BUYER’S GUIDE
1960 Ford Station Wagons
For 1960, Ford Offered Upscale Family
Accommodations at Down-to-Earth Prices
BY MARK J. McCOURT
PHOTOGRAPH Y BY JEFF KOCH
Ford’s 2010 Flex, a combination sta- tion wagon, minivan and car-based SUV, is making headlines today
because of its stylish appearance, versatile passenger accommodations and
powerful engines; from its long roof and
distinctive grooved body sides (subtly
recalling woodgrain) to its three rows
of seats, this vehicle is the 21st century
descendant of the masterful full-size station wagon lineup Ford offered for 1960.
While you won’t find a 1960 Ranch Wagon,
Country Sedan and Country Squire with
all-wheel drive or a “Multi-Panel Vista
Roof,” you will find that these stylish station wagons offer plenty of comfort and
room, inexpensive running costs and a
genuine slice of automotive nostalgia for
surprisingly reasonable prices.
The Ford Motor Company has a long
and important history with station wag-
ons, dating back to the first Big Three fac-tory-catalogued wagon, the 1929 Model
A. According to Steve Manning’s informational website, www.stationwagon.
com, Ford was the first automaker to
both produce and assemble in-house its
own station wagon for the 1937 model
year. Wood-trimmed, commercial-classi-fied station wagons like the ’3 7 Ford were
phased out in favor of fully steel-bodied,
car-classified wagons by 1952, although
wood trim surrounded faux paneling
through 1954 on their premium Country Squire to maintain the impression
of town and country opulence; grained
fiberglass trim rails replaced the remaining wood that year.
The Country Squire moniker was the
name given to all “woody” Ford station
wagons in 1951, a name that would be
used for nearly 40 years, and starting
in 1952, all Country Squires featured
four doors. By 1959, the nine-passenger
Country Squire was the priciest wagon
in the line, costing more than the six- or
nine-passenger, four-door Country Sedan
wagons and the six-passenger, two-door
Country Sedan wagon and two- or four-door Ranch Wagons.
Nineteen-sixty was a pivotal year in
Ford station wagon history. The popular
Falcon compact was introduced in two-and four-door wagon forms, and it opened
the automaker up to a new market. All of
the full-sized Fords were redesigned and
restyled, and the lineup of wagons was
carried over.
The basic station wagon, trimmed like
an equivalent Fairlane, seated six passengers and was built in $2,586 Tudor Ranch
Wagon or $2,656 Fordor Ranch Wagon
forms. Standard equipment on all Ranch
