The Station Wagon

Station wagons have come a long way. Many recall the station wagon as that faux wood panel sided vehicle from the 70s, loaded with kids, prepared for any vacation. Today's station wagons are quite luxurious and not the station wagon of old, as technically most SUV's are considered a modern form of a station wagons - just to name one way they have changed.

The definition of a station wagon is any passenger automobile whose body style has a roofline that extends into the rear cargo space. This does not include hatchbacks, as the full height of the cabin does not actually extend all the way to the back as it slopes into the hatch. Station wagons also have side windows over the cargo area, whereas some hatchbacks have thick "C" pillars and no cargo area windows.  According to Wikipedia, there are only two exceptions to this rule which include Rambler station wagons (1952'62) on which the roof line subtly dipped down over the cargo area, and GM's Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser (1964'72) and Buick Sport Wagon (1964'69) on which the rear roof section was slightly elevated and combined with three (1968-69 Buick, 1968-72 Olds) or four (1964'67) skylights; the "sportwagon" name has been popularized again in recent years by some manufacturers. Certain models of Land Rover have also been described by the manufacturer as station wagons (even in British usage); as these vehicles had a tall wagon-like body with extra "alpine lights", or windows, above the cargo bay side windows.

The first station wagons got their name due to being used by train companies. The vehicles were originally called "depot hacks" because they were used around train depots as hacks (short for hackney carriage, an old name for taxis). They also came to be known as "carryalls" and "suburbans". The name "station wagon" is a derivative of "depot hack"; it was a wagon that carried people and luggage from the train station to various local destinations.

Prior to the mid-1930s, hardwoods were used by most automotive companies in framing the passenger compartments of their passenger vehicles. In automobiles, the framing was sheathed in steel that was then covered in colored lacquers for protection. Eventually, all steel bodies were adopted because of their strength, cost and durability.

Because early station wagons were used for commercial purposes, for many years they were considered commercial vehicles rather than consumer vehicles. In 1922 Essex introduced the first affordable enclosed automobile, which then shifted the auto industry away from open vehicles towards meeting consumer demand for enclosed automobiles. Station wagons too, began to be enclosed, especially in higher price categories.

As time went by, the car companies themselves began building their own station wagons. Star (a division of Durant Motors) is usually credited as being the first car company to offer a factory-built station wagon, beginning in 1923. By 1929 Ford was by far the biggest seller of station wagons. Since Ford owned its own hardwood forest and mills, it began supplying the components for a Model A wagon (although initially some final assembly would still take place away from the factory. The same year, J. T. Cantrell put woodie bodies on Chrysler vehicles (persisting until 1931).

Traditionally, full-sized American station wagons were configured for 6 or 9 passengers. The basic arrangement for seating six was three passengers in the front and three passengers in the rear, all on bench-type seats; to accommodate nine, a third bench seat ' often facing backward, but sometimes facing forward or sideways ' was installed in the rear cargo area, over the rear axle. In Ford and Mercury wagons built after 1964, the configuration was changed to two seats facing each other, placed behind the rear axle.

Newer models are usually built on smaller platforms and accommodate five or six passengers (depending on whether bucket or bench seats are fitted in front). Full-size SUVs such as the Chevrolet Suburban and Ford Expedition have similar features to the aforementioned full-size station wagons; such as 9-passenger seating with bench seating in the front.

Despite the size or year, station wagons have come a long way since originating at train stations. People have come to enjoy having enough room in their vehicles of which they can carry family, friends and belongings anywhere they would like.