Childhood Family Cruiser?

[Mr. Paul]

I have vague memories of the '55 Buick wagon that preceded this one. When mom and dad packed up our family of six to move from NJ to TX in 1962, it was in a brand new Rambler Classic wagon. Spent a lot of time in it as we only "lived" in El Paso for three days, then packed right back up to move in with my grandparents in Long Island. Did your family have a "cruiser"?

[rule18]

Oh, the Rambler! My best friend's family had one. Our family truckster was a 1973 AMC Matador in silver, here's one in green for the visual...

[Slothead56]

My kids know this story well…

In 1962 my parents trundled three kids, my aunt and uncle from Philadelphia to Ft. Lauderdale and back for a weeks vacation in a turquoise 1960 Chevrolet station wagon. 4 adults and three children ages 10, 9 and 5. Plastic interior, no seatbelts, no A/C, AM radio and 75% of the adults smoking. There wasn’t a third row seat. Two people had to lay down with their feet out the roll down real window.

My Dad built a roof top luggage holder since there was no room in the car for anything but humans.

The thought of “are we there yet” never entered our minds.

Good times.

[Silly Moustache]

Here in the south of England we build three bedroom houses smaller than that!

[M19]

Ours was this Mercury Colony Park. Loved the rear facing third row seat! Me and my two sisters fought over it always.

[KenL]

Yep, a 1966 Chevrolet Caprice wagon. White with the fake wood on the side. A pretty car, actually. And a 396 4-bbl under the hood. Fast as hell.

I learned to drive in that car. And that's not all.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by Mr. Paul

I have vague memories of the '55 Buick wagon that preceded this one. When mom and dad packed up our family of six to move from NJ to TX in 1962, it was in a brand new Rambler Classic wagon. Spent a lot of time in it as we only "lived" in El Paso for three days, then packed right back up to move in with my grandparents in Long Island. Did your family have a "cruiser"?

A similar teal and white wagon was my dad's work car when I was fairly young, and there was always a fairly basic Ford or GM pickup truck when you had scrap yards and a farm.

The two wagons in same colors were a big deal for my folks as some prosperity built. The Mercury was bought used and the Buick was the first special/custom new order for my parents and it was a really big deal.

I have very distinct memories of the moms with flagship wagons being big deal. Our family and many of my dad's WWII vet pals all came from poor or immigrant backgrounds. My dad was in a circle of guys who went into WWII as poor kids. Then thanks to GI bill they became attorneys, engineers and physicians who could afford nicer things than they'd ever had.

Now the flagship early 1960s through 70s wagons seeme like total symbols of that post-war GI bill phenomenon. For 4th of July my dad and his drafted same time WWII pals had a gathering. It was in essence a parade of the wagons and and the dads who got such a boost from the GI bill and land grant colleges.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

We also had a Rambler American but our station wagon was a '67 Ford Country Squire bought specifically to haul a 13' trailer across the country and back. We stuck decals on the back window for each state we visited. Good times!

[RP]

Here's my mother loading up our early 60s Falcon Station Wagon after a trip to the grocery store....

[hubcapsc]

The Good Old Days: not a myth



More recently, around 20 years ago, my wife and I bought a
1960 Pontiac Catalina wagon with power windows and air
conditioning and 24,000 miles in terrific shape... we put about
that many more miles on it. One day I drove it to the lunch place
we'd go to from work and a fellow offered me $5,000 for it. I had
recently gotten Mini Cooper fever and I met him back at the lunch
place a few days later... he had the $5,000 in a big manila envelope...

-Mike

[TRose]

IMG_1670462222.871655.jpg

We had a 67’ Ford Country Squire wagon in pale yellow. My parents preferred to make long road trips while we slept so we would embark on a 10 hour drive at 10 pm. With the middle and back seats laid flat the six siblings ,two cousins and our beagle,Max, would lay side by side and sleep through most of the travel.
The kids named our car Bessie, which was normally scrawled in the dust and dirt on the back tailgate.
Bessie was the first car I drove. It was a difficult automobile to operate. It had a “three on the tree” shifter, a heavy clutch, suboptimal brakes and no power steering. By today’s standards it is closer to a tank than a car.
Great memories.

[tinnitus]

Grew up in a frugal family with modest cars, a 1962 Austin 850 (Mini Cooper with an extra-wimpy motor), a 1964 Ford Econoline van (based on the sorely underbuilt Falcon sedan chassis/motor) and a 1965-ish Austin America with an automatic tranny (what a complete and utter turd).

So, when our friends with a lead-foot teenage son got a 1965-66 Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser with seating for 8 (or more), and an actual V8, it felt like a rubber-burning hotrod to me.

A few years later, I had a chance to drive a Rambler/American Motors Javelin and a Matador, both 1974 models that impressed me hugely, due in no small part to muscular 401 V8s.

I've driven and owned numerous more exciting cars since, but those Ramblers were the zenith of my "hot-car experience" up until 1975 or so.

I'd love to build an AMX today. Not perfect, just a bare-bones "sleeper," raw and capable.

[Chipotle]

Early '70s Ford Gran Torino station wagon in pea green.

[Bob Womack]

It all started with '59 VW Bus. We rebuilt the engine in the basement at 100k miles.




We added a 1970 Chevy Kingswood Estate. Ran it into the ground. I brought my first Les Paul home in that one in 1977.

Bob

[Slothead56]

I already posted about my family’s 60’s wagon but it occurs to me that my next car will likely be a wagon. Either a Volvo or a Mercedes. Just waiting fore everything to stabilize.

They are soooo practical and, in my opinion, more comfortable than an SUV (of which I’ve had plenty).