J.W. Burleson photo / Boquillas del Carmen, Coah.

PHB

My photo
Brooklin, Maine, United States
We own a 1975 GMC Sierra Grande 15 in Maine and a 1986 Chevrolet Custom Deluxe 10 in West Texas. Also a pair of 1997 Volvo 850 wagons. Average age in the fleet is 28 years--we're recycling. I've published 3 novels: THE LAW OF DREAMS (2006), THE O'BRIENS (2012), and CARRY ME (2016). Also 2 short story collections: NIGHT DRIVING(1987) and TRAVELLING LIGHT (2013). More of my literary life is at www.peterbehrens.org I was a Fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study for 2012-13. I'm an adjunct professor at Colorado College and in the MFA program at Queens University of Charlotte. In 2015-16 I was a Fellow at Harvard University's Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. The Autoliterate office is in Car Talk Plaza in Harvard Square, 2 floors above Dewey Cheatem & Howe. SUBSCRIBE TO THE AUTOLITERATE DAILY EMAIL by hitting the button to the right.

Sunday, September 6, 2015

1991 Buick Roadmaster Estate & Wagonmasters

It was the last series of GM's full-size wagons and you can see why it meant death to the genre. A whale, and not even very practical. Along comes the minivan and eats this last wagon for lunch. Hell of an unsleek finale for the wagon era. Still there is something so over-the-top about the Roadmaster,  its Chevy cousin the Caprice Estate, and the Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser...these cars are..impressive? And probably quite rock solid, engineering-wise. Heck I'd buy one if I could find a clean western car. That would be a great car for a floaty, wide-open Western road trip: across the Lllano Estacado, say.
 Have a look at "Wagonmasters" a documentary about the genre. Here's a review in of all places the NYT.
 That's a 1966(?) Old Cruiser when American wagons were at the top of their game.


No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.