This is basically just “how old are you” but with cars. Could be interesting nonetheless.
The “family car.” Designed to transport spouses, children, some friends, and a whole mess of their stuff, all at once. They weren’t always pretty, but they got the job done.
What type of “family car” did you grow up with? (check all the apply)
0 voters
My dad liked to change cars a lot. Traded in just about every 2 years, at least. Grew up primarily in the 80s so we had a lot of full-size sedans and station wagons. There was a VW bus in there at some point. We had an Isuzu Trooper in the 80s, an early SUV (“sportswagon” at the time).
I voted full size sedan, which usually started out as a lease for my dad for 3 years (a lawyer) and then purchased for my mom when he got a new car. I think they broke the pattern when he got a 1982 Toyota Celica Supra sports car that went to my sister and my mom got a new Audi in 1985 which I learned to drive on.
A VW Rabbit, with 2-4 kids (My stepdad had 6 kids who would rotate in and out of our house) at any one time. We did several straight-through, 30 hour cross country trips in it; the most crowded one was three of us (tall) kids in the backseat, and my little by sister curled up in the way back.
I voted for “full size sedan.”
My parents had a Buick Wildcat convertible coupe when I was very little, but they got rid of that, and we had four-door sedans for the rest of my childhood: a Plymouth Fury (about a 1969 or '70), then an Oldsmobile Delta 88 ('73), and then a Cadillac Sedan DeVille ('77), which is the car on which I learned how to drive.
We always had a second car; when I was younger, it was my mom’s car (first an old Dodge sedan, and then a Ford Capri), but once we bought a hardware store when I was 10, the “second car” became a GMC pickup truck, which technically belonged to the store, and which my dad drove.
1968 International Harvester Travelall, with bench seats that could be unbolted and removed to make room.
1967 Ford Galaxie 500, maroon with black nylon/vinyl interior.
Many a road trip was made with me either in the back window or on the floor, thanks to my nine years older sister.
I also learned to double check I had all my crayons when exiting the car, especially in the summer. My dad was not happy.
My first car was a 1963 Ford Galaxie 500XL, with a 390 V8.
Various as the family grew and evolved. Never a “Full Sized” by the standards of the time period, though.
1966 Rambler American
1972 Volvo 145E / Chevrolet Chevelle
1980 Dodge Diplomat Wagon
Full-size sedans: a 1962 Mercury Comet and a 1969 Chevy Nova. All of our cars then, and subsequently, were four-door sedans.
I voted “something else”. We had a Studebaker Lark, which was certainly something else.
We were a family of 7. Over the years we had sedans and station wagons that were all GM products. And we had a VW bus.
My dad had a 1969 (might’ve been a year or two older model) Rambler stationwagon. That thing was great. I think that’s the one with the cool tailgate that could open multiple ways.
Growing up, I mainly remember us having a red '63 Chevy Impala coupe similar to this one:
I picked three options: full sized sedan, station wagon, and minivan.
My parents were early adopters of the minivan. They bought a 1984 Voyager the first year they came out. Then they replaced it with a’91 Voyager.
We were a two car family, and the second car was first a Toyota Corolla wagon, then an Acura Legend. Those cars might not be what the OP had in mind with those categories.
We had a little red 1952 Nash Rambler convertible. We went everywhere in that car.
In the 60’s and through the first half of the 70’s it was station wagons. After my sisters started going off to college and we didn’t need so much seating it was full size sedans.
I’m the firstborn of 5. The smallest vehicle I remember is the Hillman Husky that my folks had when the first 3 of us were little. After that, it was always 9 or 10 passenger station wagons. I took my driving test in a 10-passenger Ford wagon. Had mini-vans been a thing in the 60s, we probably would have had one of those.
My parents didn’t change cars much, we had a mid-fifties Plymouth, a 63 Rambler and a 70 Delta 88. All were full-sized sedans. Although we lived in the redneck South, we never had a pickup growing up. I bought the first pickup truck in the family when I started my first “business” at 18 (contract with city for water line repair). It was a 66 International.