Minivans, SUVs, and Crossovers may do their jobs well at hauling a family and all of their stuff, but they don’t score any cool points.
In the history of station wagons, there are some pretty cool examples. In Europe, some of the coolest coupes were shooting brakes. In the US, in the fifties, there was a different flavor of cool, sporty wagons. Like shooting brakes, but more…American. They were referred to as sport wagons. I’m talking about Chevy Nomads, Pontiac Safaris, and this lesser know model, the Ford Parklane. The Parklane didn’t quite have the sportiness of the Nomad, or the jet-age flash of the Safari. That, in no way diminished its cool factor. It rode on a shorter, 2-door platform like the Chevy and Pontiac, and the upgraded Fairlane trim fit perfectly with its long-roofed wagon profile.
This example, shot at the 2015 Lancaster, OH Spring Festival car show, is a one-of-none 1955 Parklane. The model was only produced for one year—1956, not 1955. I have to assume the owner took some liberties in the restoration and replaced the front clip with one from a 1955 Fairlane. Let’s face it, you can really up the cool factor by being one of a kind.