Station Wagons Aren't Gone

The winter of 2008-2009 I ran into a elderly man in public and commented on the vehicle he was driving. He was driving a 1973 full size Oldsmobile station wagon that really shouldn’t have been on the road. It had sagging suspension and was blowing blue smoke and the body was rusted out. My initial contact wasn’t rude at all. I simply said “Wow, I haven’t seen one of these in a while”. This drew the man toward me with a smile and the willingness to talk.

He clearly admitted it was old and needed replacing, but he was having trouble finding a replacement because the auto makers don’t make these station wagons anymore. He stated his wagon had a 455 under the hood for pulling his motor boat and he could haul his gear in the back. As soon as I heard the engine size come out of his mouth, I silently felt sorry for him because this vehicle has to be breaking his bank book.

I told him “station wagons are still being made by many auto makers, … they just look different from your wagon”. He gave me a silent look in confusion. I went on to explain that today’s wagons are referred to as S.U.V.’s. He generated a perky interested look. I explained further that they come in different sizes depending upon what you need. There are big ones like the Chevrolet Suburban or Ford Excursion. Then there are the smaller ones like the S-10 Blazer or the Chevrolet Trail Blazer or Ford Explorer. If you wanted something in-between, there are models like the Ford Expedition or the Chevrolet Tahoe. I clearly had his full attention now.

He walked me over to his wagon and opened the rear door as he said “look at all the room a wagon has when you fold the rear seat down”. then we walked to the side doors of his wagon as he pointed out the vehicle options saying the wagons come fully loaded with power windows and locks, they also have air conditioning and am-fm stereo’s.

I realized I was talking to a sweet old man who was locked in time and had no current knowledge of the automobiles that are out there.

I asked him to come look at mine. I opened the rear door of my S.U.V. and his eyes caught the interior immediately. I showed him I have fold down rear seats too, … and with them folded down, I had just as much room as his 1973 wagon. I further showed him that the interior was finished out with a very clean luxury look, the rear floor was carpeted. I then allowed him to sit in the drivers seat as I pointed out the power windows, locks, seats, air conditioning, and full service stereo system, … all of which were standard equipment on a lot of today’s vehicles.

The man paused a little bit as he looked over other things like my electric side mirrors, the digital compass built into my rear view mirror, the four wheel drive control, and the fact that I had two glove boxes with even more storage on the door panels. He looked up at me and said “the insides certainly don’t look like trucks do they? They‘re dressed out like Cadillac’s”. I responded “yes sir, these are today’s version’s of the station wagons”.

He got out of the vehicle and I popped my hood as I said “You mentioned you had a 455 under your hood, now days that is unheard of. That 455 has to be killing you at the gas pump”. I showed him the S.U.V.’s come with different motors such as a small V-8, and many come with V-6 engines, … they are all capable of pulling a motor boat. I further explained not all of these are four wheel drive, but it sure is nice to have in Wisconsin because of our winters, and summer high water conditions. I also pointed out that these S.U.V.’s come in two door models as well as 4 door models.

I told him another nice thing about the S.U.V. is the fact that they are safer in the fact that they allow the driver to sit a little higher, giving the ability to see over small vehicles and some snow banks.

After we talked about vehicles, we spent about 15 minutes talking about the weather and America’s economic troubles before saying goodbye and going our own ways. One thing is for sure, … on my drive home, I thought about the glow in this man’s face as I educated him on the S.U.V. (today’s station wagons). I strongly feel I did him a great justice by having the conversation we had about these vehicles. I now also believe that if he does choose to upgrade his vehicle, … he may now consider a S.U.V.

Reporter Joseph Toth

Washington Micro Bank BBS