America’s love for the automobile has been evident and strong from day one, ever since the first horseless carriage rolled off the assembly line some 100-plus years ago. The fascination was slow at first for these virtually handmade motorized contraptions, but once they reached production, and Henry Ford made it feasible for anyone to own one, the automobile has helped shape our economy and has influenced the way we live our daily lives. Today, it’s hard to think of life without it.

Beyond the everyday passenger car, there were the depot hacks, and these turned into delivery trucks and closed panel trucks. From there, the Suburban Carryall and the huckster were created, and that has evolved into what we know today as the sport utility vehicle—or better known by the acronym SUV. 

It wasn’t long after the automobile production line was invented, around the early ’20s Chevrolet began looking for an alternate vehicle for those converting a chassis/cowl model truck into mass transportation vehicles for use in state parks, around town and mundane family use. Utilizing outside coachbuilders like Hercules-Campbell and Cantrell, consumers virtually created the market themselves by having such vehicles designed and built for their particular needs, usually some type of mass transit. Car and truck manufacturers only offered the chassis and cowl packages, virtually leaving the body-building business to owner and outside coach builders. 

The first station wagon recognized today was produced by the Studebaker Corporation. In 1922, they introduced the Studebaker Special Six, which was essentially a modified sedan with an extended rear cargo area. This design allowed for more space to transport passengers or cargo, making it suitable for family outings or commercial use.

Ford introduced a version of the station wagon, in 1929, and outside the heavier, stiffer truck, it was constructed using a passenger car frame, not a load bearing truck frame—a far cry from the more massive depot hacks and coach-built buses of the time. Dodge’s answer to the public’s cry for more people/cargo-carrying capability came around 1933, with the Westchester Semi-Sedan Suburban. Built on a Dodge commercial truck chassis, U.S. Body and Forge handled the task of building the wooden station wagon bodies for Dodge. Although not built entirely of steel, like the Chevrolet Carryall, Dodge did have several advantages over Chevrolet. Dodge introduced the Westchester several years before the introduction of the Suburban and installed such convenient features such as roll-up windows, at no extra charge, which was a first for its day.