Text by Patrick Bell.
We have another round of wagons today with many in action at what they did best. They were quite common back in the day, and today’s gallery showcases several colorful and bright models from the 1950s. So take a look and see if any rattle your memory banks.
“Suddenly, it’s 1960” was the advertising claim when the Plymouth “Flight-Sweep Styling” was introduced for the 1957 model year. Our opening feature was a V8 powered 1957 Suburban 4 door, which was part of the entry level Plaza series. This one was nicely dressed up with the Sportone Trim Package (two tone), wheel covers and whitewalls. The vegetation looked tropical, and Florida does not use front license plates, so we will go with that for the location.
Another Plymouth, this one a 1950 De Luxe All-Metal Suburban Special. All-Metal was a new concept in station wagon body design, as the wood bodied wagons were still the standard at that time. The one above looked close to new, save the road dirt. This image was shot on a warm summer day in the northern portion of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.
Pontiac was all new for 1955 as seen in this Chieftain 860 4 door. The vent window at the front of the quarter window was for the forward facing third seat passengers, which made it an 8 passenger. It was equipped with a grille guard, and looked good in solid black.
On the right edge was a 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air, and in the background were two wagons; a white over black 1955 or 1956 Chevrolet, and a tan 1952-1954 Ford. And the structure was the Nauset Beach Lighthouse which is on the Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts.
A 1955 Mercury Monterey had a full load and it looked like they were ready to hit the road. Even the family cat was in the back seat. All Mercury wagons were 8 passenger models with a forward facing third seat. This one also had a mirror/spotlight combination and a Maryland license plate.
Here was another Maryland car, a V8 powered 1956 Plymouth Sport Suburban with the same year license plate. This model was part of the Belvedere line, and was Plymouth’s top of the line wagon. It was well equipped with a luggage rack, two tone paint, wheel covers and whitewalls. In the left background was a 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air 4 door sedan, and to the right was a 1954 Ford Customline Fordor Sedan.
Traveling on a dirt country road in a 1958 image was a V8 powered 1956 Chevrolet Two-Ten Townsman (6 passenger), or Beauville (9 passenger) from California. The Two-Ten series wagons were the most popular in this year, and was also available in a 2 door Handyman style.
And here was Ford’s wagon entry for 1956, a Country Sedan with V8 power. It had a Bell Boy boat in tow, and the owner was apparently a dealer or distributor as he had a sign on top of the car. The license plate looks like a California issue used from 1956-1962, and the location could have been there as well.
A 1957 Plymouth Custom Suburban 4 door with a heavy load was stopped at an A & W Root Beer Drive In perhaps for some tenderloins. It was a V8 model, with two tone paint and wheel covers. The luggage rack was full as was the cargo area. To the left was a 1959 Chevrolet Biscayne 2 door sedan, and on the right was a black 1946-1948 Dodge 4 door sedan.
And 1957’s Chevrolet was shown here, a Two-Ten Townsman (6 pass) or Beauville (9 pass) that was close to new. A V8 resided in the engine compartment, while outside it was equipped with bumper guards, an unusual option for an otherwise plain car. It had a same year Michigan license plate registered in Ingham County, where the seat is Mason, plus an USMC topper plate. Parked further back was a two tone, V8 powered 1955 Plymouth Belvedere Sport Coupe.
Here was a gen 2 Forward Look Dodge, which they referred to as “Swept-Wing”. It was a 1957 Sierra that was doing duty as an “Santa Fe Accident Prevention Unit”, perhaps for the railroad? Illinois was its home base per the license plate. Wagons weren’t big sellers in the Dodge line, but this mid series of three was the most popular of the year.
This appeared to be some sort of car related event, with a 1957 Ford Country Squire with a spotlight/mirror combination and 1957 Plymouth wheel covers (see images 1 & 8). The Country Squire was a 9 passenger model only, and was Ford’s top of the line and most expensive wagon of the year. But, it was the least popular wagon in sales. The pickup looks like an 1932-1934 Ford that had been mildly customized, and I am unsure of the 4 door on the left edge.
The 1958 Chevrolet brought a new design with the longer and lower look that was popular in the late 1950’s. The one above was a Yeoman 4 door with a V8 and a 1960 issue Ohio license plate. The Yeoman was a one year only name, the entry level wagon series, and was available in a 2 door model as well.
Bill’s Service was the stopping place in this image, where a 1959 Mercury Commuter 4 door Country Cruiser had pulled over. Most of the mid priced car lines offered hardtop styled wagons for a few years in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. Mercury was unique as it was exclusively hardtop wagons from 1957-1960, including the only 2 door hardtop wagon produced. The one above had a bent bumper and what appears to have been a Massachusetts license plate. Hiding behind the building on the left was a 1954 Ford from New Hampshire. I wish we could see what you had to do to get five gallons of free gas.
Our final shot was a couple of ladies posing with a two tone 1959 Chevrolet Brookwood 4 door at a typical looking roadside motel. The Brookwood was another entry level wagon with a 2 door companion. The 1959 models ushered in another restyle, and this car had six cylinder power to go with it’s standard hub caps and whitewalls. In the background was a V8 powered 1951 Ford Custom.
Thanks for joining us and have a great day!
Note: If you wish to see your vintage photos featured at Curbside Classic, send them to us at [email protected].
Love this post! Brings back some fond memories!
My parents had a ’55 Pontiac wagon in some weird 2 tone color combo. What I remember most vividly was the horrendous, unrelenting rattle from the raised tailgate.
The open bay barracks bring back memories, too. ‘Nuff about them.
The Accident Prevention Unit is unusual, a four-door turned into a sedan delivery. It looks dark back there, like the upper tailgate is also blanked. I wonder if this was a factory fleet order or a later conversion?
I have an idea about this – Looks to me that the wagon says “Visual Aid” under “Accident Prevention Unit.”
I think in this context, “Visual Aids” implies when railroad officials showed safety-related films to crews who worked in rail yards or in the field. Sometimes this was done by setting up a screen and projector in a trailer, or panel van. I suppose it could have been done in a station wagon too, though that would mean a much smaller screen. But if true, that would account for the blacked-out windows.
I can’t find many pictures of these Visual Aid Units, but here’s one from the 1940s:
Can someone help me understand the purpose of a 2 door wagon? I’ve never understood that. The second picture is of just that.
Seems to me that a wagon is all about purpose and being useful. A 2 door wagon seems to be none of that.
For Practicality, I’d say you are 100% correct (not very).
In fact, Ironically, it would be “Handier” (for the Handyman) if the “Handyman Wagon” had 4 doors.
But for “Coolness”.. 2 dr wagon all day.
(that’s all I got.)
The 2 door wagon was often relegated to the lower priced cars or trims. For example, in the earlier ’50’s Plymouth had only 2 door wagons while Dodge had 2 door wagons in their lower priced line and 4 door wagons in their higher priced models. Price was the reason.
Aside from being cheap, some people in the ’50s felt that two-door models were safer if you had little kids because it meant they had to be let in or out of the back seat and couldn’t easily go a-roaming when they weren’t supposed to.
As Paul has previously noted, this was the conventional wisdom in Germany (where all or nearly all Kombiwagen models were two-doors until really the mid-’60s), and it wasn’t an altogether uncommon idea here, although the U.S. sales figures for two-door wagons suggest that “It’s cheaper” was probably the more compelling argument for Americans by the mid-’50s or later.
Unless you had child door locks – and IIRC there were a few cars with that feature even then – the big worry was that the kid would fall out if they accidentally or deliberately unlocked the door or if it came open on its own. Recall that before federal safety standards car doors frequently came open in accidents and even in hard turns, bumps in the road, etc. – the latches were that bad. I remember several such incidents when growing up the 50s. So many parents bought two-door cars, including wagons, to keep the kids safe.
Unless you had child door locks – and IIRC there were a few cars with that feature even then – the big worry was that the kid would fall out if they accidentally or deliberately unlocked/opened the door or if it came open on its own. Recall that before federal safety standards car doors frequently came open in accidents and even in hard turns, bumps in the road, etc. – the locks/latches were that bad. I remember several such incidents when growing up the 50s. Consequently many parents bought two-door cars, including wagons, to keep the kids safe.
The vent window on the rear side windows of the 8-passenger Pontiac is something I do not remember seeing before. Apparently it was standard on the 3-seat wagons. Chevrolet’s 3-seat wagons did not have that.
Re: The 1955 Mercury with the mirror/spotlight.
Can anyone explain the rational and ‘popularity’ of the spotlight on cars during the 50’s?
I grew up in this era, but I don’t understand the need.
Sure, if you were a delivery driver, or performed policework or such, but for the average car buyer??
Does data exist concerning this option??
Street lighting was not what it is now in those days and street signs, if available at all, were smaller and not reflective as so many are now. Spotlights were mostly used for street and house identification. Some hunters illegally used them to spot deer and other critters.
The family had a 1959 Plymouth Suburban, and a strict four-year replacement policy. 1959 Plymouth>1963 Plymouth>1967 Ranch Wagon>1971 Vega Kammback>1975 Hornet Sportabout>1979 Concord wagon>1983 Camry wagon. The theme was “what’s the least amount of money I can spend?”. The move to Toyota was well timed and avoided many of the issues with 80s/90s American cars. I think they kept that one for 25 years.
The ’83 wagon couldn’t have been a Camry, as those weren’t available in until the second generation in ’87. They did have a hatchback.
I’m guessing the 5 gallons of free gasoline were with an oil change. My first thought was car wash, but that in modern times costs about the same as 5 gallons of gas. Did they have automated car washes back then?
Great show of wagons! I was born in 1943, so this is a time with which I am familiar. For “la673,” YES, we had automatic car washes back then.
That ’58 Chevy wagon is so familiar to me. I was 8-years old when my dad bought a Brookwood version, which I believe is just a step ahead of the Yeoman. The car had the 283 w/powerglide and was a tank to drive with no power steering. Dad was the quartermaster for my scout troop, so we would haul tents and other equipment on camping trips.
We affectionately called it “the black mariah”. I do recall the engine gave trouble. It burned oil, fouling the spark plugs and the valves needed reconditioning (probably the guides were worn out).
Great pics all around, as always!
I love these, as a child when most were new I loved riding in them .
-Nate
As a bored eleven year old, spotlights were handy when you were waiting for your mom and dad, at night, in the car. Shining the spotlight, through the picture window, onto the living room wall, so that the occupant of the house had to get up from watching The Red Skelton Show to look out the window to see what was shining that light. Of course you were smart enough to swing the spotlight back into place so that the light disappeared and the occupant could sit back down.
I think the picture of the ’57 Country Squire was taken at a drag strip. The truck is of a style popular in the ’50s-early ’60s. The bumpers could be used to push start a dragster and the sedan on the left has shoe polish numbers on the side window typically used at tracks indicating it was a push vehicle too.
I like the article but am disappointed that you almost never show any by the independent car companies. A Studebaker Conestoga wagon or a 1957 Packard wagon would be different.