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I posted yesterday asking about some stations wagons from the "modern era" of cars and figured that perhaps I could get some info on classic wagons as well.
By "classic", I mean "no newer than early 1980s". (I guess that makes me a classic... )
For example, I've often wondered about the Dodge Aspen / Plymouth Volare wagon. Chrysler products were second to none in the 1970's and 1980's. I've had three of them and they were as close to indestructible as any vehicle I've ever owned.
And of course there was the Malibu / Chevelle / Skylark wagon, which was another mid-sized wagon that might just get decent mileage. I had a '67 Skylark convertible with a 300 V8 2bbl and a Powerglide ("Dynaflow") that got 20 mpg on the highway without me really trying.
What would you consider to be the best and most comfortable classic mid-sized wagons... and why? (By "comfort", you should know that I like reclining seats and a full or split bench in the front.)
We always had those wagons when I was a kid. SOmetimes we had two of them. We had Chevys, pontiacs and an Oldsmobile. I do not remeber the model.
Economy was not good, somewhere around 15 MPG I think. Comfort varied. Mostly they were ulitarian, but the Oldsmobile was pretty luxurious. The way back seats were not comfortable at all, not even when you are little. Plus they face backwards and make you car sick.
Performance was often very good. All of ours had big V-8s and could get it when needed. Not as quick as a sedan with the same engine, but close.
Handliing was not great, but they could run upwards of 110 on the freeway without a crash. Certinaly not impressive cornering. Ride varied. The Olds was bouncy, but most of the others were pretty stiff except when they were broken (50% of the time).
Reliability is hard to say. I had an older brother and sister, then there was me, so as long as I can remember there was a teenage driver beating the snot out of the wagons when Mom andDad were not around. I was the worst. I actually got one airborn jumping the railroad tracks on a dirt road. When we landed, I had accidentally knocked the shift lever into reverse, so we came down in reverse but moving forward at 70 MPH. The fromt of the car dug into the roand and the engine compartment completely filled with gravel. After we cleaned it out and patched up some injured passengers it started up and we were able to drive to the hospital with no problems. A week alter dad had it int he shop and could not understand how every sinlge hose and line could fail at the same time - it just made no sense.
Reliable - not sure ours broke often, but they were abused.Tough though, tough as nails (whatever that means). We ahd to fix them a lot, but try as we might, we seems incapable of destroying them.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I had a 1964 Skylark wagon, with the 300 CI aluminum head V8 engine. I'd love to have it back again, vista dome roof and all, but traded it in back in 1973. basically the same as the Chevelle, and there is a guy nearby that drives a 1965 Chevelle wagon every day, un-restored survivor with the 283.
I'm thinking the VW "Nomad" wagons - 2 door Fox I think - would have bucket front seats, but they do recline enough to use for a bed, in a pinch, and compared to the Detroit cars would have better MPG but would not haul as much, and pretty much forget about towing anything with it.
But they are something to think about. As would be the Camry wagons they built in the 80's.
As a fan of wagons, I could talk about them all-night, but its late and I am heading to bed, so I am going to catch this one tomorrow night maybe. lol.
As far as the 70s go, midsized wagons, your more comfortable ones would probably be the ones like the Chevy Malibu / Pontiac LeMans / Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser and Buick Regal/Century wagons.
We had a '77 Plymouth Volare Premier wagon in the early 90s, it was pretty comfortable. I would say the mid-size Ford wagons were pretty good too... like the Fairmount / Zephyr, then the mid-size LTD wagon that took over the name of the Fairmount in the early 80s.
Myself, I have a '72 Chevy Caprice Estate wagon that I am restoring, really comfortable car, but its a huge car. lol.
The best all around car I have ever owned was a early 90's Buick Roadmaster Wagon. This thing did everything right except resist the rust cancer that killed it. I would carry four big adults in real comfort, get over 25 mpg on cruise on a flat expressways, reliably shut down ricers at the stop light drags, and, once I put some velocity sensitive shocks on, it handled fairly well.
The late 70s full size Mopars were mid size compared to past years, so a T&C or Diplomat could be good and come with a small V8 or Slant 6. I'd go for a custom '69 GTO wagon.
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Volvo
