Man. How did our parents – and most of us – survive the 1950s, 60s, and 70s? DaddyTypes points us to the Ford Treasury of Station Wagon Living, a book that recommends that it’s great to drive around the countryside at speed in a huge steel station wagon with three babies in the back cargo area. I distinctly remember spending long car rides in the cargo area of our Ford Fairmont and I distinctly remember loving every freaking minute of it. I’d lay back there with my Star Wars guys and essentially have a little hiding place where I could wave at passing truckers and drink Coke.
However, those days are over. As Greg at DT notes:
Even with 140 pieces of gear, and 1300 camptastic destinations, though, one volume was not enough to contain everything that makes Station Wagon Living so joyful; Ford had the authors, Franklin Reck and William Moss, put out a Volume 2 just a year later.
Beyond the ideal of a close-knit family embarked on a never-ending road trip of leisurely adventure together, the books depict a carefree parenting style–”turn the kids loose” in the back seat, then just use a cage to “limit the range of travel” when you leave them alone at the campsite–that’d get you locked up in about five minutes today.
Would I let my kids roll around in the back cargo area of the Honda Fit anymore? No. But do I miss those days of freedom? Absolutely. In some ways we’ve become too careful and in other ways I’m glad we have all these safety measures. For good or bad, it’s nice to know the kids will make it in most head-on situations.
You don’t have to go back that far. My folks did this with us, in the Caravan, in the eighties. We did a trip all the way from the Midwest to Disney world, rolling around the back of the van.
That was probably the best vacation of my life. It’s a shame that a stunt like that would get good parents in a lot of hot water these days. People need to lighten up.
While I admit that as a kid I had fun in the back of a station wagon, I am glad that this isn’t allowed anymore.
A simple rear end collision that would cause some costly grief under todays laws would be a serious injury or even death to the kids, in the picture above, the way they are laying.
I spent some time in a rear facing seat in a Pontiac that my grandfather had. It was bright yellow with “wood” paneling.
At age 6, I made it to Kosciusko – and back again- rolling around with the luggage in the rear of our travelling companion family’s holden station wagon in 1971. My family had a Toyota crown sedan (boring!). I met up with my parents, brother and sister at a truckie diner in Cooma and had a breakfast of baked beans on thick white toast (with loads of butter) at 6.30am, having left Avalon at about 2am.
That was a great holiday!
Remember, you don’t have to own a station wagon to belong to the ISWC, but you do need an appreciation for the “Great American Family Car”.
Airbags, seat belts, car seats — Ah, who needs em?
Hell my family used to go about 1300 kms every year back to see family and stuffed me and my sister in the back of our 76 honda civic (the back seat folded down but still lol) with luggage to separate us from quibbling !! lol….ah those were the days !!