1975-1979 Alfa Romeo Alfasud Giardinetta

Thanks Nessa, for reminding of the Alfasud estate! The model is so well known to most REVolutionaries, that it would be insulting to discuss the specs. But it should be noted that it did live on in some countries past 1979, just in very limited numbers. How long and how many exactly, I've never been able to precisely ascertain. Regardless, it's worth recalling the two-door wagon, dubbed the Giardinetta.

1986-1992 Nissan Pintara

The Australian-built Nissan Pintara enjoyed two generations, but only the first featured a true station wagon. Basically a long roof Skyline, it always had a 2.0 four-cylinder and wasn't particularly powerful or sporty, but many of them have been made into relatively low cost drift demons due to the RWD layout. My fearless prediction is that many REVolutionaries will bemoan the stick in the example shown below.

1990-2005 Nissan Avenir

We've already discussed the Nissan Primera Estate, but in the home market it was sold as the Nissan Avenir. Across two generations, there were estate and cargo variants available, as well as Salut! GT Turbo and Blastar trim levels.

"Jesus Built My Hotrod" by Ministry

Hang on to your helmet!

1969-1988 Chrysler Town & Country Station Wagon

Time has a habit of getting away from us. And it's especially clear in this case, because I promised you the second part of the quick exam of the lifespan of the Chrysler T&C station wagon yesterday. Ah, well; here it is now! I got there...eventually.

1969-1973..."and uhhhhh..." Enjoy the video; holy moley.

1974-1977

1978-1981...sadly, another vomit video.

1982-1989...proof of an actual K-car enthusiast!

And that was it. Nearly 50 years of the T&C long roof and an impressive production total. Not a bad ride, if you ask me. Long live the wagon!

1941-1968 Chrysler Town & Country Station Wagon

Young gearheads can be excused for associating the Town & Country plate with minivans. But long before the name was applied to those, it lived a long and storied life as a series of station wagons, among other variants. Note that it didn't run consecutively from year to year; there was a war going on. Once again, the history behind this vehicle is fascinating and I implore you to do your own research. You'll be glad you did!

1941-1942

1946-1950

1951-1959

1960-1964

1965-1968

Stay tuned...for part two, tomorrow!

1961-1969 Fiat 2300 Estate

The 2300 is historically notable because it (specifically the sedan) was the first to offer an automatic from the company. Here's one that you could put in your virtual driveway for just $75. Make sure you don't accidentally run it over on the electronic autobahn.

1946-1962 DeSoto Diplomant Wagon

Always intended for overseas sales and never sold on US soil (or Canada, for that matter), I could write an entire book just on the Diplomat. Needless to say, the model enjoyed a convoluted and fascinating history. The wagon/estate version came with 2 or 4-doors and in a wide variety of trim levels, including Commercial Utility, Suburban, De Luxe, Special and Custom, to name just a few. There has been some discussion among certain REVolutionaries that there was a gap in production somewhere along the line, but that's still open to confirmation either way.

1953 DeSoto Commercial

1950-1952 DeSoto Custom Station Wagon

The Custom was the DeSoto premium model. But it wasn't graced with a station wagon variant until the very end of its' run, when it was replaced with the Firedome.

1957-1959 DeSoto Fireflite Station Wagon

Originally the top of the line, the Fireflite was slightly downgraded in 1957, which is also when the wagon variant was introduced. A #2 condition 1959 DeSoto Fireflite 9-Passenger Explorer Station Wagon is valued at $39.5K by Hagerty. Add 15% for a/c. Only 433 were produced. The Fireflite lived another year until 1960 ('61 if you're Ms. Jackson), minus the wagon variant, when the brand was dissolved by Chrysler.

1957-1959 DeSoto Firesweep Wagon

When the Firedome moved midway up the line in 1957, the Firesweep took over as the entry-level DeSoto. That's not to imply these were cheap cars to buy; they weren't. The wagon variant could be had in four trim levels, including this Shopper. Haggerty values this '57 in #2 condition at $31.7K and lists production at just under 1200.

1952-1959 DeSoto Firedome Station Wagon

Some people have all the luck. As his first car, Bolo inherited a DeSoto Firedome station wagon. I remember thinking, "Now that's a heck of a first car." I loved riding in that car; it was simply marvelous.

The Firedome was initially the entry-level DeSoto, but it graduated upwards to mid-grade in later years. Known primarily for the sedan (6- and 8-passenger!), coupe and convertible variants, the wagon was nonetheless a fairly steady seller. I don't have the actual sales numbers, but I recall that it was somewhere around 2K sold a year, on average. BTW, "entry-level" was still pretty expensive for the time, at around $3K-$4K. For comparison, you could buy a '52 Ford Mainline Ranch Wagon for about $2K.

Here's another unfortunately painfully shot video that contains some really great info on the Firedome long roof.

1981-1988 Plymouth Reliant/Dodge Aries Wagon

All this recent talk of K-cars brought memories of the Plymouth Reliant station wagon bubbling to the surface of my tiny reptilian brain. Here it is; suck eggs if you've forgotten how successful these were.

Lynk & Co

Volvo owners Geely have created another brand; the ludicrously named Lynk & Co. Painfully hipster marketing aside -"Think Air bnb. For cars."...really?!?- the real news is that while there are no current plans for the Lynk & Co brand to attempt to sell a conventional (arguable!) station wagon, all of the cars will ride on the shared-and-developed-by-the-Swedes platform labeled the CMA.

The CMA platform will produce a new straight-up long roof; the 2018 Volvo V40. That might seem a little odd because the current model was just released a couple of years ago, but in fact, it's been on the market since 2012 and is overdue for an update.

So now we have another brand to cross-shop, folks. Which is good, even if it really is just a Volvo. Both companies seems to be shooting for the same demographic, though. Well, maybe L&C are gunning for the rich dotcom younger hipsters that live in the city...?

Just don't say the brand name quickly, or you'll have Ford lawyers all over you.

My apologies, I got too lazy to find a proper picture of the upcoming 2018 V40. It's probably out there, but every one I looked at was either the current model (sold overseas) or a conceptual image of the XC or Coupe offspring.

Somebody got paid to come up with the model name "01". Mother of pearl.

2017 Lincoln Continental Black Label

Has Blue botched it once again? In an attempt to return Lincoln upmarket, the new Continental returns an old name with very little cache left to anyone other than limo drivers. What's shocking about that is that it appears that Ford is pricing it into the atmosphere. The Conti may be a good car, but it's not an E-class or similar vehicle and never will be. Base price starts at the $50K mark, which is acceptable in my opinion, but I just went to the Lincoln site, loaded one up and got a price of over $80K! That's crazy money.

No, this is not the new Chrysler XJ.

"Stickshifts and Safety Belts" by Cake

1977 Monteverdi Sierra Kombi

So you have a thing for international bastards like the Pantera, Chrysler TC by Maserati and others of their ilk. Well, for one year only, the tiny Swiss coachbuilder Monteverdi took Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volares and turned them into the Sierra. Surprisingly, that also included the station wagon variant, dubbed the Kombi. The interior on these were as different from the original production models, as well.

I've never been able to track down a production number on the Kombi, so this could be nothing more than a concept. And yes, Chrysler did end up creating a LeBaron version, but it was nowhere as stylish as the Sierra. Here's the other weird thing; according to my records, the Kombi was a '77 model only. But the sign in the picture below says 1980, so who the heck knows.

1976-1980 Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volare Station Wagons

If you know about the Aspen/Volare, well...there's not much more to say about the station wagon variants. So, uh, there you go! Not much more that I can add here, except a 1980 Volare wagon with a 5.2 120 hp, 245 torques V8 had a base MSRP of $5300 and weighed 3480 pounds. If you combined the V8 and V6 wagons, there were 16,895 produced. That's a significant number, why would they cancel it? Because here came the K-cars...

1950-1981 Meteor Station Wagon

As Bobinott pointed out yesterday, Meteor was a brand all unto itself in Canada; it was really just a way for Ford to sell cut-rate Mercurys. But it ran from 1949-1976, with a gap in 1962 and 1963, after which it was renamed with a Mercury and a Meteor badge.

From 1965-1978, the Rideau and Montcalm trim levels had a station wagon variant. There were station wagons before and after that were badged Meteor Niagara 300 Ranch Wagon, Meteor Ranch Wagon and Mercury Marquis Meteor, among others and Meteor station wagons were offered as far back as 1950. You could buy a Mercury Meteor station wagon in Canada, all the way up until the end in 1981, when Ford took the brand out behind the barn and there was a loud bang. Dinner was a sad affair, that night.

Here's one I found on Hemmings for just $2K. I also found a great site listing some very interesting production data. Here are the specs for the '69 pictured below. There were only about 1500 Rideau and 600 Montcalm variants produced; for approximately 2100 wagons, total. I believe the (Canadian) Meteor station wagon pictured below is based on the US Montego.

1962-1963 Mercury Country Cruise

The Meteor has a surprisingly convoluted history and if you ever need to waste about an hour looking something up online, there's a breadcrumb for you. But in 1962, Ford took the Fairlane and made it into a Mercury Meteor. The wagon version was dubbed the fabulously named Country Cruise. It was all over just a year later.

Bobinott Writes...

Bobinott wrote this on Saturday and I loved it so much that I decided it deserved not to be buried and forgotten. Well, this is the best I can do with that, anyway. Take it away, B...

"There is always a sad point in the winter, usually just after a freezing rain event. Some thoughts come unbidden to my mind as I am beating my car to death with snow brushes and scrapers, maybe trying to chip the sprayers out of their icy tombs . I flash back to those summer days when I was lovingly waxing these same panels, standing back to catch the reflection to make sure I didn't miss anything. I chuckle softly...."

Solar Trickle Charger

It's that time of the year again. Time to put the Miata in hibernation for a couple of months, away from the snow, ice and salt. If you're like me, you might be a little concerned about battery maintenance and here's one solution that doesn't require an outlet for power.

Sno Brum

Despite the silly name, I inherited one of these and it's worth every penny. There are cheaper knockoffs, but I don't know if they're as sturdy.

1968-1975 Ford Escort Estate

In Europe, when the first Ford Escort faded away, it wasn't until a couple of years later that the nameplate reappeared. The first generation was no longer Anglia based and it was a huge hit. The fourth generation introduced a 5-door estate and there was a final generation after that, after which it became the Focus in 2005.

1955-1961 Ford Squire/Escort/Thames

Based on the Anglia 100E sedan, the Ford Squire was a neat little 2-door estate that included a panel version badged the Thames (300). The Squire only lasted until 1959, but it was also sold as the cheaper Escort until 1961.

2018 Ford Ecosport

Street cred points go to Tom Curley for commenting last week that Ford needs a Fiesta-based crossover. Either they're reading the REVolution, Tom is psychic or Ford's tired of other manufacturers stealing their subcompact crossover (wagon!) lunch here in the States, because that's exactly what they're going to do. The EcoSport is built on the B3/B2E platform and has been around overseas and in Mexico, where it's always been a strong seller, since 2004. So much for "One Ford". The first generation had an upgrade and the second generation began in 2013. I don't think we're going to get the diesel engine; a 1.0 turbo 3-cylinder in the FWD and a 2.0 I4 in the AWD.

2007 Chrysler PT Cruiser GT: Munroney

I know you know what a Munroney sticker is, but have you ever taken a moment and read about the history? If you click the link and read the article, you might recall a certain make and model under discussion here.

Here's the sticker for my new-to-me PT GT. Interestingly, the base MSRP on a PT (Base) was just under $15K.

"Automobile" by Kaleo