20 Facts About Station wagons

Station wagons have evolved from their early use as specialized vehicles to carry people and luggage to and from a train station, especially to estates, and have been marketed worldwide.

Station wagons have been marketed using the French term "break de chasse", which translates as "hunting break", due to shared ancestry with the shooting-brake body style.

Many modern station wagons have an upward-swinging, full-width, full-height rear door supported on gas springs — often where the rear window can swing up independently.

Performance models of station wagons have included the 1970 Ford Falcon 'Grand Sport' pack, the 1973 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu SS-454 and the 1992 BMW M5 .

Station wagons were initially considered commercial vehicles and the framing of the early station wagons was left unsheathed, due to the commercial nature of the vehicles.

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Early station wagons were fixed-roof vehicles, but lacked the glass that would normally enclose the passenger compartment, and had only bench seats.

The roofs of "woodie" Station wagons were usually made of stretched canvas that was treated with a waterproofing dressing.

However, most station wagons were produced with wooden bodies until after World War II.

Station wagons experienced the highest production levels in the United States from the 1950s through the 1970s as a result of the American Mid-20th century baby boom.

Station wagons remained popular in Europe and in locations where emissions and efficiency regulations did not distinguish between cars and light trucks.

Smaller station wagons were marketed as lower-priced alternatives to SUVs and minivans.

Unique simulated wood designs included trim on the body pillars of the compact-size Nash Rambler station wagons that went up the roof's drip rail and around on the spit liftgate While the larger Cross Country was available with bodyside wood trim that went unbroken up the C and D pillars to a thin strip on the roof above the side windows.

Ford and Mercury full-size Station wagons built after 1964 were available with four rows of seats, with the rear two rows in the cargo area and facing each other.

Since the 1990s, full-size station wagons have been largely replaced by SUVs with three-row seating, such as the Chevrolet Suburban, Ford Expedition, Mercedes-Benz GL-Class, and Dodge Durango.

Later, station wagons were produced by vehicle manufacturers and included the 1937 Commer, 1952 Morris Minor Traveller, 1952 Morris Oxford Traveller, 1954 Hillman Husky, 1954 Austin A30 Countryman and 1955 Ford Squire.

German-designed station wagons have been produced by Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Opel, and Volkswagen.

Volvo station wagons produced since the mid-1990s are the Volvo V40, Volvo V50, Volvo V60, Volvo V70, and Volvo V90, with the V40, V60, and V90 models currently in production.

Station wagons remain popular in Japan, although they are in slow decline as the SUVs and minivans have taken over a large portion of this market.

South Korean manufacturer Kia produce both the Cee'd and Optima station wagons designated as Sportswagons with sister company Hyundai offering station wagon versions of the i30 and i40.

The Ford and Holden Station wagons were usually built on a longer wheelbase than their sedan counterparts, until the introduction of the Holden Commodore which switched to sharing the sedan's shorter wheelbase.