It's so seldom I see another full-sized American-built wagon these days, that I was genuinely surprised and pleased to see another on my morning commute. Heading to the intersection where my street meets the Interstate, I found myself following a maroon '94 Chevy whale wagon, and it was going the same way I was! As we merged into traffic, I drove up on the inside lane, alongside the Chevy. From the remains of a decal on the door, it was a surplus State of Oklahoma car. It also had deep tint windows, which made it pretty impossible to see the driver's reaction to my Country Squire. The Chevy had seen better days, but was not smoking or anything like that. Before this, the last I saw a full-sized wagon at all was a week ago on the way home from work. It was a 1988 Ford CS, light blue with tint. Seen it just once. Damn, are these becoming THAT scarce???
Just now figuring that out? In my hometown of 161,000 I think there are maybe two dozen American made wagons. I rarely see any of them daily... but everyone sees mine!
Yeah, about the same for me. If I spent some time driving around the area, specifically looking for a big US wagon, I'm sure I could find one or two, but just going out running errands, I very rarely see one. People see mine a lot though, especially at the local mall, Wally World or Jerry's (our big-box home improvement store, like that orange place, or the blue one).
Alright, I've been holding off on saying this, but yeah I have to agree; seeing any full size American made wagon is rare; and I live in So Cal. BUT, every day when I go out to walk my dogs I see my neighbor's white early '90's Chevy Caprice "whale" wagon. I doubt he's a member here on this forum. He seems like a very nice guy. He keeps it looking near-mint. It's white (sans the woodgrain) with blue interior; and he USES it like a wagon owner would; always hauling merchandise of some sort, neatly packed into containers.
The majority of wagons I see these days are the 80's/90's FWD wagons--Taurus/Sable, GM A- and J-body cars, etc., but admittedly, even those are getting more rare.
There are several Volvo wagons near me that I see fairly often, plus a 1984 Ford Escort wagon, which must be the only one left on the planet. All I can figure is that that BS "Cash for Clunkers" program took thousands of perfectly good and viable used wagons off the road, and for what? A program that cost the American taxpayer over $10K per car traded in! Sad and shameful. It kinda makes me want to hold on to the Ford that much more, but if a BIG '70s Chrysler product, or a GM whale wagon shows up for purchase, the Ford is definitely gone!
There are also a lot of American wagons in garages and storage units awaiting restoration! Don't forget that. I can count at least 4 projects I have seen started just this last year here in Salem, Oregon, so do not be too despondent. Wagons are a growing trend and we will begin seeing more as the weather warms back up.
I'm working in Butte, MT and this morning I saw an AMC Eagle heading the opposite direction on I-90 on my way to the mine. I'm glad none of my co workers were with with me. They would have thought I was nuts with all the hooting and hollering.
I rarely (if at all) see another wagon. Mine's a DD and I enjoy driving the "WOODIE" everyday. It's amazing how many folks pull out of Dunkin Donuts behind me and immediately hit the dual lane so they can pass the old-slow wagon. My fuel mileage is suffering because I can't let them think this wagon's a push over. What a thrill driving this. Here's a link to my snowy ride home one late afternoon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc1Ux1wx8gk
