# What car is this? (Big square back station wagon) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 20, 2024, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504 "2024-11-20T12:15:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/1 "2024-11-20T12:15:06Z")
I don’t normally pay very much attention to cars, even when I need one like I do now. But today I saw one pulling away so I couldn’t see the name on the side or anything, and it really caught my eye I have no idea whether it’s expensive or fancy or what but it looked like a very large station wagon; not an SUV, no curved edges, nothing really very sloped on it anywhere. Much more like the old-fashioned shape of a station wagon. It looked very square back and unusually long. Sort of like a pumped up, stretched out Element or Kia soul. The squared off edges makes me think it’s newer since sloping is more what we see in recent years, except for the Element and the soul and maybe some really high-end cars that I’m not aware of. Which this might be I have no idea I just like the way it looked it and it didn’t seem really tall the way SUVs nice and low but still very roomy because it looks stretched Anybody got any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/2 "2024-11-20T12:26:24Z")
Tesla Cybertruck? ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/3 "2024-11-20T12:30:11Z")
It sounds like a Ford Flex. [![](https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/msnbc/Components/Photo/_new/080908-flex-exterior-hmed-11a.jpg) ](https://media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com/image/upload/msnbc/Components/Photo/_new/080908-flex-exterior-hmed-11a.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/4 "2024-11-20T12:30:56Z")
WAG: Ford Flex? [https://www.ford.com/suvs-crossovers/flex/2019/](https://www.ford.com/suvs-crossovers/flex/2019/) [https://www.vdm.ford.com/content/dam/brand\_ford/en\_us/brand/suvs-crossovers/flex/sunset/C9549419\_FLEX\_LTD\_34FrntPassMotnRbRd\_FLX\_132\_rbrd\_mj\_16x9.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.1440.1440.jpeg](https://www.vdm.ford.com/content/dam/brand_ford/en_us/brand/suvs-crossovers/flex/sunset/C9549419_FLEX_LTD_34FrntPassMotnRbRd_FLX_132_rbrd_mj_16x9.jpg/jcr:content/renditions/cq5dam.web.1440.1440.jpeg) ETA: Ninja’d – but of course. My image and link wouldn’t/didn’t load 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/5 "2024-11-20T13:45:07Z")
yep that’s it. Thank you. It’s horrible. It’s a Ford. It looks hideous on the inside. But I’m glad to have that knowledge now. They’re not making them anymore. I’m not surprised. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/6 "2024-11-20T15:03:25Z")
LOL my first thought was “a hearse?” 😛 But the Flex was my second guess. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/7 "2024-11-20T15:56:26Z")
A Flex _is_ a factory hearse. Of sorts. It’s certainly a dead model. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/8 "2024-11-20T16:04:54Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > It sounds like a Ford Flex. Wow, what an utterly ugly and oversized car. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/9 "2024-11-20T16:18:21Z")
Heh, about 10 years ago my wife was getting her Subaru maintained. She went next door to a Ford dealer just to kill time. The SALESMAN called the Flex a hearse. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/10 "2024-11-20T16:35:47Z")
[![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2b/6f/c9/2b6fc9d0be6fce7cf55f74070bb57b1d.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2b/6f/c9/2b6fc9d0be6fce7cf55f74070bb57b1d.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/11 "2024-11-20T17:14:48Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > Wow, what an utterly ugly and oversized car And even worse, despite how big it is, the interior space is still too cramped for a big guy like me. I test drove one in 2019, and it sucked. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/12 "2024-11-20T17:21:58Z")
I like the outside. The inside is a mess. Ugly, cramped nonsense. Very on brand. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2024, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/13 "2024-11-20T17:24:36Z")
Ford: failing at car design since 1955. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/14 "2024-11-21T23:47:32Z")
Nitpick, 1955 was the first generation T-Bird, the classic two-seat version. 1957 was the redesigned T-Bird. That’s when Ford really started failing. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/15 "2024-11-22T00:41:17Z")
I think it was the '58 T-Bird is what you mean. That’s when they went to a sedan style instead of the sportier model. Ford radically redesigned every three years, basically. The 55-56-57 cycle were two-seaters. Then came the 58-59-60 sedans, then the 61-62-63 attempt to look like a rocket ship. Ford’s best looking cars, IMO, were made in the 1940s. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/16 "2024-11-22T01:01:38Z")
I got a practically brand-new Flex as a rental for a long road trip down to Joshua Tree. It worked fine for me. I don’t know if my rental had an upgraded entertainment system but the radio/stereo sounded pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/17 "2024-11-22T05:43:24Z")
Yeah! Except the Mustang, Bronco, Torino/Fairlane, T-Bird, those pesky F-series… 😉 EDIT: I learned to drive on Fords with 460ci. You can guess what my driving style is. ---
**Author:** ![Baal\_Houtham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baal_houtham/32/13604_2.png) [@Baal\_Houtham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baal_Houtham)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/18 "2024-11-22T06:42:17Z")
I’ve never seen the inside, but a my brother was interested in buying one after owning a small SUV — which couldn’t accommodate his many dogs nor the keyboards, speakers and lights that he hauled to his musical gigs. An outdoorsy couple I worked with bought one because they had two kids, two dogs, and they regularly took camping trips and ski trips. What were their alternatives? A van? A humongous truck-based SUV? (I’d lean toward the van myself, but maybe a Flex would handle rough roads better. And like the OP I think the Flex exterior looked pretty good.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/19 "2024-11-22T12:48:36Z")
Agreed. I thought they’d make a great kid & stuff hauler, being low to the ground unlike GM’s sorta equivalent and very tall Suburban. But also not look like a Soccer Mommobile family van-thingy. It was never the sort of vehicle I needed for myself, but I was surprised it wasn’t a hit with the many people who needed that kind of utility. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504/20 "2024-11-22T12:56:53Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > no curved edges, nothing really very sloped on it anywhere. This surprises me in a modern car. I thought all that sloping was to improve fuel efficiency. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-car-is-this-big-square-back-station-wagon/1010504.md?page=2)