On today’s episode of The Knocking Rod podcast, I chat with the person who may not consider herself a car person, but who is in the fact responsible for my love of station wagons. That being my mom, Linda.
Her first car was a 1968 Pontiac LeMans. Prior to that, her mom, Shirley, had a Plymouth Valiant that was known for stalling after driving through puddles. In my memory, Shirley was also known for an impressive ability to somehow turn the car on, put it in drive, and floor it down the street…all at the same time.
Fun fact: Shirley’s mom Violet, who was born in 1904 and wasn’t allowed to ride a bicycle as a kid, rocked a big green 1950s Cadillac with epic tailfins. Turns out the female side of our family is more into cars than previously known!
Today, Linda is driving a very cool Acura TSX wagon. But my memories go back to an early 80s Buick LeSabre wagon with a rear-facing third-row known as the “way-way back” and a tailgate that would unexpectedly fly open…with us in there…resulting in kids laughing, mothers swearing, slammed brakes, and wild antics.
There was the little-known Mazda MPV, a weird AWD minivan/wagon thing that you may have forgotten and that my mom has no love for. Followed by a much-loved 1995 GMC Suburban that was a family favorite and is really a giant wagon.
Somewhere in the mix was a black Volvo XC70 from the early aughts that left me hankering for a V70R with the 6-speed Spaceball (a car I did later acquire).
We also touch on the Dodge Magnum, which I just learned was known by my mom as the “Brick On Ice Skates”. The hilarity of this particular wagon’s terrible handling in the winter was only matched by the amount of things that fell off of it. That said, the burly HEMI under the hood was truly awesome.
Currently, Linda is on the lookout for a car with a horse badge and a hybrid powertrain. Her Ford Escape Hybrid is great on gas, but rather boring. I tried convincing here to get a Volvo V90 PHEV and mentioned that Ford makes a horse-badged vehicle that runs on batteries, both of which don’t quite get there. So, any suggestions?
About the author: Niel Stender is an automotive journalist. More of his work can be found at muckrack.com/niel-stender.
