The late fifties were peak automotive excess with over-the-top styling, fins, jet and rocket-inspired details and gimmicks of all sorts. One of the more outlandish ones were hardtop station wagons; we recently had a full gallery of them all here. But that’s not all; Mercury was feeling exceptionally ambitious at the time, and between 1957 and 1959, they graced us with the only production two-door hardtop station wagons.
Why? Because they could, although it turned out to be a questionable decision. And soon enough Mercury was back to fielding conventional four door wagons. Let’s take a closer look at one of the most unusual wagons ever.
We’ve told the story of Mercury’s ambitions to move upscale in 1957 here and several other places. Ford wanted to compete more effectively with Buick and Oldsmobile, so Mercury got its own unique body shell in 1957, including station wagons that came only as hardtops, bot two and four door versions. While that may sound excessive and expensive, it wasn’t actually, inasmuch as the the whole roof structure was the same for both; only the lower rear-quarter panel had to be different. The doors and window were of course shared with the corresponding two- and four-door hardtop sedans, which were very much in vogue at the time.
Mercury did build pillared two- and four-door sedans during this period (1958 Medalist shown above), but they also used the same basic roof structure as the hardtops. Station wagons were the hottest growing segment of the market in the fifties, so Mercury decided that the pizazz of offering only hardtop wagons were going to be the way to go.
The ’57 Commuter was the lowest trim level of Mercury wagons, and the two-door version only came in a 6-passenger version, as the third seat in the 9-passenger versions was a forward-facing seat, which would have made ingress and egress egregiously difficult. (Back in 1949–1951 Ford and Mercury wagons did only offer two doors for their three-row wagons, but they were taller then.)
Here’s one with added rear wheel spats. No Continental spare tire?
The ’57 Voyager was the mid-level wagon trim, with the Colony Park at the top of the line, but the wood-planked Colony Park did not come in a 2-door version.
There were plenty of visual details to keep the eyeballs interested, if not seared. And this is only a two-tone paint job.
This 1957 Voyager looks like a tri-tone because of the angle of its…shoulder-mounted rocket launchers?
It’s an optical illusion, though: The rear fender insert is the same Moonmist Yellow as the upper body.
One more look at this ’57 Voyager before we voyage off to 1958.
For 1958, Mercury got a facelift, with a cleaner front end. But the rest of the body was only minorly retouched. The Commuter series was again the base wagon line, in two- and four-door hardtop versions. Under the hood, a larger 383 cubic inch MEL V8 now replaced the 312 inch Y Block V8 used in 1957.
This 1958 Mercury Commuter 2-door hardly looks like a low-trim version with its tri-tone paint job. The roof paint on these two- and three-tone wagons is a bit complicated, with the upper roof panel matching the lower body.
Here’s the same Commuter in a more scenic setting.
The shadow under the “shoulders” makes it look like it has a fourth color. Why not? The more the merrier. The 1958 Voyager pictured below also has a tri-tone paint job thanks to the silver inset in its scalloped shoulders:
Here’s the view from the rear. There’s a lot to take in here, even with only two doors:
This restored Voyager has a two-tone paint job and the bright trim molding on the C-pillar that is missing on the other Voyager pictured above:
It’s on display here in this brochure shot:
The whole ’57 – ’60 Mercury line underperformed significantly, as did Ford’s other mid-price make, the Edsel. Mercury wagon sales were particularly weak, with only some 16k units sold in 1958.
As a result, the 1959 Mercury wagon line was pared down, with only the low-end Commuter available as a two-door.
Since only 1,051 of these were sold in 1959, it’s not surprising that this example appears to be the only restored one around. It clearly reflects the changed vibe that took hold in 1958–1959, with it sporting a basic all-white paint job and modest hubcaps.
The basic body shell is still the same one, as it would be through 1960, but the front end was new again and details were revised. The scalloped shoulders now extended into the front door area, among other things.
Reflecting the continued softness in Mercury sales, the 1960 wagon line was pared further, with just two models: the four door Commuter and Colony Park. The ’60 Commuter was actually $18 cheaper than the ’59 2-door Commuter, despite the extra door, reflecting Mercury’s decision to move back into its traditional price class with the demise of the Edsel. For 1961, the hardtop wagons disappeared altogether, as Mercury moved back to sharing the Ford body again.
Thus ended a flamboyant experiment, one that yielded the only two-door hardtop wagons ever. And I wouldn’t hold my breath for that body style to reappear again.
Related CC Reading
All Those Glamorous Four-Door Hardtops – Hardtop Station Wagons Of The 1950s by Rich Baron
Automotive History: The Short And Odd Life Of The Two Door Station Wagon by P. Niedermeyer
Curbside Classic: 1957 Mercury Montclair – Reaching For The Stars Only To Hit A Moon by Jason Shafer
Very nice essay. Despite your funny remarks, i like them. However, I was in my teens in the 1950’s. What was not to like? Reflecting on the Edsel, had Ford not brought out that car, Mercury sales would have been far more. On the other hand, we would miss decades of humor regarding the Edsel auto. I for one show it to children when they tell me of their love of dinosaurs. Thanks for the memories of the two-door Mercury wagons. As for you wisecrack about the possibility of a continental wheel, i am ashamed to say that I never thought of that! One up for you! Now, if you will excuse me, I am on the way to the barbershop. My flattop needs trimming.
Loved this! I had forgotten about these, and had also never really paid attention to the fact that nobody else ever did it.
It could be argued that the 1955-57 Nomad was a kinda-sorta 2 door hardtop wagon, at least in the way a Ford Crown Victoria of that era was a 2 door hardtop. At least it had frameless glass in the doors. The Mercury’s concept might have been a natural evolution of the Nomad had Chevy decided to keep a high-end sporty-ish wagon in the lineup for 1958. I actually think these look as good as any 1957-59 Mercury, The only part that bothers me is the two-tone roof treatment that does not have some kind of trim molding separating the colors.
One nit – wasn’t the 1957 312 the top end Ford/Mercury Y block engine? I thought the first/smallest FE was the 1958 332.
Yes, of course, Y Block. Fixed now.
Good point about the Nomad. But that was priced quite a bit above the regular wagons, and these were actually the lower trim level wagons. I think it was probably very little extra cost to just utilize the hardtop parts from the two and four door sedans. And hope that stimulates sales a bit.
Detroit’s exuberant late-’50s styling was really something, but no more or less “of its time” than many things, I suppose. Thanks for giving these a writeup, Paul–Ford gave Mercury that upmarket push to (sorta) create a slot for the Edsel, and I especially like Mercury cars that share the least sheet metal with the Fords.
Here are two more ’57 ads, with add’l Colony Park & Di-Noc. I had forgotten about the tailgate window being unframed (and rolling into the tailgate), just like the hardtop doors…was that a “first”?
Chrysler was first out with roll down tailgate windows, way back in 1950. In 1956 roll downs next showed up in Rambler Cross Country wagons.
The 1957 model year was when roll downs were found throughout the industry, with some holdouts.
Beautiful cars, and an educational post. I’ve been oblivious to so many interesting, captivating designs. Still am, I know. Thx, Mr. N.
I guess you’re writing about US-made 2 door wagons, as opposed to those manufactured elsewhere; such as by VW, Triumph, Ford, Fiat, ….
We’re talking about US built 2-door hardtop wagons. VW, Triumph, Ford Europe, and Fiat built production two-door hardtop wagons?
Not thinking I’ve ever seen one. Love those color combo’s.
It seems incredible that with the Fifties’ excitement over hardtops and wagons, that no one else put the two together. I trust your research. With this and the 1957 Ford Del Rio, it seems that Ford wanted to be the style-setter in two-door wagons but couldn’t come up with the right gimmick to put themselves ahead.
The Fords of the ’57-’60 era were attractively styled but the designers over at Mercury/Edsel/Lincoln were too flamboyant at times. The 1959 Mercury looks best to me.
You have hit on perhaps my all-time favorite of 1950s autos, the 1957-58 Mercury’s. I distinctly remember as a child seeing for the first time a two door 1957 Turnpike Cruiser. If I recall correctly it was orchid and black (or dark gray) and it was parked next to our 1955 Olds Starfire convertible at an ocean front motel. I don’t remember if we were on the East or West coasts but I remember that Mercury. I most likely left my sticky little fingerprints all over that car trying to get a good look at the interior.
Age age 5-8, my artistic influences were the 1957-58 Mercury’s, 1958 Continentals, and what I had actually touched and sat in, the 1955 Lincoln Futura. My three-year older brother was already drawing cars in perspective at his young age, but I drew cars only in profile with fins and space age styling. Brother kept up with drawing cars, became an auto designer. I gave up drawing cars and found my passion designing houses by age nine, influenced by mid-century modern architecture. Later I started architecture in post -graduate studies but switched to interior design. Sorry, so easy for me to get off track when I think of design and my love of the 1957-58 Mercury Voyager two-door hardtop wagons.
The picture posted of the yellow & white 1957 Voyager has been on the Web for at least 25 years. Every time I see it my pupils dilate & my toes curl. When I win a lottery, I want a 1958 Voyager in my garage because the quad headlights are more integrated and the tail lights are just more rocket space age.
Very cool and Ive never seen one, Exactly one late 50s Mercury was imported to NZ a 4 door sedan it was in my home town from new, that is the only Mercury from that era I ever saw.
Despite being very familiar with 1950s cars, I can’t recall ever seeing a 2 door Mercury wagon. Saw plenty of Fords and my dad had a ’56 Chevy 2 door wagon (not a Nomad) for a company car at one time. Of course, none were hardtops like the Mercury.
It’s hard today to understand the logic of offering so many permutations of what was basically the same car. In the years to come, brands would begin offering various sizes of cars. I think as the market fragmented around the various sizes, it became more difficult to justify offering so many varieties of any one car size due to that market fragmentation.
The future would hold a lesser variety of the basic full size Mercury, but there would be a lot more Mercury models to choose from.
What a cool design! Cars of the era certainly had style to them. I have only ever seen one 1957 Mercury in person, at a car show circa 2010. The wildness of the styling is simply amazing.
It seems that in pre-auto pact Canada the Mercury would have been very expensive, which is probably the reason I have never seen one. That said, in 1976, the oldest car around me was my brother’s 1976 Chevrolet. Cars didn’t last that long in those days.
Interesting to read so many positive impressions of the ’57 Mercury. Bit surprising to me as I seem to have seen or heard thumbs down comments from various places at various times.
Its styling is kind of overdone while at the same time unique. I’ve always been drawn to it. The first car I ever bought happened to be a ’57 Turnpike Cruiser, the top of the line model that year. Dual headlights, cruiser skirts, gold streak in the concave upper rear fender. A signature roofline – custom air vents at the upper corners of the windshield; a back window that lowered and raised at the touch of a button – the original ‘Breezeway” rear window which ’58-’60 Lincoln Continentals adopted as their own signature feature.
Trivia point – the Indy 500 pace car in 1957 was a Turnpike Cruiser convertible. Very rare, I saw a black one once.
The contemporary Nomads and Safaris were premium vehicles. Mercury kept this beautiful vehicle ande keep it in their lower trim lines for some reason. They could have come up with two great specialty wagons, a woodgrain and leather Villager Shooting Brake, and a Turnpike Cruiser variant.
They could, but they would have sold like 50 of them. Even in the cheaper lines, the demand for two-door wagons was not high, and Mercury was already struggling because the attempt to move the brand upscale cost them a lot of existing customers at the worst possible time.
Growing up, I was fortunate in that my folks belonged to a Country Club. I recall taking swimming lessons around 3-4 yrs of age, and became enamored with a particular car I always saw in the parking lot; a gorgeous silver-blue `60 Colony Park HT wagon! I would toddle over to it once Mom parked the car, & she had to pull me by the hand towards the pool as my stare at that wagon could not be broken! It was this car that I discovered at that tender age, the power window buttons mounted on the dog-leg of the dashboard. Even then I wondered “why there?” LOL
Fascinating and beautiful. Just so “over the top”, which was the style of the day, I suppose. I love old cars, Love 2 doors/ love hardtops and love wagons, win/win/win/win.
My only “gripe” is the front end on the 57. Too much space above the headlights gives it an odd look (almost truck like). I suppose it’s not horrible, but so different from most other things at the time. I’d still take any of these with zero complaints, of course.
Still… quite fascinating.
The ’57s suffered in the headlight department because quad headlights were still very dubiously legal in some states, so there was some design hedging in that area. I think the ’57 Ford and Mercury both look weird either way because of it.
What does one of those 4-door hardtops look like with the doors open?
In the UK these are known as Shooting Brake.
We had a period of sporty ones in the
Reliant Scimitar GTE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliant_Scimitar#Scimitar_GTE_SE5_(1968%E2%80%931972)_and_SE5A_(1972%E2%80%931975)
Lotus Elite (Gen 2)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Elite#Types_75_and_83_(1974%E2%80%931982)
and from Sweden
Volvo P1800ES
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_P1800#1800ES
Volvo 480
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_480
Volvo C30
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_C30
Shooting brakes are something rather different. First off, these were two-door hardtops; none of those shooting brakes were that. And shooting brakes were smaller and lower than genuine station wagons/estate cars. These had the same body as the 4-door equivalents, just with two doors.
Also their was the
(BMC ADO16) Austin 1100/1300 Countryman or Morris 1100/1300 Traveller
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMC_ADO16
Ford Escort Mk1, 2, and 3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Escort_(Europe)#First_generation_(1967)
But both manufacturers didn’t use the Shooting Brake name. Preferring 2 Door Estate.