Hot Wheels Station Wagons

Hello and welcome to my little blog about little cars and trucks! I'll be talking about all kinds of vehicles, made by all kinds of companies. Today's post is about my favorite type of vehicle - the station wagon.

Since 1970, Hot Wheels has released only a handful of station wagon models. 16 to be precise. They're not all that easy to find because several of them have either been released in special lines and not the basic line, or seen limited release. Most of them have a home in my collection and I'll be spotlighting those. The few models not in my collection are the Dodge Aries Wagon, Classic '31 Ford Woody, Jack Hammer, No Madder What, Lomad and Poison Pinto. Now to talk about the others.

The first station wagon model released by Mattel was the Classic '31 Ford Woody, in 1969. But in 1970, the second one was the Classic Nomad, a 1955 Chevrolet Nomad 2-door wagon. It has been a very popular model and in fact, it was re-released with the name Alive '55 a few years later.

This one is the classic '40's Ford Woodie, here shown in a Real Riders version from 1983, but first released in 1980. It has been another popular style which has seen almost continuous versions. In fact, both the first two models described here have variations released in this year, 2009.

Two wagons that haven't yet made it to the regular $1 line is this beautiful '50's Buick Woodie, as well as the '57 Buick Station Wagon pictured below. I'm hoping that both of these fantastic body styles will see a general release sometime soon because they're just so outstanding. The '57 even has an opening hood.

This Purple Passion Woody has also seen only a limited release, in the Since '68 series. Looking pretty inviting as a surf woodie, it's also another clean model that should see a wider availability.

The next model is a Mercedes Benz 300TD, a casting first made by Corgi, but acquired by Mattel and released in 1997. So far, it has only seen a single release, in one color. Fortunately, that release was in the basic line.

Another popular model, at least for me anyway, is this 1955 Ford Station Wagon, which Hot Wheels named 8 Crate. There have been several other releases and in several different colors, since it was unleashed as a First Edition in 2003. This is that first edition in black and silver. It sports an enormous mid-located V-8 engine which pokes through a special window on top.

The last one I'd like to show is one that just came out in early 2009, a 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle SS Wagon. It has taken the collector's world by storm and has already become quite popular. It is this vehicle which is featured in the header photo for this article. So, there you have it, a closer look at those rare, hardly-seen vehicles - the station wagon. How many of you grew up with parents who had one of these great big lumbering family cars? I did! My parents had a 1967 AMC Ambassador Station Wagon. It made me fall in love with station wagons at a very early age.