Ford Country Squire
Station wagons date back to the dawn of automobiles. Then, they were referred to as cargo wagons. Generally, they consisted of aftermarket auto bodies mounted on a car or light truck chassis. They were mainly used for what their names described. They were driven to railway stations to pick up passengers or cargo, then delivering their contents to a business, luxury resort, or hotel.
Ford manufactured its first factory-built station wagon with the Model A platform in 1929. Essentially, it was a wooden box with four doors. Those first wagons were marketed, quite effectively, as light-duty vehicles for commercial use.
Resistance in the Era of Steel
The era of the wood-bodied station wagon, the “woodie” was coming to an end. Station wagons made entirely of steel were the new norm. Ford made the decision to keep alive memories of the past. It combined practicality with postmodernism in the form of the Country Squire.
At the beginning of the 1950s, auto manufacturers were speeding to the market with all-steel station wagons. Cars with so much as a splinter of wood on the outside were considered a thing of the past. Just as the last of the woodies were going the way of the dinosaur, Ford released a wagon decorated with large swatches of simulated wood. The look paid homage to the image of the station wagon as a toy for the class of society who enjoyed leisure, but did not want to give up modern convenience.
Success breeds envy. When Ford was shown to consistently be the leader in the station wagon segment, the Country Squire was soon imitated by the competition. Soon, every other auto manufacturer that produced wagons offered one with faux woodgrain decals on the sides.
The Country Squire was marketed as a premium station wagon. Lasting 41 years, it was the third-longest nameplate used by Ford as of 2017. The name Mustang has been in production for 53 years. The name Thunderbird was in production for 46 years.
The Early Generations of the Ford Country Squire
Part of the full-size model line of Ford, the Country Squire would be paired with several other models during the entirety of its production. The first two generations of the Country Squire were based on the Ford Custom Deluxe and the Crestline that replaced it. For 13 years starting in 1955, station wagons were a completely separate product line from Ford sedans, although the Country Squire had the same interior trim as the Ford Fairlane and the Galaxie that replaced it.
It wasn’t until 1969 that Ford consolidated wagons with sedans. The Country Squire became part of the Ford LTD product line. In 1983, when the LTD became the LTD Crown Victoria, the LTD Country Squire continued as a full-size station wagon until 1992.
The same year, the LTD Crown Victoria was substituted by a Ford Crown Victoria that was redesigned. The Country Squire was not replaced. Ford no longer sells a sedan-based station wagon in North America.
