Which of These Four-Door Wagons of the Fifties is Your Favorite?

If you’re like us, you love station wagons of all shapes and sizes. And if you’re looking around for a wagon that you can use to give rides to friends and family, it’s probably occurred to you that a four-door wagon might be a good choice. Sure, the two-door wagons that proliferated in the 1950s are almost always more hip than their four-door stablemates, but all that style might not be enough to compensate for the inconvenience you experience when letting someone in or out. The wagon’s strong suit is practicality, so why not play to its strengths by picking a four-door? Here are four examples that we found while scrolling through the Hemmings Marketplace.

1956 Ford Country Sedan

Ford claimed the title of “America’s Favorite Station Wagons” for 1956, boasting of no fewer than six in that year’s catalog. The Country Sedan was the intermediate line among the four-doors, paralleling the Customline series of sedans. Ford called the Country Sedan a “double-duty beauty” that “changes from dutiful ‘hauler’ to dressed-up ‘caller’ in seconds.” Ford would build more than 85,000 Country Sedans in six- and eight-cylinder form that year, contributing to a total output of nearly 1.4 million vehicles.

Ford offered three engine choices: a 223-cu.in. inline six rated at 137 hp, and two Y-block V-8s: the 292-cu.in., 200-hp Thunderbird V-8, and the 312-cu.in., 215-hp Thunderbird Special V-8. Dearborn was emphasizing its “Lifeguard” safety features, among which was a padded dashboard color-keyed to the scuff-resistant vinyl upholstery. The automatic-equipped 1956 Ford Country Sedan seen here, which we found among the Hemmings Classifieds, has been updated with aftermarket air conditioning, an aluminum radiator, and dual exhaust with Cherry Bomb mufflers.

The Country Sedan is finished in Buckskin Tan and white, one of several combinations available in addition to 10 solid colors. All station wagons rode on a 115.5-inch wheelbase, and cast a 197.6-inch shadow.

1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Townsman

We know, we know, when you put “Tri-Five” and “station wagon” together, the brain expects to see “Nomad.” But Chevrolet offered a four-door wagon in its Bel Air line too, known as the Townsman, and it was by far the better seller, its total of more than 27,000 outnumbering the two-door Nomad in its final year by 4:1. Practicality and a price tag that was $200 lower would have meant a lot to families in 1957. The Bel Air was Chevrolet’s top series in 1957, positioned above the One-Fifty and Two-Ten.

Straight-six and V-8 Chevrolets were considered separate series in 1957. The base engine for the V-8 cars, like this 1957 Bel Air Townsman we found among the Hemmings Classifieds, was either the 265-cu.in., 162-hp Turbo-Fire 265 when ordered with a standard or overdrive transmission, or, as seen here, the 283-cu.in., 170-hp Turbo-Fire 283 when ordered with either of the two available automatic transmissions. The 236-cu.in. straight-six was rated at 140 hp. Bel Air interiors combined Jacquard-patterned cloth with vinyl, a step up from the all-vinyl upholstery of the Two-Ten and One-Fifty.

The 1957 Chevrolets rode on a wheelbase of 115 inches, and measured 200 inches bumper to bumper, a 2.5-inch stretch from ’56. According to the seller, upgrades to this 42,000-mile example include vintage air conditioning and front disc brakes. Judging by the shift quadrant, it’s equipped with the Powerglide automatic, rather than the Turboglide.

1956 Nash Rambler Cross Country

The four-door station wagon had been the best-selling Rambler body style for 1954-’55, so when American Motors completely redesigned its compact for 1956, it was offered only as a four-door sedan, four-door pillarless hardtop, and four-door station wagon, joined partway through the model year by a four-door hardtop wagon. The new, roomier Rambler was a sales success, reversing a tide of red ink. Out of a total 1956 production run of 104,190 cars, more than 76,000 were Ramblers, and of those, nearly 22,000 were station wagons. The Cross Country “white-tie-and-tails town sedan” was offered in Super and Custom trim.

The 196-cu.in. straight-six was carried over from the previous Rambler, but gained a new, “Typhoon” OHV head for an additional 30 horsepower and 20 lb-ft of torque, while returning up to 30 mpg. The previous car’s leaf-spring rear suspension was jettisoned in favor of torque-tube drive with coil springs, and the drum brakes were enlarged. “Airliner Travel Seats” and “Twin Travel Beds” were standard features. This 1956 Rambler Cross Country, from the Hemmings Classifieds, has a three-speed manual transmission; a GM-supplied HydraMatic four-speed automatic was also available.

The Cross Country offered a roll-down back window, rather than the two-piece gates offered by most of the competition. The wheelbase was a tidy 108 inches, the shortest of any American-made four-door that year, though the new styling helped it look bigger. And who doesn’t love tri-tone paint?

1957 Chrysler New Yorker Town and Country

At the other end of the scale from the Rambler is the Chrysler New Yorker Town and Country. Expensive, powerful, and oversized in every way, it was a way to make a statement, whether you were picking the kids up from school or headed to the supermarket for the week’s groceries. Town and Country buyers were a discerning and well-heeled lot; production in 1957 amounted to a scant 1,391 examples, which is not surprising when you could have a Cadillac Series 62 four-door hardtop for just a little less money.

As part of the top-of-the-line New Yorker series, the Town and Country came equipped with the burly, hemi-headed Chrysler FirePower V-8, displacing 392 cu.in. and rated at 325 horsepower. A push-button TorqueFlite automatic transmission was standard equipment. Chrysler was especially proud of its new “Torsion-Aire” suspension, which used torsion bars up front and coil springs in the rear for better ride and handling. This 1957 Chrysler New Yorker Town and Country, which we found among the Hemmings Classifieds, came fully equipped, with power brakes, power windows, a four-way power front seat, a Music Master AM Radio, whitewall tires, and air-conditioning — an extravagance that added 10 percent to the sticker when this car was new. Dual headlights were available for 1957 in states that allowed them.

New Yorkers were built on a 126-inch wheelbase, with the station wagons three-tenths of an inch shorter than their sedan counterparts, at 218.9 inches. Like all other Chryslers, the Town and Country introduced Virgil Exner’s new, Flight-Sweep styling for ’57. And it looks great on the wagon, we think, especially in the period colors of Copper Brown Metallic over Desert Beige.

Your Votes, Please

There you have them, four representative American four-door station wagons from the mid-1950s. Which do you like best? One of the popular, bread-and-butter family haulers from Ford and GM? AMC’s downsized alternative? Or the unapologetic extravagance of the Chrysler? Let us know in the comments below. And if your favorite didn’t make this list, please give it some love here.