I’m not going to try to translate Country Squire into Japanese. Anyway, unlike the Germans, the Japanese sent plenty of woody wagons this way (see the top of our masthead). I wonder if the woodies sold in Japan too? Anyway, those used Di-Noc too; or the Japanese imitation of it. But here we have the real thing: genuine wood gracing this vintage Corolla.
I recognize that wainscot paneling, and they salvaged some old stained trim. Looks like it’s pretty fresh still too. Stephanie got quite excited upon seeing this; she wants it on her Subaru; what’s a Forester without some real wood?
I tried to have her imagine what this is going to look like after a wet winter or two here; as it is, this one is already showing some “issues”. But it sure makes this Corolla stand out on the street.
Judging by the condition of the bumper, I’m guessing that the owner thought it was cheaper to get some paneling and stick it on instead of getting body work done.
Also, the rear panel between the taillights is missing, so it looks like this is still a work in progress.
Now that is simply plug-ugly. Almost as bad as the guy who asphalted his VW bug when I attended college after the service! His was funny, though…
Okay, now I will take the clapped-out ’75 Country Squire…
I love it!!! Nothing I would enjoy more than showing up in this at one of those “woody” meets where everyone hovers around their cars lest someone accidentally touch one…
When I started with the country squire I did not know what Di-Noc was. I think I would have been ok with that gap in my education. Now I’m left with a far bigger and more serious question. How does one develop such a communal woody over woodies.
Someone has a serious problem and, for once, I don’t think it’s me.
Hmmmmm – I wonder how my Honda Fit would look with the Country Squire treatment. I will bet that with modern vehicle wrap treatments, we will soon see them. Or maybe not.
How about: Honda Fit Country Squire Brougham? You can tell them it’s a JDM model.
There’s always the Subaru Forester Woody concept that toured the auto show circuit back in 1999.
I forgot about that. That’s exactly what Stephanie wants; now she’s going to really get on me to do that. Are there kits?
A google search for “Subaru Forester Woody kit” unfortunately only turned up wood kits for the dash and console.
I wonder how my Porsche Cayenne would look like with the Country Squire treatment?
Note: I don’t really own a Cayenne
Or on my jellybean Ford Taurus (D.N.O.), or my AMC Gremlin (D.N.O.), or my AMC Pacer (D.N.O.)?
Note:D.N.O. means do not own
Or even worse, a Chevrolet F-Bomb-lander LS (Load of $£!#) with the country squire treatment! It will blow your eyes out of your skull just thinking about how ugly it would look!
Ideally, the Gremlin package should be applied to the Levi’s Edition…
OMG weve gone from the sublime to the ridiculous starting to really like the VW after seeing this effort.
I don’t know how common woody wagons were in Japan, but there were a few. The one that springs to mind was the Mazda Luce Grand Turismo [sic], from 1973 to about 1977. I don’t think any of the export Luce/RX-4 wagons got wood paneling, but it was standard on the JDM Grand Turismo.
This has been good. Mitered edges and all. Makes us ask anew, “Just what was Ford thinking when they did this 70 years ago?” And, “How did such a silly practice last for 50 years after that?”
As Dame Edna said when coming to the UK- “oh look- a mock Tudor half timbered car!”
Toyota actually made woody Corolla wagons back in the ’75-79 body style. I remember well because my dad and his brother always had the same car. My uncle and aunt had one in metallic blue, and my parents had one in bronze- both ’78’s. Back then, these weren’t cheap cars due to the demand for them, and both were loaded to the gills with every bit of tat and chintz that could be ticked on the option sheet. In 1982, both my aunt and uncle and my parents traded their Corollas in on K car wagons. My aunt and uncle got a good’un in that really nice light metallic green and my parents got a bad brown one with a K-rap feedback K-arburettor, and went back to Toyotas, while the aunt and uncle stayed with Mopar to this day.
Toyota made woody Corona and Cressida (pictured below) wagons too.