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

Happy New Year!

Have a happy and safe one!

C&D January 2017

I know a lot of you are going a bit stir crazy with the nearly nonstop station wagon focus here on REVolution. It's been since last May, after all. Sorry to disappoint, but we're not quite done yet. Soon, soon, soon! I promise.

In the meantime, here are two items from the January 2017 issue of Car and Driver that caught my eye. The first item is the Datsun redi-Go. That's right, Datsun; they brought it back in India. This compact wagon (oh no!) has 3 cylinders, 13" wheels and a base price of $3584. Unsurprisingly, it's one painfully cheap car...only three lugnuts? Really? Yep.

The second item was a mention of a bizarre-o promo video for the Toyota Setsuna concept car. If there ever was a car designed for a Terminex, unfinished furniture and Morgan tie-in, this is it!

2016 Ford Edge SEL Wagon, er, Crossover

An acquaintance of mine recently needed a new car. He was driving along on the freeway in his second-gen Volvo S40 and hit a muffler. There was significant damage to the transmission and his insurance company totaled it. Ironically, the rental car company gave him a Ford Focus to drive, which shared the P1-C1 platform with his S40. But he needed a new car, pronto.

This was one of those cases where the shopper wasn't going to tolerate a lot of, um, shopping. So when he asked for my help, I knew it wasn't time for several options; the less, the better. I gave him half a dozen options that I thought fit his needs, specs and $25K-$35K budget. I also talked him out of a Jeep Cherokee or Jeep Grand Cherokee, of which he wasn't sure which was which(!). Of those, he narrowed his focus on the Honda CR-V and Ford Edge, randomly ignoring the rest, including the Equinox/Terrain (etc.), RAV4, Santa Fe Sport and CX-5.

He really liked the Honda, but the Edge was perceptibly more car. The one he bought was at the very top of his budget and he didn't really negotiate a cheaper price. But that's okay because he got a very nice station wagon, er, crossover. This is the very same person who had previously declared to me that station wagons were kryptonite to the opposite sex, which is one of the more ridiculous things I've ever heard.

But he got a station wagon. He wanted more room and what's more utilitarian than a wagon, minivans aside? Nothing! The Edge rides on the same CD4 platform as the superb Fusion, underappreciated Taurus, "anything but a minivan!" Flex, most Lincolns and the hasn't-been-a-SUV-since-2006 Explorer.

Lexus called and they want their crossover back.

This is a very nice vehicle, if not particularly exciting to drive. The variant he got is the AWD mid-line option, featuring a soon to be phased out 3.5 V6. That engine will most likely go away soon, leaving just the superb twin-turbo V6 and mildly stupid but okay for the proletariat, turbo 2.0 4-banger. Edmunds and KBB don't even list the 3.5 as an option; I had to actually go to Ford's site to look at the specs. The interior is not particularly spacious, but the advantage is that the Edge is 10 inches shorter than the Explorer. He doesn't need a third row seat, so that's a good thing. The bumper height/lift-over is a ridiculous 28 inches, which explains precisely why we didn't even consider one in our recent shopping spree. The steering wheel is amazingly tiny, probably to ease entry. He thought the paddle shifters controlled the cruise control; he's learning!

That touchscreen actually works just fine, despite car "expert" reports.

There are literally hundreds of dealer-installed options for the Edge. Here are two of my favorites; an armrest safe and a tent that illicits the ghost of the Pontiac Aztek.

Driving this vehicle makes it crystal clear exactly what it is, a jacked-up Fusion station wagon. Nothing more and nothing less. That's a good thing. Mazel tov!

1956 Chevy Wagon Burnout