Any Thoughts as to Why Two Door Station Wagons Were Manufactored?

They are impractical,rare and cool as anything,but it escapes me why they would have ever been built.

Any thoughts-as a delivery vehicle,it requires climbing deep into the car to retrive stuff.

Just dont know what market they were trying to penetrate.

Were the manufactors trying to use already existing parts to create a cheap vehicle for hauling materials?

Oldmics

 

They are mega cool.
I think they got used by service men(electricians, plumbers etc.) and salesman quite a bit.

 

They just look "Right" I don't need to know why they built them that way, I just want one. Ford started it with the Special Delivery.

 

I agree with seesko's first comment...they were made because they rock. Nothing like a 2dr 59 chevy wagon.

 

I think .some people bought them with the idea of kid control in mind. The kid couldn't open the door and bail out going down the road if he didn't have a door to open.

Otherwise I think you pretty well nailed it, one more model in the line, salesman's special to haul samples, inexpensive delivery rig for shops. For Chevs at least most of them I have seen were pretty plane jane models except the Nomads which were top of the line.

Truth be known they could probably sell the base model two door wagon for a hundred dollars less than a four door of the same model and have a bit of advertising advantage.

 

Have you ever owned one? I've had 2 door wagons, 2 door SUVs and vans.Handiest cars I've ever had. Never have a problem loading or unloading any of them.

 

This is my favorite.

 

I am so glad I own a 56 parklane right now after reading all the comments from you guys.

 

Chevy's selling HHR Panel Deliveries. Pretty cool.

 

I think they were designed as a handyman/contractor/utility vehicle, I know a lot of municipalities used them, water dept/fire capt vehicle, military, etc. If I remember correctly at least in the chevs they typically the cheapest model of the line.

s.

 

Yes,I have owned a few.

55 Safari and most recently acquired the 58 Edsel Roundup from H.A.M.B. member Section 8.

The marketing stratagy doesnt make sense to me.But I"m just a pee on

Oldmics

 

Are you serious? Impractical? They are one of the most practical vehicles ever. You can carry a lot of stuff in a wagon, but you don't need 4 doors. Really man think about it.

 

I cant remember ever seeing a 2 door 59 chevy wagon. I googled it and found that Street Rodder magazine says " ... they made 20,760 wagons or deliverys. That's 1.5 percent of total production. To put that into context, consider this: If every single '59 Chevrolet existed at one time, you'd have to see nearly 100 of 'em just to see one two-door wagon or delivery."
Learn something new every day.

 

Two door wagons were offered in the "low line" models, for the most part, and promoted for their utility value as well as their low price. You gotta remember that vans had not yet become popular and that there were many, many trades that a 2-door 'wagon would be perfect for: painters, carpenters, etc.. Look at the brouchures of the day to see the markets to which they were directed.

It is thought that El Camino and Ranchero models ate into the 2-door 'wagon market and that a combination of vans and upscaled pickups with automatic transmissions, air conditioning, etc. eventually ended it.

I have a '65 Chevelle 2-door wagon on the back burner that I'm really looking forward to building as a daily driver. Two-door 'wagons are definiately "kool"!

 

Same reason 2 door cars were far more common than 4 door back in the day: cost

two doors is cheaper than four, and you weren't wrangling a car seat into the back of one, the kids could just climb over.

 

They were for the working man that couldn't afford a work truck and a car . That's when a automobile was used as transportation or used for work ! I had one when I was a teen , wish I still had it . 66 Chev with 283 factory AC and am/fm with Muncie 4 speed , roof rack . This wagon had a lot of extras . Gave $300 for it and drove it for many years til some women on drugs cut in front of me and hit head on !

 

That's why my parents never got a four door car, at least until all us five kids were old enough to not pull a stunt like that.

Cars didn't have those inside rear door handle lockouts like they do now ya know...

 

I think Flathead50 said it all right there.Price was a big factor. I was watching a old show of hot rod tv and there was a 66 chevelle 2dr wagon own by Chuck Hanson.Anyone ever seen one? I have never seen a 66 but it looked good....

UPDATED:
I found this 67 chevelle on the web.It has the same roof as the 66 chevelle 2dr wagon that Chuck Hanson had on Hot rod tv....

 

cuz they had doors left over from making 2 door sedans. Maybe they started makig sedan utilities and ran out of the metal window blanks, and substituted glass.

 

They did not make a 66 chevelle 2 door wagon. 64-65 yes.

 

#### Bingo !! >>>>.

 

Actually, 4dr sedans were almost always the top seller of any make. Two-door wagons were almost always the worst, right behind convertibles.

As an example, here are 1957 Plymouth production numbers:

Plaza

2,874 Business Coupe

70,248 4d Sedan

49,137 2d Sedan

Savoy

55,590 2d Sedan

153,093 4d Sedan

31,373 Sport Coupe Hardtop

7,601 Sport Sedan Hardtop

Belvedere

55,590 2d Sedan

110,414 4d Sedan

67,268 Sport Coupe Hardtop

37,446 Sport Sedan Hardtop

9,866 Convertible Coupe

Suburban

20,111 Deluxe 2d Wagon

11,196 Custom 2d Wagon

40,227 Custom 4d, 6P Wagon

9,357 Custom 4d, 9P Wagon

15,414 Sport 4d, 6P Wagon

7,988 Sport 4d, 9P Wagon

Fury

7,438 Sport Coupe Hardtop
-----

I really can't comment on why they were made. It's much harder for rear passengers to get in and out. Large, bulky items just don't fit. But I still like them...

 

"Almost always" is a pretty big statement. In 1946 Ford made nearly double the two door cars than four doors:

<TABLE id=AutoNumber1 border=1 cellSpacing=1 width=600 height=645><TBODY><TR><TD height=19 width=592 colSpan=3>

1946 Ford​

</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>73A</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Deluxe Fordor Sedan</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>9,246</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>70A</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Deluxe Tudor Sedan</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>74,954</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>77A</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Deluxe Tudor Coupe (3-passenger)</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>10,670</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>73B</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Super Deluxe Fordor Sedan</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>92,056</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>70B</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Super Deluxe Tudor Sedan</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>163,370</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>72B</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Super Deluxe Coupe Sedan</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>70,826</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>77B</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Super Deluxe Coupe (3-passenger)</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>12,249</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>76B</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Super Deluxe Convertible</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>16,359</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>71B</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Super Deluxe Sportsman Convertible</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>723</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>79B</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Super Deluxe 8-Passenger Station Wagon</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>16,960</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle> </TD><TD height=19 width=388> Total - 1946 Ford</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>372,542</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>


The gap got bigger by 50:

<TABLE id=AutoNumber1 border=1 cellSpacing=1 width=600 height=645><TBODY><TR><TD height=19 width=582 colSpan=3 align=middle>1950 Ford</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>D73</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Deluxe Fordor Sedan</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>77,888</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>D70</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Deluxe Tudor Sedan</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>275,360</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>D72C</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Deluxe Tudor Business Coupe</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>35,120</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>C73</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Custom Deluxe Fordor Sedan</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>247,181</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>C70</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Custom Deluxe Tudor Sedan</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>396,060</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>C70C</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Custom Deluxe Crestliner Coupe</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>8,703</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>C72</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Custom Deluxe Club Coupe</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>85,111</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>C76</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Custom Deluxe Convertible</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>50,299</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle>C79</TD><TD height=19 width=388> Custom Deluxe 8-Passenger Station Wagon</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>29,017</TD></TR><TR><TD height=19 width=95 align=middle> </TD><TD height=19 width=388> Total - 1950 Ford</TD><TD height=19 width=99 align=right>818,371</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

Two-door wagons totally rule. I owned a 1960 Comet wagon for, like, one second before I ran out of dough and had to sell it, and I will always kick myself for letting it go.
I got it for $400 at an estate sale, and it had been hit hard in the right quarter, but it was saveable. Beautiful little car even though it had sat outside for years with the hood off, covered by trash bags held down with two-by-fours. Wimbledon white/red-and-white interior.
Found it by creepy-crawling this old farmhouse in Downey, and we also got a $5 sofa and a free end-table encrusted with years of headlines from 1950s newspapers which had sat on it so long they'd become etched into the paint. The old man who owned the place looked like a bum, but he was worth about a million, and his daily driver was a weathered 1962 Comet four-door wagon.
I got a new gate and new side glass for that damned two-door wagon, and it was totally solid. Totally!!!! If I knew where it was right now, I'd want it back immediately. Anybody sees it, let me know.

 

I think something here is being overlooked...body rigidity.

Back before there were crash standards and such they way they designed a car was to design the 2 door model and then they just cut an extra set of doors out of the design. I can't think of a single car from that era that was designed initially as a 4 door.

A lot of people (like most of my family) bought 2 door cars because they honestly believed them to be stonger and not sqeak and rattle as much as they got older. Plus it was no more difficult to climb in and out of than a 2 door sedan (which really is not that hard - I'm 6'5 and I have no problem getting in and out of the back seat of my GTO). Not that it matters because most of the 2 door wagons I have seen in my life (that were not nomads) didn't come with back seats. Plus you really can't load much from those side doors anyway - at least not anything that isn't body shaped.

I owned several 2 door jeep cherokees and 2 door blazers (both old and newer body styles) and I used to use them for deliveries in several jobs I had and let me tell you it was an easy vehicle to own. same utility as a 2 door wagon.

 

We called the 4 door station wagons. And the 2 door beach wagons or ranch wagons.

 

True. I bet Ford's pricing structure had something to do with that disparity though.

 

Sometimes I wish there was at least a 3rd door on the 50Burb. Then again, I'm not the one crawling back there!

FWIW, the new HHR panels are still 4 doors.

 

You also have to realize that the wagons and panel trucks were used mostly by small delivery businesses and tradesmen,,,plumers,painters and such.

These wagons and deliverys were common before Ford introduced vans in the early 60's,,,then the wagons slowly died out as prefered work horses! HRP

 

Sedan delivery with better visibility?