They ride like a 2 x 4, get crap m.p.g. and break more than a Fiat. Recently, 20-something Hispters have given them more exposure than Steve McQueen in Pitti wearing suede double monks. You'd think it was time to move on. You'd be wrong...about the Wagoneer.
06 July 2012
Something for the Weekend: Wagoneer Convertible
They ride like a 2 x 4, get crap m.p.g. and break more than a Fiat. Recently, 20-something Hispters have given them more exposure than Steve McQueen in Pitti wearing suede double monks. You'd think it was time to move on. You'd be wrong...about the Wagoneer.
with hardtop that is possibly the only American car worth buying. still mechanically a POS.
ReplyDeleteRight on re your comments. Bought one in 1985,pimped it off as soon as I could. Of course, a Willys Wagon is another matter. Enuff said.
ReplyDeleteProbably the one vehicle that launched the SUV craze. Gave the owner an image of being a gentleman/woman farmer/rancher, and like most SUVs today almost never saw an unpaved road or a bale of hay.
ReplyDeleteEasy there Dallas...the F150 is still a damn fine American truck!
ReplyDeleteThe Wagoneer was junk...classic junk.. but junk. Dashboards cracked, wipers failed, front alignment was always screwed. Some guys run a Web business selling restored Wagoneers. I know a fool who bought one. Guess what...it was restored crap.
Joe, that is Land Rover you are referring to.
ReplyDeleteAnd trucks are more closely associated with hay bales.
How long have I wanted a Wagoneer? Just long enough to browse around and get a good deal on a woodie with no undercarriage salt damage. -About Twenty five years more or less...
ReplyDeleteWhy do you old guys hate 'hipsters' - caboose a little loose, angel cake?
ReplyDeleteEasterners all of you.
ReplyDeleteGive me a pre-80s Ford Bronco and keep your pretension.
Of course while you posture with your pretense, my Bronco will fail emissions, bleed me broke, and I will learn to curse the rain.
I do know a thing of hay bales and can assure you all they are associated with horses and not vehicles.
It ain't a convertible unless there's a canvas top to protect you in bad weather. Otherwise, it's just a chop job. I'd hate to be in that beast going over railroad tracks. The best convertible that I've ever owned was a VW rabbit convertible, as far as tops go. To steal from Maxmaximus, "shut up" (I've also have had Jeeps and a '66 Mustang).
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in the scouts everybody had one of these things. When I saw this picture it brought back the smell of wet canvas and the electric blast of the heater on a rainy sunday morning as we were all headed home. I have a very soft spot for these things.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'm with MLS on this; the classic American car is a Ford F-150.
Okay Dave, I'm not exactly questioning your masculinity here but a VW rabbit convertible?
ReplyDeleteI think the SAT had a question something along the lines of:
Car is to person
as
Chick is to rabbit.
Of course I didn't do very well on that test so what do I know.
Vintage inspiration: http://www.delightfull.eu/suspension/brubeck_unique_hanging_lamp.html
ReplyDeleteThis really was a clunker but there were a few different models of these ragtop pickups/utility vehicles around. The survivors all seem to belong to gay guys although one I know of is owned by a drop dead blonde.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful car! Oh, how I miss the 80's...after the Berlin wall fell, so increasingly did my faith in our country's potential for maintaining the qualities that made us exceptional.
ReplyDeleteOk, sorry, I'm off topic, I know.
my dad drove one when we were growing up... many family excursions... many memories... classic.
ReplyDeleteI know a girl who used to call Rabbit Convertibles "Tuna Baskets" Of course I'm a little slow and had to have her explain it to me...When I finally got it, I could only say, "But yours doesn't."
ReplyDeleteOK, I know about the whole VW convertible thing. In my defense, I'll suggest that it is the automotive equivalent to the Belgian loafer. No, it's not saying much.
ReplyDelete