Here, check out some huge classic 50s station wagons — from popular vintage brands like Plymouth, Dodge, Mercury, Ford, Pontiac, Buick and De Soto and others — that sported fins & had rear-facing seats.
Classic 1957 De Soto wagons are bigger, smarter
4 NEW DE SOTO WAGONS FOR YOU TO CHOOSE FROM
Smartest automobile for town and country is the ’57 De Soto station wagon! It’s so roomy and luxurious, and has all these great De Soto features:
- De Soto Flight Sweep styling
- TorqueFlite transmission
- Triple Range push-button control
- Torsion-Aim ride
- Choice of three mighty V-8 engines (up to 295 hp)
- 4-Season air conditioner
- Smart, modern interiors
Four all-new models to choose from.
And (though you’d never guess it) prices of exciting new De Soto wagons start close to the lowest!
Whether you want to attract a crowd — or carry one with you — see the four exciting new De Soto station wagons at your De Soto-Plymouth dealer’s.
Get the deal—take the wheel! No doubt about it — you, your pocketbook and your family will be mighty glad you did. De Soto Division, Chrysler Corporation.
MORE: See why people loved classic DeSoto cars (and what they wanted to change)
Jerry Lewis for Oldsmobile station wagons (1958)
Classic ’56 Buick estate wagon
Heard what happened to the price of this one?
This is, as you can see, a spanking-new Buick Estate Wagon — a trim and tidy traveler with an all-steel body, which moderns definitely prefer. It is powered with Buick’s mighty 322-cubic-inch V8 engine — hitting a record-high compression of 8.9 to 1 in the small-car-priced SPECIAL, and 9.5 to 1 in the high-performance CENTURY.
It offers the newest version of 13uick’s exclusive Variable Pitch Dynaflow Driven and all the other basic features that snake these ’56 beauties the best Buicks yet. It rid. six with all the comfort of a limousine — and still provides ample and accessible luggage space in back.
But, at your option, you can get a double-duty rear seat here, and do some extra-handy tricks, as the occasion requires. You can fold down the seat-back, and have a covered platform 43.1 inches wide and 83 inches long with the tail gate closed — or you can fold either of the two sections, and have room for both rear-seat passengers and “freight.”
Now a vehicle no versatile obviously deserves to occupy an important place in the fast-growing market for work-and-play wagons of this sort. That’s why you find that the 1956 Buick Estate Wagon carries a new low price — a price so substantially lowered, it puts this Buick smack on the heels of similar models of the well-known smaller cars.
When better automobiles are built, Buick will build them
MORE: See the 1960 Ford station wagons, including Tudor & Fordor Falcon Wagons
1958 Plymouth station wagons
Five big reasons why your next station wagon should be a Plymouth
Classic 1957 Pontiac station wagon
Pontiac’s stoppin’ the shopping… with America’s number 1 buy
1957’s all-new series of 6 Big M station wagons: First with a true passenger-car ride
The widest choice in Mercury history. And by far the finest, most advanced station wagons you can buy at any price.
All of this year’s BIG M station wagons boast far more room than ever offered before the medium-price field. And, most important, all feature Mercury’s amazing new Floating Ride (5 great new bump-smothering features, including exclusive Air-Cushion Suspension).
Here are the first station wagons that ride as softly and smoothly as a passenger car.
ALSO SEE: How about a ’56 Chevy? See the huge Chevrolet cars & station wagons that were big in 1956
Swept Wing ’57 – Dodge station wagons with observation lounge
Step into the wonderful world of AUTODYNAMICS. Now! Swept-Wing Wagons with the OBSERVATION LOUNGE!
- It unleashes a hurricane of power
- It breaks through the vibration barrier
- It is swept-wing mastery of motion
Who says station wagons are alike! Up comes Dodge with a string of swept-wing sweethearts just teeming with Autodynamic ideas.
New ideas! Practical ideas! Fun ideas — like the Observation Lounge with Spectator Seat.
The ’57 Plymouth Suburban wagon
From the Observation Seat of your BIG, NEW PLYMOUTH SUBURBAN see how far behind the “other two” are
Here’s a dazzling new kind of station wagon …the big Plymouth Suburban! 3 full years ahead! With exciting new features you can’t get on any other station wagon in the field!
Just a few of the many important advances are shown on the opposite page. You enjoy them in the biggest . . . longest . . . widest . . . roomiest station wagon in the low-price 3. In fact, you can’t buy bigger at any price!
12 exciting models. 2-door and 4-door. New, higher-power six and terrific new FURY V-8 engines—super-powered up to 290 hp!
NEW OBSERVATION SEAT available in 9-passenger Plymouth Sport and Custom Suburbans. More legroom. Folds flush into floor for extra cargo space.
ALSO SEE: How about a ’56 Chevy? See the huge Chevrolet cars & station wagons that were big in 1956
Classic ’59 station wagons: Lark by Studebaker
You’ve never before known wagon work’n’fun like this. Easiest to get in and out of, big headroom, seats eight with rear-facing hideaway seat, full-size cargo space — but far shorter outside than the more expensive wagons.
Studebaker Lark turns, parks easily, maneuvers agilely in traffic, smaller (113-inch) wheelbase — a blessing to the long-suffering female family chauffeur.
MORE: See some Studebaker cars from the ’40s: Classic convertibles, sedans & Land Cruisers
1959 Rambler station wagon
Get big car room, small car economy in the compact quality car – ’59 Rambler
Classic 1959 Plymouth station wagon
… and this morning it brought home the groceries.
ALSO SEE: Inside vintage 1950s grocery stores & old-fashioned supermarkets
Routine household chores or a family celebration — it makes no difference to the versatile Plymouth station wagon. This combination of brawn and beauty is the biggest wagon in Plymouth’s field, with 95 cubic feet of cargo room,
It has the longest floor space in its field with tailgate up. The longest wheelbase (122 inches). The most front headroom and legroom.
Nine-passenger models offer a roomy rear-facing third seat; all models feature a roll-down rear window. No wonder Plymouth wagons are more popular than ever!
Drive this glamorous beauty and see for yourself. Discover Plymouth’s luxurious Torsion-Aire Ride (no extra cost). And its exciting options, like new Swivel Seats and the sensational New Golden Commando 395, biggest V-8 engine in the low-price field.
See your dealer. Take Plymouth’s convincing “Two-Mile Try-Out” — today!
Classic ’59 station wagons from Ford
It’s “Home Sweet Ford” anywhere you roam in a new Ford wagon. There’s over 17% more living room “indoors.”
And loadspace of the Country Sedan, above, is nearly 10 feet long — wide as a bowling alley! Single-operation tailgate makes it the easiest-to-load loadspace going.
New indoor luxuries include a picture-window view … and sofa-soft seats all facing forward … naturally!
Designed by America’s wagon specialists, these 59 Fords are beautifully proportioned for the “going places” life you lead. Ready?
’59 Fords: Gas goes a whole lot farther…
Savings reach new heights in this new Ford Ranch Wagon … designed for families living it up on a budget.
All six Ford Wagons — Standard Six or Thunderbird V-8 — use regular gas, save you up to $40 a year on fuel alone!
America’s wagon specialists have designed them new, like a hardtop. Living room comfortable with sofa-soft seats for up to nine. A stratospheric 92 Cu. ft. of cargo space is push-button easy to load with single-operation tailgate. Biggest, most elegant Ford wagons ever. Want a lift?
New award-winning proportions — New hardtop styling for picture-window view — All seats face comfortably forward — Safety Glass all around — New Diamond Lustre finish never needs waxing — Aluminized mufflers for twice the life — Full-flow filtration takes you 4000 miles without an oil change.
Shown above: The smartly-styled custom 300 Tudor Sedan… lowest-priced of the popular three
MORE: Best ride on the range: The glamour of the Ford station wagon (1957)
Roomy ’59 Ford Ranch Wagon – in yellow
Roomy new Ford Ranch Wagon – in red
Kids in the back seat of a vintage station wagon with fins
NOW SEE THIS: See the Plymouth Suburban station wagons from back in the ’50s
One Response
These particular models are a bit before my time, but the ’60s and ’70s station wagons were very similar… and just as big, unwieldy and gas guzzling. Nearly every family of a certain size had one when I was growing up. The moms who drove carpool would herd gangs of us into the back — as many as 8 or 10 kids at a time! That would get you arrested in an era when every child needs a car seat. I personally don’t mourn the passing of the station wagon, as SUVs, minivans and pickups are more practical depending on your needs.