Here's something different. This week's automotive thread will be the Top Ten vehicles for movin' people. No limos, Greyhounds, or APCs need apply, these will be the cars, trucks, or vans that large(ish) families can use to move all and sundry...
1. Ford Econoline 350. Ah, the college road trip vehicle of choice. Whether it's the Fencing team going to a match at a distant college or the Ornithology class going on a bird watch, the 15 passenger, 1 ton van has a long history of college kids puking in the back...
2. Chevrolet Suburban. With the front bench seat, this came from the factory with seating for nine. On the 3/4 ton chassis, with the diesel or big block gas engine, this is a serious truck capable of getting 9 people plus their gear to the campsite while towing a trailer. Git-R-Done!
3. Buick LeSabre Estate Wagon. Nominally seating 6 in the plush pseudo-luxury of the GM B-body, the LeSabre also had a rear jump seat that would seat an additional 2 people. And it had woodgrain paneling!
4. Dodge Caravan. Sure, it wasn't the first minivan (the VW Microbus beat it by several decades), but the Caravan started the front-drive, less-than-full-size van movement rolling in the US.
5. GMC 3+3. One of the very first "Crew Cab" trucks, the 3+3 was a six-seat, full-size pickup truck first offered in 1973. At the time, the Extended Cab concept was some 4 years away (from Datsun, of course).
6. Cadillac Sedan DeVille. One of the last American cars that could seat six; the DeVille has enough room for mom, dad, and four kids - and everyone gets their own cupholder and cigarette lighter! (oh, wait...)
7. Conversion vans. One of the more overlooked options, conversion vans most often seat 7 or 8, have custom touches on the interior, and are quite comfortable for long journeys. Downsides are poor gas mileage and inability to fit in many garages and parking structures due to the raised roof line. Starcraft, Elkhart, and Explorer are some of the better known brands out there.
8. 1978 Lincoln Continental. Okay, you just knew that there had to be one giant American luxo-barge from the 1970s, the era of mammoth metal monstrosities... While seating was nominally suppose to be six, quite often eight or even ten could cram into a Conti with room for dinner...
9. VW Microbus. Long before the minivan craze of the 1980s, the Microbus was the people mover of choice for those who didn't want to cram into the Brady Bunch wagon or sit four-across in a large American sedan. That it was co-opted by the peace, love, and granola movement makes it no less of a people hauler...
10. Dodge Durango. The Durango was the first of the smaller SUVs to offer a third row seat, bringing the passenger capability to 6 instead of the standard 4. Now if they could just have made it actually fold flat... This is the only one on the list we've owned...
So there's the list of people movers for this week's Top Ten. Hope your favorite car, truck, or van made the cut!
That is all.
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5 comments:
"Cadillac Sedan DeVille. One of the last American cars that could seat six"
Pretty sure it works for the current incarnations too, but my Buddy's Ford Taurus Wagon was quite the people-mover. It was the pre-2000 body, 3 in the front split-bench, 3 in the back, and two in the jump seats in the back.
We once got evicted from a Hotel room because of Drunken Behavior. My buddy was not much for the sauce, thankfully! We ALL fit into his Red Taurus WITH the remaining booze and snacks to a more permissive hotel across town!
Day saved thanks to FoMoCo!
{memory_lane}
My H.S. girlfriend's dad had a 1972 Buick Riviera. Huge. Cavernous. A backseat like a sofa.
{/memory_lane}
1972 Ford LTD Country Squire wagon. With a 460 big block. You had this one a few weeks ago, but it wouldl haul a bunch, fast.
And sadly, I was unable to convince the lovely and adamant Mrs. Borepatch that a conversion van would be the Flippity Floppity Floop.
'Burbans for ever! Started in 1936, still going strong 83 years later! Also known as Cowboy Cadillacs!
Chevy Corvair Greenbrier van. It was probably the first "minivan" decades before Chryster debuted theirs.
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