Passing by these old Ford/Mercury wagons, you don’t really think of them as “state of the art.” But an ingenious hinge is all it could really take to transform the family hauling game and upset all other participants.
Although Ford was at the losing end of the volume game with General Motors in the postwar era, one arena where they consistently trumped the automotive giant was in niche products, and one of those markets were station wagons. For whatever perceptive reason, Ford’s roundup of wagons consistently brought in the dough for Dearborn.
Although a lot of the profit margins and snob appeal went to the Country Squire (and the equivalent Colony Park at Mercury) Ford sold a fair number of the more plain Country Sedans (and equivalent Commuter Mercuries) to those who could do without Di-Noc wood paneling.
With sturdy frames, and equally sturdy V8 engines (some would say truck-like) combined with the stereotypical boulevard ride that was parcel of full sized FordMoCo products, nothing was better suited to being king/queen of the PTA carpool than one of these boxy behemoths in newly paved suburbs from Belmont to Bethesda.
By 1965 General Motors (slightly) threw in the towel on its more posh B-body full sized wagon companions for the LeSabre and Eighty Eight, relying on the stretched A-bodied Vista Cruiser and Sportwagon, respectively to cover the more expensive wagon market, leaving Chrysler’s Town & Country to go against the Colony Park.
And in 1966, Ford brought out an innovation that literally, opened the door further for them to dominate the wagon market. From the lowliest of Falcon wagon through the poshest of Colony Parks, the Magic Door Gate two-way tail gate debuted at the rump of all Ford Produced wagons, and would be a hallmark of all full sized Ford Wagons until the last LTD Country Squire/Colony Park wagons rolled off the line in 1991.
The 92,000 + Ranch Wagons and close to 7,000 Commuters were among the over 200,000 Full sized Ford Wagons that opened new horizons with their innovative dual function hinge that allowed the door to swing down in the traditional tail gate way, or open sideways like a door, which took full advantage of the dual facing rear seats that expanded (nominally) the cargo area into a seating area for four brats.
Although Fords compact and midsize wagons didn’t stick with the Magic Doorgate forever, this advance help them for years maintain the healthiest share of the family truckster market. The only domestic competitor that would truly upset this balance would be when Chrysler brought out a mainstream, sliding door minivan alternative to these sburban cul-de-sac beasts in the early 1980s.
The Magic Doorgate basically sealed the lock Ford had on wagons for the next 20 years, until the Aero Chic of the Taurus took over as the wagon to own. You may not think of that as totally revolutionary, but in a market where ease, capacity and utility are the main reasons for sales, anything that makes any of those three attributes even more prominent is welcome.
GM tried to answer the question with the needlessly complex clamshell tailgate on their huge 1971 quartet of wagons, and Chrysler… well… they had torsion bars. Even former wagon foe American Motors didn’t bring any innovations to the field of wagoning in the 1960s. Once it became clear that Studebaker wouldn’t survive long enough to keep their Wagonnaire from leaking, it was clear that Ford had the answer that most people (or most non-brand loyal people) wanted.
Like the flair bird, Ford had a knack for finding, or stumbling into market niches that where there for the taking. Normally, they found ways to present their product in a far less complex way (Mustang versus Corvair) or successful way (Hawks versus four- seat Thunderbirds). By one door hinge, FordMoCo continued to dominate a breed until the breed died out.
Honestly except the square B-body wagons of the 80s I always thought the Ford wagons were a little more handsome too. When I bought my 1997 Escort wagon (used in 2000) I would have purchased a Taurus/Sable wagon in a similar vintage if my credit and my bank account had been a little healthier (I was replacing a stolen car, don’t normally go car shopping because I HAVE too). Wish the wagon segement had survived a little longer in a little greater variety.
i never realized this was a ford only feature. i figured that it would stop working as the cars got older but i don’t remember any problems with them.
I don’t know when GM got that type of rear gate. My 77 impala had one but my 57 sure doesn’t and I wish it did. The impala functioned like the wagon above with two rear facing seats and, more importantly, room for lots of tools. It may have been the best work car I ever had. No need for the trailer until I had to install a new AC. Furnaces fit inside.
Oh well. Time to stop rambling and take my meds.
I’m pretty sure the 1977 B-Bodies were the first GM cars to get them (and the only ones), But oddly Chrysler followed suit quicker, I think, with the Fuselage Bodied wagons in 1969.
GM and Chrysler wagons actually got them in 1969, it took them 3 years to reverse engineer the Ford.
And then GM still went and answered the question no one asked…. (facepalm).
That may be, but the clamshell wagons are still badass, if less useful.
wstarvingteacher,
I think those cables that control your Handyman tailgate are now being reproduced. When I use mine I have to remember to close the tailgate slowly lest the right side cable not retract fully.
BTW some Tri-Five 2-door wagons were actually classified by GM as Sedan Deliveries with windows. You can tell them from a Handyman by one important feature: the entire tailgate and window is one piece and lifts up, as opposed to how a Handyman or 4-door wagon works with the window lifting and the tailgate dropping.
My parents had a ’66 Country Squire with the 390 V-8, light blue with the mandatory fake wood, horse emblems on the front fenders, the dual-facing rear seats and the two-way doorgate, although I don’t think we ever used the side-opening function much, except to play with. Door…gate! Door…gate! Door…door…wait for it…door…gate! Hah, fooled ya. What can I say, we were easily entertained.
The entire family (parents and three male kids plus infant daughter) made an epic journey from western PA to Myrtle Beach, NC, around ’69 or so, returning via the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive, through the teeth of a huge flash flood in the mountains. We of course fought over the back seat positions; it was almost like being in the rec room while the parents were far off in the kitchen, or something.
By ’72, I was old enough to drive and could occasionally take the Ford to school or out for an evening’s carouse. The thing was so over-the-top suburban it somehow circled back to being cool again. I’d give my left…er…arm to have that beast again.
There’s a guy not too far from me who has one of these (’66 or so Country Squire, light blue, “woody” trim) in pristine shape, and drives it around town now and then. “So suburban it circled back to being cool again” is exactly right.
This is our family ‘pig-ster’ during my high school years. Same beige and faux wood crap on the side. Also had a 3 person rear-facing bench seat and about 7 mpg. Drove this pig (without a valid license) for an entire month during a time when my family had gone to Argentina for the Xmas holidays. Went thru a lot of $$ in gas that January.
This Fury Sport Suburban was anything but cool and i highly doubt that it’s circled back to coolness as it’s something that it’s never had. However, I can whinge about this car all I want but its bench seats were a young man’s best friend & still remain near and dear to my heart.
Trust me, the fake woody wagons of the 60s, 70s, and 80s have become cool. I get/got more attention in my 89 Country Squire and 94 Buick Roadmaster from hot young hipster chicks than I ever did in my Mazda RX-8 or Dodge Challenger.
Of course, I am married, so this is of little help to me. Then again, my mid-20s hipster wife likes my wagon, too. 🙂
We had the 1960 version. El cheapo! Green. Only option was white roof. No radio even. No carpet. 292, three on the tree. But, it sure gave a lot of excellent service.I am an early boomer. I honestly believe that every family we knew had some type of wagon at some point. Many families had several and a few had two at a time.
I remember who the Ford people were in my neighborhood. To Me Fords seemed obviously inferior to the 5 Divisions of GM, but way Better than disposible weird car maker Chrysler.
1n 66, the Knox’ traded their 58 biscayne level wagon “Delray”? for a Ranch Wagon, I’m sure they drove an unpaneled Ford wagon till the end.
Next door, The Morgans Traded their 59 Kingswood for a 68 Country Squire- Hideaway Headlights! dk green, very nice.
The Perrys Who had the Gull Wing silver Merc in the Garage, traded their 66 fairlane wagon for a 68? Torino Squire dk Blue… they also had a 56 black vw w/sunroof
our neighbors never had a ford wagon, but a succession of Fords, 62 Galaxie 500, 65 LTD, 68 LTD, 70 LTD, 71 Pinto…
Behind us a neighbor had a 66 Mercury in Aqua, 4 door, I think It was a Montclair.
I Always felt the people whose lives revolved around a wagon, were somehow more family oriented, to be envied somehow. But These people got divorces too.
And Were relaced by more selfish Midlife Crisis Type Porsche’s , mercedes, lincolns, or they just moved away to a new life.
wagons went away in that paneled state soon enough.
my sister drove her colony park and cutlass cruiser thru the 70s.
I just love my doorgate. The ever-present dilemma as I roll up to the car with a shopping cart: “Shall I roll down the window and lift the bags over, or swing open the door?” Door usually wins, six or seven bags are placed in one line without beginning to fill up the space between the wheel wells, I slam the door shut, and then drive home tailgate glass down for extra breeze. 🙂
I miss my 89 Country Squire – the back window rolled down! Not a hardtop but not far off, and great open air motoring. I love the way my Roadmaster wagon accelerates and handles, but it isn’t the same.
Big Chevy wagons had door-gates in 1969-70. Also, the Chevelle size wagons to 1972. Ford maybe got a royalty payment? GM’s clamshell and Colonnade liftback couldnt compete.
While minivans hurt wagon sales, so did full size vans during the 70’s ‘van craze’. Families got conversion vans in place of woody wagons during cheap gas periods.
Ours was a ’68 Country Squire LTD; we were the second owners (neither of my parents ever owned a “new” car). We named it “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” because of all the idiot lights on the dash (such as the blue one to tell you the engine was cold, which would then change to angry red if you overheated).
I was about 7 or 8 when this replaced the Rambler American (or was it the Chevy Bel Air?), and spent most of my formative years riding, first in the “way back,” then graduating to the mile-wide front bench seat, exercising my ink-still-wet driver’s license privileges dropping my younger siblings off at Middle School on my way to Winder-Barrow High.
It didn’t take long to learn about the secondaries on that four-barrel-equipped 390!
I still find these to be among the highest-utility vehicles I know of, as long as fuel economy isn’t a huge concern.
The full-size Chevys had the hide-a-way tail gates for a while. I lost my affection for wagons back then on anything larger than an Olds Vista-Cruiser. I did enjoy riding in the rear-facing seat in a neighbor’s Chrysler wagon in the mid-60’s when all of us would pile in and go to the movies!
An acquaintance had his dad’s late-60’s Country Squire one evening when about eight of us piled in and went to a show shortly before I entered the service. What an evening that was! That was one very nice wagon – dark green with wood alongside, too. Picture-perfect!
Funny – I don’t ever recall riding in a full-size Chevy wagon…
I think Ford did something kind of similar with the Explorer — I believe they were the first SUVs with the option to open the window or the tailgate. The real innovation was the little ramp so that the wiper could move down off the window without scratching the paint.
GM copied that, and I think they were the only domestic (and Toyota the only import) to put it on an actual *car* car, the Matrix/Vibe.
CD, I think the real innovation was the rear wiper itself. I remember borrowing the father-in-law’s 1961 Nomad wagon; washed it for him before I brought it back, drove it in the rain for about a mile, and the rear window instantly became opaque from mud. (It had snowed a few days before and there was still lots of sand on the streets.)
I guess it’s a generational thing….
Agreed, rear wipers were quite the advance. They were around long before the Explorer, though.
Ford was innovative on the rear glass thing too. Beginning with those ’65’s, the C-pillars were slotted to direct wind onto the back glass helping to keep it somewhat clean. One of the childhood cars was a ’61 Pontiac Catalina Safari and dusty/muddy conditions would dirty up the back glass requiring cleaning just to see out if the back.
If I recall, Ramblers had the door/tailgate feature beginning in ’64, but didn’t market or triumph it like Ford did. Rambler Classic and Ambassador Cross Country wagons.
The first new car I remember my Dad getting (and the second new family car I recall) was a white 66 Country Squire. Black vinyl interior and no a/c made it one of my less favorites in the hot summers, but it had the dual facing rear seats and the doorgate.
The early doorgates required the rear window to be down for either door or gate operation. I believe that it was with the 69 model that the doorgate became a 3 way – adding the function of a door with the window up. Ford added one mre wagon innovation, maybe 1971 or so? The built in washer for the back window. Roll it down dirty, and roll it up clean. We never had one, so I can’t say how it worked.
I belive that the Mopar fuselage wagons had the doorgate. I know that they had it by 1972 because it was on my college roommate’s Polara wagon.
Did any full size wagons have three-row front-facing seating? Possibly with swing type or captains seats in the middle row?
Front facing third seats were the norm, going back far enough, because the bodies were tall enough to accommodate a third seat over the rear axle and still have some reasonable leg room. That began to change in the mid-late fifties, and rear-facing third seats became more common, although I think Ford may have kept it until 1965. GM revived the forward-facing third seat with the 1964 extended-wheelbase Olds Vista Cruiser and Buick Sportwagon, and then the 1971-1976 mega-sized “clamshell” wagons.
Good to know. I thought most wagons were like the ones in this article, and didn’t know of pre-fifties wagon design. In those wagons, how was the third row accessed? Was the second row like the first row of a convertible (i.e. foldable or swing-away)?
Yes; the second row seat was split, and the seatback folded down. In two-door three-row wagons, that got to be a bit hairy. The clambered in. Folks were leaner and had more agility back then. Click on this ad…
Got a bigger picture? This one’s hard to read, and zoom reveals very poor quality… Sorry for asking.
google is your friend. Here’s one that shows how the seats worked on this two-door Squire.
And here’s the interior. I guess the second seat wasn’t split; had to flip it down to get in the third row.
Boy oh boy, nice pictures! Here goes another hour looking up 40s and prewar wagon design…. Thank you Paul.
Our clamshell ’71 Olds Custom Cruiser had a forward facing rear seat. I think it was the ’57 Forward Look wagons that started the rearward facing seat trend.
When I was a kid, riding in the rear facing seat made me want to hurl. It gave me a sense of vertigo. It was the middle row for me!
The Ford Falcon wagon in Australia had the doorgate from 72-79, standard equipment on the top trim Fairmont wagon and optional on lower levels. The Holden & Chrysler wagons had traditional tailgates, after 78-79 the Falcon & Commodore wagons had liftgates. Neighbours of ours had a 76-77 Fairmont wagon with the doorgate and a 3rd row dickie seat, which they needed with 4 teenage sons.
The 3rd row seats sat on top of the load floor and were intended for young children only. The most usual version there was the 97-06 Holden wagons which had quite a tall roof line and low floor due to IRS, too bad about the poor torque of the 3.8 V6 engine.
The best 3rd row wagon seats I think are in the Peugeot 504 & 505 wagons with the footwell ahead of the axle. Ford looked at doing this for the 1987 Falcon but didn’t go through with it.
John H,
Like this? I posted this 504 wagon ad to the Cohort a couple days ago.
It’s generally amazing how much engineering and innovation went into the seemingly simple question of how do you open up the back of a station wagon. GM in particular tried almost every possible permutation at one time or another:
1. Tailgate hinges down, window hinges up — everything through 1958, and also 1978-83 RWD intermediates (Malibu, Century, LeMans, Cutlass)
2. Tailgate hinges down, window rolls into tailgate — 1959-68 full size and intermediate
3. Two way door/gate like Ford, window rolls down into gate — 1969-70 and 1977-90 full size, 1969-72 intermediate
4. Clamshell gate — 1971-76 full size
5. Liftgate with fixed window — 1961-62 Corvair Lakewood, 1973-77 Colonnade intermediates, 1971-80 Vega/Astre/Monza, some base model A-body FWD wagons, all J-body wagons
6. Liftgate with roll down window — 1961-63 Tempest. F-85, Special (possibly unique to GM?)
7. Liftgate with hinge-up window — Most 1982-96 FWD A-body
8. Two way door/gate, window hinges up — 1991-96 Caprice/Roadmaster, 1991-92 Custom Cruiser (also, I think, unique to GM)
The only style GM never used is the door-only option that Rambler offered for a time in the 60’s.
So that makes nine ways to open up the back of a station wagon. Did I forget any?
Chrysler had a “Dual Action” tailgate by 1969. They also had a built in deflector to keep the rear window cleaner.
They also had a tailgate washer/wiper. The window would go down dirty, go up clean.
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/new/171110/1969%20Dodge%20Full%20Line/1969%20Dodge%20Full%20Line-14-15.html
Sounds like it would be prone to rust though.
My dad worked at a Ford dealership all his life and we had many many Ford s over the years, though he always said the Mercs were built better, rode better and looked better. He brought home a spankin-new springtime yellow ’71 Country Squire wagon in September of 1970 that he special ordered in August. 1971 was the last year for the behometh FE 390 engine and that year it was a “special order only” option. Only a handful of 390’s made it into the the Ford cars that year before Ford replaced it with the new 351/400 Cleveland built engines. The 390 would only be available in the pickup trucks after that and only until 1977. Our Squire was ordered with just about every option like a black vinyl roof, chrome luggage rack, dual remote control rearview mirrors, am-fm stereo with 4 speakers, 2 in the front doors and 2 in the wayback, , black cloth seats with the fold-out jumpseats in the way-back and the new rear window wiper option that actually worked pretty good if you remembered to fill up the separate washer resevoir in the tailgate. Dad opted for manual windows in front, he traded in his ’69 T-bird 4-dr.Landau that had sticky power windows that wouldn’t go up on a rainy day. the tailgate window was power operated. I loved that car and they kept it for years. That was the only “new” wagon we ever owned but we had others that were a year or 2 old when bought. My dad always got a super good deal on used cars from his work.
Wow! Your photo of that Country Sedan taken from the side, parked in front of the house, looks like it could have been straight out of a Ford brochure! That is, if you imagine that the dents and blemishes in the paint are really shadows cast by trees on the opposite side of the street. We had a ’66 Country Sedan. I remember the day Dad bought it. When I got home from school, Mom met me at the door with the kitchen garbage and sent me to the garage. When I pushed the door open, I could not believe my eyes. There sat this beautiful car. I was elated! It was Antique Bronze with Parchment interior. I still remember the subtle rumble of that 352 V8 and the smoothness of it’s ride. A year and some months later, my oldest sister wrecked it. I actually cried. Dad and I went shopping the next day. I picked out a Black ’67 Country Sedan with red interior and decided it was the car for me (and Dad), and I knew Mom would love it. Dad didn’t see it that way and we went home with a Falcon Deluxe Club Wagon. Mom was not impressed. Seeing these photos brought back memories and reminded me of how much I loved the styling of that ’66 wagon. Today, I own a ’68 LTD 2 dr hardtop. It’s a beautiful car, but If I had to choose between the two, the Country Sedan would win hands down!
I’m the second owner of a black 1969 Country Squire wagon. It too has the 3-way tailgate that I hardly ever fold down except at the carshows to showoff the black breathable knitted vinyl interior. It’s got the big-block 390 in it with a C-6 automatic. I love the ride, the comfort, the styling and the power. When people in these little smart cars and prius’s see that big-ole wagon coming up behind them, they get out of my way in a hurry. Heck, I could almost put one of those cars behind the backseat of my wagon where I keep my spare tire. I had to go to Home Depot the other day to pickup a couple 4’x8′ sheets of plywood so I took the wagon. I dropped the tailgate, slid the 3 sheets of plywood in the back and closed the tailgate. Try doing that with a smartcar. My Country Squire is more of a “smart” car than a smartcar will ever be. Ford definitely had a better idea.
Kenny.
The 69 Squire is one of my favorite Ford wagons. It is a shame that they were such absolute rust buckets in the midwest. These things looked like swiss cheese by the time they were 3 or 4 years old in the northern midwest. With decent rustproofing, these would have been great cars. But if you did not live in a rusty climate, these were so much tighter and better all around than the 71 and newer models. My dad had a 69 LTD 4 door hardtop that was a really nice car when new.
Yeah, Although I’m in the Chicagoland suburbs, my ’69 Squire originally came from New Jersey where I’m told it hardly ever snows and they don’t use road salt. Mine had 65K miles on it and basically no body rust though the chrome bumpers were a little worn and some of the diecast pieces like the door handles and rearview mirrors had some minor pitting. I changed all that with N.O.S. (new old stock) pieces to spruce it up for cruisin and carshows. The woodgrain was faded too so that was redone also, but I didn’t use the factory Di-Noc as it was long gone off the Ford parts shelves and any that I did find was too old and brittle to use. I used the woodgrain from J.C. Whitney at the time (1995) and it lasted til about 3 years ago then it started to fade just like the original. There’s a company making the woodgrain now for all of the Squires, even has the black planking lines in it (I had to paint my black lines on it back then) So my ’69 woody is getting a facelift now along with a complete motor/trans rebuild as I’ve since clocked over 130K miles on it and it’s a little tired out. It’s my baby and I don’t plan on getting rid of it anytime soon no matter how high the gas prices go.
Chrysler’s version of the Ford “magic doorgate” actually came in 1968 with the facelifted B body intermediates (Belvedere/Satellite/Coronet). Full sized Plymouth, Chrysler and Dodge wagons followed suit in ’69. By 1971, the B bodies were able to swing their back ends like a door with the window up (something Ford did two years earlier); the full-sized Mopars got the same feature for 1972.
Chrysler did have its wagon innovations–the clever rear window washer and the integrated air deflector that helped keep the window clean. Still, Ford dominated the wagon market for a good reason–conservative design with just enough touches to draw buyers with large families. That said, I would love to have a 1973 Chrysler Town & Country–the last year for the fuselage design and arguably the best looking.
I am the current owner of that very 1966 country sedan pictured here. The tail gate still works perfectly, including the power window.
I currently own that very 1966 County Sedan pictured.