What reason do you have to own a wagon?

Simple question, why do you own your wagon?

I have a simple reason, it's served my family loyally for eighteen years, sure I owned it for less than a week and it broke down, but that was due rest for that poor car. Swap in another transmission and chug up the highway until I can afford another engine and transmission, 350 probably.

My car has been with the family since about 1995, when shortly prior to my father buying it, our '78 LTD II wagon wouldn't pass inspection because it poured out oil smoke. Thing burned as much oil as gas, but it had served my family at that point for years before I was even born, and it was no low mileage car. It had over 280k miles on it when my uncle finally junked it, he got the thing and put antique tags on it, drove it smoking like a bandit.

I will give the LTD this: As long as you kept giving it oil to burn, it would fire up easy, and run smooth, missed a bit, but for an engine that had bad rings, it wasn't that bad. The last time I saw that car was when I was fourteen, my uncle was driving it. It was a laugh to see it idle, with every fire of the cylinders the cloud got bigger. My uncle said that LTD must've meant "Like a non-turbo diesel".

Anyway, the simple reason I own my '86 Olds is because it's part of the family, I've had a few people tell me to "Get a new car", "Junk that thing", or that "It won't be around much longer". Says who? The car is 27 years old, has a strong engine and little wrong with it. It's already out lasted the new cars people brag on, and will out last them twice over before I'm done.

That's why I own my wagon, it's a rolling memory, utterly reliable (eighteen years is a helluva long time for any car to run trouble free), and I get more people commenting "I wish I hadn't sold my wagon years back" than I can count.

 

'Cause I like them. That's the only reason I need.

 

It IS like the family dog. Goes anywhere, does anything, sometimes it poops on the carpet but you still love it anyway.

Why would anyone NOT want a wagon?

 

It is the family dog!....except for the poop on the carpet, then it gets "fixed'

 

Yes I totally agree. And it makes an excellent truck!

 

To get me where I want to go and carry large stuff from one place to another in the back.
They're just cars, I wouldn't trade my dogs for the finest wagon on the planet, one of my human kids...maybe.

 

My wife and I only had one wagon [pictured below in my signature]. I fell in love with it the second I saw it and it took a year and a half to get it. It was in my brother's possession. By the time I got it it was in such poor condition that we only had it for 4 1/2 months. Despite its cannibalized state and neglected condition it was one of the toughest and most reliable vehicle I have ever had a chance to drive. It was everything we needed, wanted, and more from a machine and we want another one just like it. It was the first car either of us cried for when we lost it. It was more a part of our family than any other machine could have been. Lots of great memories. Wagons make sense. They're efficient and practical. Not to mention that there are some really cool looking wagons out there. Most cars ever made with a wagon counterpart looked better as wagons... but that's just how I feel.

 

Versatility, power, comfort, and looks. They are just great cars.

 

Because wagons are cool!

My childhood was filled with station wagons - there was not a time that we didn't have a wagon. My parents sold the last wagon we had after I graduated high school and left for the Army. I came back home after completing boot camp and AIT (Advanced Individual Training) and was surprised to see a new (1980!) Buick Regal sitting next to the old pickup we had forever.

When I left for the Army, my parents took me to the bus station to send me off to the Military Entrance Processing center up in Phoenix (we lived in Tucson). I found a seat by the window, slid back the window and my Dad was standing outside with my Mom. I'll never forget what he said: "We're breaking your plate and bending your spoon!" I thought he was joking but when I came back home after my first 6 months in the Army and saw the station wagon gone and a new 2-door Buick in the driveway, I guess the joke was on me!

For the record, I never moved back in with my parents!

 

U haul

My dad was a Pontiac man, and had a Pontiac sedan and wagon to haul us around. The "chief" was his go to work car and "ole yella" was moms U-Haul for the kids. Except for trips to the dump, the wagon hauled groceries, camping gear (scouts), the family (to Newfoundland and back) baseball practice etc. As we traded over the years, each would be cried over and then each new one christened at the Whitesburg Drive-in. Last one was a 69 then Grand Prix. I loved the drag wagons of the late 50's 60's and because of this never shied away from having one myself. Lost my virginity in a 62 Impala wagon as "one thing led to another". An old police wagon (fire chief's w 427 automatic 67) got at the city auction in Huntsville and raised a ruckus up and down memorial parkway. My little red wagon met her demise in Madison at the train tracks, no train, but forgot about the huge bump created to bring the roadbed up to the tracks. There were car parts for 1/4 mile. My current ride is a 63 Impala white over red 383 small block, 200r4, 4 wheel disc brakes. Car is awesome and hopefully will inspire others to own a wagon. My son has a Subaru turbo wagon and my sister a Mini Clubman John Cooper works. Guess those count too. Thanks for asking.

 

Because the old coupes are expensive and wagons are way cooler than sedans.

 

back in them good old days

when I was 3 or 4, and my family was living in Marrietta Georgia(because my Dad was in the Space Program and that's where Martin-Marrietta was), we got a 1960 Ford Country Squire. It would've been 63 or 64 when we got the car. All I knew at the time, was how nice a car it was. White exteriour with woodie, saddle brown interiour(as I remember it/ may have been a different color). We had the car into the early 70's. Longer than any other our family owned, except for my Dad's NSU Sport Prinze. Had other nice old cars after it(65 Bel Air, 64 Dynamic 88, a couple of Renault Dauphins) but none of them measured up to that Ford. And I think it helped, that my family treated the back-back seat as "the reward seat" and not the "punishment seat". As I grew up, a stationwagon was "the car". When I got older, tried as hard as possible to find other wagons, to own. My "first car" was a 68 Colony Park. Have had many thru the years. My wife and kids and I have a tendency to treat our wagons like they're members of the family. When other cars were just cars. Our 86 Colony Park was named Pearl. Our daughter called Pearl "her sister". Our 94 Taurus was "the green one".

 

What reason do I have to own a wagon?

While our kids were growing up we had a couple of wagons, a little Malibu(hubby's work car) and later a Caprice(my kid hauler). Both our parents had a couple of wagons when we were young. But we didn't actively go looking for a wagon because of these reasons above.

Truth of it is we weren't even looking for a car! I was just browsing Kijiji one day and there she was. I checked out the pics, showed her to hubby, he didn't seem interested at all! About a week later I went back and checked her out again. Talked to hubby about it, this time he huffed and rolled his eyes. The car was about 4 hours away and he REALLY didn't want to drive that far to check out a rusty old wagon.

A couple of weeks later my mom suggested we do a girls weekend in a near by town...hehehe...awesome idea. So I called the guy and I went to see the wagon while us girls were that close. When I got back home and I told hubby how bad a condition she was in, how much work she was going to need, how much money it was probably going to cost and maybe we should just forget about it. He called our neighbour, asked to borrow his car hauler and the following weekend we went back and brought her home.

The reasons I have to own a wagon are the same as the rest of you. But the reason I own a wagon is because of my hubby. He knew how much I wanted this car and he got her for me. He has done all the work so far himself, all the while wishing he was working on his own dream car. I love this car and hopefully someday I get to drive her.

 

Keep the faith, Fannie. You'll get there!

I don't have a wagon yet, but I am hoping that gets fixed in the next couple months. Number one reason: Hurley and Effie, otherwise known collectively as "The Kids" or "The Brats", take your pick. To most of the world, they are beagles. Of course, there is also the need for cargo room besides the crate the dogs travel in. Yes, I finally invested in a crate. They are not going to do to my wagon what they did to my 79 Thunderbird, Chloe. I refuse to sit on springs again.

 

I second that motion.