Family Cars Through the Years

The Station Wagon. The Minivan. The SUV.

The "Family Car" has always been a staple of American life. It has fuzzy memories for many who grew up sitting in the backseat of a station wagon with their sister on a family road trip, and for the parents that bought them, so full of hope for their young children.

It also comes with some negative connotations: many modern women, for example, balk at the idea of being considered a "Minivan Mom." These ladies reached their peak of cultural dominance in the 1990's, when it seemed like half the cars on the road were french fry-filled family vans.

Those moms and dads of the 90's, of course, where switching to minivans because of their dislike of the station wagon, the family vehicle of choice for the previous thirty years. The station wagon is hardly seen anymore - despite attempts at revival over the years, in seems only Volvo is still seriously in the wagon market. (In all honesty, Volvo wagons are pretty sweet. Here's hoping they never go away.)

This author's childhood spanned the course of the 90's (ages 3 to 13), and I remember the last of the station wagons, a dying breed amongst the Minivan takeover. The family of a friend of mine exclusively bought the same Volvo station wagon, over and over - same color, same everything, just a newer year when it was time for a trade-in. We all thought the choice of a wagon was an odd one. Her mom would just shrug her shoulders - hey, they knew what they liked!

Then in the 2000's, the Minivan Moms all migrated to the SUV. This was especially popular for families with children who played sports, because all the football pads for Josh's football games and the catching gear for Caitlin's softball tournaments weren't going to haul themselves around. I remember this era, too, because I had a sports-playing sibling and my parents had a Tahoe for that exact purpose. I remember seeing Chevy Suburbans all over the place at those little league events, and realizing they call it a Suburban for a reason.

Now today, in the 2010's, there's already a marked change in Soccer Mom and NASCAR Dad's vehicle of choice. (Well, maybe Mom's vehicle of choice. Dad's always wanted a Silverado truck, but Mom usually wins that fight, doesn't she?) With gas prices on a rollercoster ride up and down (usually up) and a society that has become decidedly more eco-conscious, the Crossover SUV has taken the lead for the most requested family car.

The Crossover offers a lot of the best features of all of the previous family vehicles rolled into one. Let's look at the Chevy Traverse, for example, shall we? It's got power and towing capacity like an SUV. It has got the seating capacity of a Minivan. There's got room to haul equipment, just like an SUV or a station wagon (it can even create more room with the removeable third seat row). It's styled as a mix of a van and a SUV (with a little bit of Jeep-style thrown in), but it gets much better fuel economy than either one. The price is also considerably cheaper than an SUV. And, let's face it, the Crossover SUVs like Traverse just look cool.

(SIDENOTE: This is good news for folks with kids who are looking for a really cheap vehicle: very nice Minivans with good features and low miles are currently being sold for dirt cheap, just because they aren't the hottest product anymore. Something to keep in mind for families on a budget!)

With Traverse's little brother, Equinox, currently the hottest product GM has to offer (Traverse isn't doing so bad itself, either), it looks like these Crossover vehicles are here to stay.

At least until the next big thing for families comes around. If the current timing of consumer tastes continues, I would guess we'll know what that vehicle is in 2020. See you in ten years, Soccer Moms!


**The photo above is an advertisement for a 1969 Chevrolet Kingswood Estate station wagon. Ain't it adorable?