The family vehicle of choice in McHenry is the SUV

It replaced the minivan that replaced the station wagon

Minivans killed the station wagon; the SUV has killed the minivan which is why you see far more SUVs on McHenry roads than you do minivans or station wagons.

The death of the station wagon is almost complete. Few auto manufacturers even offer station wagons anymore. But, at one time, the roads of McHenry (and beyond) abounded with station wagons. What happened?

The station wagon dates back to around 1910, meaning that this was an option among the earlier automobiles. The earliest station wagons had wood sides and came to be known as Woodies. Initially, they had metal framing covered with wood. But the look appealed to enough drivers that, when all-steel bodies became standard, wood was sometimes applied to station wagons for purely aesthetic reasons.

The appeal of wooden sides on station wagons went as far as to include wooden stickers applied to the sides of the vehicle. Wood-like trim was built around the wood stickers so that the appearance of a Woodie was complete.

Station wagons, originally built for commercial use, became the iconic family car in the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. They often came with a third bench seat in the very back for large families and when bringing the kids and their friends to Little League baseball games. But, by the ‘80s, a challenger was replacing the station wagon as the family vehicle of choice.

The minivan was even roomier than the station wagon. But, as it was smaller than a full-sized van, it was easier to maneuver in traffic and easier to park when going to the store.

The minivan came to dominate as the choice of vehicle for families. But families were generally getting smaller. People were having fewer kids. And those minivans were still large enough, and lacked sufficient aerodynamics, that they didn’t get the kind of gas mileage people in coupes and sedans did.

The SUV became a compromise of the minivan, the station wagon, and the sedan/coupe. It was aerodynamic enough to beat the minivan on gas mileage, roomy enough for kids and/or a load of camping gear, for instance. It was also stylishly similar to other cars.

Today, the SUV is seriously challenging coupes and sedans as masters of the highways. A ride down Route 120 in McHenry will quickly show you how many of your neighbors, and those passing through town, have opted for SUVs as their vehicles of choice. They are multi-purpose vehicles that look good whatever you’re doing.

Comments

Is your antifreeze safe from freezing this Richmond winter

You still have time to have it checked Well, there’s no denying it – winter tends to get chilly here in Richmond. We have to deal with snow and ice on the roads, scraping the same off our windows and windshield, and staying warm while we drive. Of course, you had your antifreeze checked before winter rolled into town. What?! You didn’t have your antifreeze checked before winter clamped down on Richmond? So, how’s your antifreeze doing? If you haven’t had it checked, there’s really no way of knowing, is there? This car has overheated in the middle of a Richmond winter. But, on the other end of the spectrum, the antifreeze can also freeze if it's not up to its job. Hopefully, you haven’t had a serious problem with your antifreeze already. If you did, you’d probably know. When antifreeze fails, it’s a potentially catastrophic condition for your vehicle’s engine. You could have hoses that have burst because of freezing antifreeze. Worse than that, your engine block may have crac...

Blocks of ice falling from cars in McHenry could cause accidents or damage

We’ve all seen those blocks of snow falling from behind the rear tires of a car when the snow rolls into McHenry . Fortunately, they’re just packed snow that will disintegrate under your vehicle’s tires as you simply drive right through them, right? Don’t count on it. Those blocks of snow are often packed so tight, condensed by the thaw-and-freeze cycle, that they’re anything but oversized snowballs . They’re often more like boulders. Hit one of those blocks and the collision between the block and one of your tires could send you careening off the road or into oncoming traffic. In some cases, they’re so solid you could pound them with a sledgehammer with little effect. They truly can represent a serious road hazard. The problem is that it’s difficult to tell how solidly they’re packed when you see them on the road, left their unwittingly by another driver. Either way, your best bet is to try to avoid them. But you want to be careful dodging blocks of ice in the road, too. You need...

Timely maintenance is even more important with your Johnsburg Electric Vehicle

Even if you have an electric vehicle in your Johnsburg driveway, maintenance is still critical. You pull out of your Johnsburg driveway and you watch the gas stations go by as you smile from behind the wheel of your EV – Electric Vehicle. Of course, at some point, you will have to stop and charge the battery but you still take some comfort that you’re not standing next to your car as the fuel pumps into your tank. One of the true comforts you take with your EV is that the mechanics of your vehicle are simplified. You don’t have to worry about the engine breaking down anymore, and we all know how costly that can be. But there’s more to your EV vehicle than you may have considered when you first parked it in your Johnsburg driveway. Many of the parts found on gasoline-driven vehicles are also present on your EV. These require the same maintenance as your gasoline-powered vehicle. For instance, you EV still has: Tires and Wheels Brakes Steering and Suspension Windshield Wipers and So...

Performance Unlimited Blog

Search This Blog