anybody into ute's

[Fred]

Station wagon comes from the first proposed uses for them.  When long distance travel in North America was primarily by rail, you would meet your visitors at the rail depot, known here as a "station" in a station hack which had a number of seats and a large area for luggage to carry them from the station to your home or to a hotel or such.  I wouldn't be surprised to learn it predates the automobile with horse drawn wagons designed for the same purpose.

I wondered if maybe it had to do with railway stations (we call them stations here too). Just seems odd that they kept the name going for so many years. I guess they just couldn't come up with anything better to call them.  They've only just started calling them sport wagons here now.

[aussiemuscle]

I have a V8 ford ute for my daily driver. I don't need to carry passengers, so it fits my lifestyle.

I wondered if maybe it had to do with railway stations (we call them stations here too). Just seems odd that they kept the name going for so many years. I guess they just couldn't come up with anything better to call them.  They've only just started calling them sport wagons here now.

I don't think it has anything to do with railway stations. even wikipedia doesn't have a definitive origin for the term, only noting the similar terms of "Estate" and "Shooting Break".
in australia very large ranches are called stations. so i've always assumed the term comes from that.

[Fred]

I have a V8 ford ute for my daily driver. I don't need to carry passengers, so it fits my lifestyle.

I wondered if maybe it had to do with railway stations (we call them stations here too). Just seems odd that they kept the name going for so many years. I guess they just couldn't come up with anything better to call them.  They've only just started calling them sport wagons here now.

I don't think it has anything to do with railway stations. even wikipedia doesn't have a definitive origin for the term, only noting the similar terms of "Estate" and "Shooting Break".
in australia very large ranches are called stations. so i've always assumed the term comes from that.

Interesting and poly did say some farmers wife got onto Henry Ford about it so that might well be true. They did call really big farms stations back then (and  are still calling them cattle stations even now). You might have hit on the answer.

[Bob T]

Thats true about the Pavlova Fred   and Phar Lap , you can keep Russell Crowe though  

I had a 1981 WB Holden Panel Van with a 253 V8 bucket seats and M20 4 speed in my twenties, man that was a cool wagon, can't beat the Pano's.
The Chrysler Valiant Pano's were cool too, Orange one a mate of mine owns, its a 318 auto, the yellow is a 318 4 speed, both are 1982 I think.

[polywideblock]

cool cars        did you get the drifters over there ?

[Bob T]

cool cars        did you get the drifters over there ?

Yeah mate, I meant to say the orange pano was originally a Drifter, I knew they guy who had it before he died, blue striped, cool in a 70's kind of way .
Also had seen the Drifter utes, but they were really thin on the ground. There were a few CL 318 utes tho. A guy I know around the road has just finished a VH 318 ute for a DD, satin black with orange widened steelies, looks the part ( again in a cool 70's kind of way )  , have to try to find some pics of it.

edit, ok

[polywideblock]

a mate had almost the same car    black wheels as well but. 215   3 on the tree   

[Fred]

It's a real shame they phased the panel van out.  Don't know why it hasn't made a come back.


                      Oh, and we don't want him either! 

[Bob T]

Holden tried it again with the Sandman II commodore Ute, but cause you couldn't climb into the back from the cabin it was a fail in my book. The real Sandman's were cool. I had one downloaded into the need for speed game and the music it would play on the fame was , you guessed it Mr Sandman, bring me a dream 

[Fred]

Yes, it was a complete flop in everyone's book. It was really just a ute with canopy.
Still see the odd Sandman on the road but they're rare.
A lot of dreams came to fruition in them.

[polywideblock]

my first "real" car was an XB gs panel van    250 three on the tree , actual first was a escort panel van   but they don't count .  had lots of dreams and lived them all     there's nothing like a mobile bedroom when your 17

[Fred]

Or any age for that matter.