What could be better than a finely restored 1936 Ford Woody Wagon? The 1936 Fords are considered among the most attractive of the era. In 1936 Ford Motor Company sold 7,044 Woodie Wagons. This is out of a total 1936 Ford Motor Company production of about 973,000 vehicles.
Early Station Wagons
Starting out being named “depot hacks“, early station wagons were at first more commercial than private vehicles. They were especially popular with hotels, resorts and rural lodges. Station wagons would meet arriving guests at the train depot and transport them and their luggage to big city, lakeside, ocean, or mountain resorts as well as country clubs. This was a time when most people traveled distances by train. For those who could afford a station wagon during the early years, owners used these vehicles to transport family and friends to their lavish summer estates.
It’s interesting to note that the first station wagons were advertised along with the company’s commercial trucks. It would be to about World War Two before the station wagons were considered real non-commercial passenger vehicles.
In the beginning, coach building companies such as Murray and Baker Raulang plus others took delivery of a complete chassis and added the wooden bodywork before returning it to the factory.
The very early station wagons were seasonal vehicles in as much as they didn’t even have glass to protect against the elements. Instead they had primitive side curtains. Glass windows really came about for these particular vehicles during the mid to late 1930’s. In regards to the wood on the bodies, the winter weather was quite hard. The first open woodies were really adapted more to southern California and Florida.
The first woodie wagons were really utility vehicles and creative design was not exactly forefront plus they were built in relatively small numbers. It would be many years later that the station wagon would be synonymous with transporting families and their children. After World War Two, the middle class found mass-produced woodie wagons perfect for family travels. These were the vehicles that eventually morphed into the SUV.
Ford Led the Way in Woodie Wagon Production