; I'm not interested in anything with less than 200 hp and 200 torques. There have been plenty of times where I haven't cared about those numbers and I'm not a speed hound, but this round, I don't want anything with less. So there's that.

T-Bird Gang

...and then there was T-Bird Gang...

Hot Rod Gang

First, there was Hot Rod Gang...

1977-1982 Hyundai Pony Estate

To some US enthusiasts, Hyundai didn't really even exist until the mid-Eighties. They can be forgiven the oversight because that's when the Korean brand really made a move here. But in the process, we missed some interesting vehicles. This first gen Hyundai Pony is a good example and since we're focused on the station wagons, let's take a look at the estate. Powered by Mitsubishi-made 4-cylinder and transmission, distantly related to the Morris Marina, contained some Ford Cortina parts, designed by Giugiaro (who also suggested an extremely handsome coupe design) and reminiscent of period Datsuns, the top speed was around 90 mph, with a 0-60 in the 15.5 range in the 1.6-powered version. Besides the sedan and hatchback, there was also a pickup variant.

1956/58-1960 Renault Domaine and Manoir

These were the estate versions of the Frégate sedan. The only real difference between the two, other than in name, was that the Manoir was introduced two years after the Domaine in 1958 as the up-scale luxury version. There was no engine option other than the 2.1 4-cylinder that produced 77-80 hp that shoved around about 2800 pounds. But you could choose your transmission; either a 4-speed stick or a 3-speed semi-auto.