A station wagon is a car body style which has a two-box design, a large cargo area and a rear tailgate that is hinged to open for access to the cargo area. The body style is similar to a hatchback car, however station wagons are longer and are more likely to have the roofline extended to the rear of the car to maximize the cargo space.
The names "station wagon" are a result due to the initial purpose of the car being to transport people and luggage between a country estate and the nearest train station.
The first station wagons, produced in the United States around 1910, were wood-bodied conversions of an existing passenger car. During the 1930s, the car manufacturers in the United States, United Kingdom and France began to produce station wagons models, and by the 1950s the wood rear bodywork had been replaced by an all-steel body. Station wagon models sold well from the 1950s to the 1970s, however since then sales have declined as minivans and SUVs have increased in popularity.
Here below is a set of old snapshots that captured people with their station wagons from the 1960s.
