Vintage station wagons are the ugly ducklings of collector cars, ignored and unappreciated in the past but now becoming seen as things of beauty as the collector car market has matured. The increasing popularity of the suburban family haulers is reflected in rising sales for popular models, with Hagerty seeing a 46 percent rise in quotes for classic station wagon insurance so far this year.
Hagerty’s most-recent market graph shows which models have experienced the greatest interest in 2015. The list is dominated by big wagons from U.S. automakers.
“This corresponds with both an increase in values and a greater number of examples coming to market, as over the past five years, Hagerty Price Guide values have increased by 16 percent overall for station wagons, and the number offered at North American collector auctions has increased by 18 percent,” Hagerty reported in a news release.
Eight of the 10 station wagons on the list are General Motors or Ford models from the 1950s through the ’70s, with two European wagons making the list — the sturdy Mercedes-Benz 300TD diesel ranks No. 3 and the perennial Swedish favorite, Volvo’s elegant 1973 1800ES two-door sport wagon, at No. 7.
According to Hagerty, the growing desire for station wagons was prompted by their rarity compared with coupes or sedans of the same models – which sometimes results in more-attractive styling – as well as the practicality of wagons for classic car road trips.
