Woodie

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A woodie is a car body style, especially a station wagon , where the rear bodywork is constructed of wood framework with infill panels of wood or painted metal.

After the demise of actual wood construction, manufacturers used simulated woodgrain sheet vinyl & mdash; sometimes augmented with three-dimensional, simulated framework & mdash; to recall wood construction. In 2008, wood construction was evoked abstractly on the Ford Flex with a series of side and rear horizontal grooves.

History

1930s and 40s

As a variant of body-on-frame construction, woodies originated from the early (pre mid-1930s) practice of manufacturing the passenger compartment portion of a vehicle in hardwood. The woodie was popular in the United States and were produced as variants of sedans and convertibles as well as station wagons, from basic to luxury. They were typically manufactured as third-party conversions of regular vehicles & mdash; some by large, reputable coachbuilder|coachbuilding firms and others by local carpenter s and craftsmen for individual customers. They could be austere vehicles, with side curtains in lieu of roll-up windows (e.g., the 1932 Ford ) Street Rodder , 7/94, p.90 caption. & mdash; and sold in limited numbers (e.g., Ford sold 1654 woodie wagons). Hot Rod Magazine, 7/90, p.50. Eventually, bodies constructed entirely in steel supplanted wood construction & mdash; for reasons of strength, cost and durability.Coincidentally, this benefited furniture makers, who previously had been outbid for the best wood. Georgano, G. N. Cars: Early and Vintage, 1886–1930 . (London: Grange-Universal, 1985)

1950s and 60s

Woodies were produced in the greatest numbers before the end of the 1950s, before safety regulations would effectively have made them obsolete.

In 1950, Plymouth (automobile)|Plymouth discontinued their woodie station wagon. Buick manufactured its last woodie in 1953. By 1955, only Ford and Mercury (automobile)|Mercury offered a woodie, evoking real wood with other materials including steel, plastic s and DiNoc (a vinyl product). Ford offered its wood models as the Ford Country Squire | Country Squire trim level in numerous model range s from the 1940s to the 1990s.

The British Motor Corporation British Motor Corporation|(BMC) offered the Morris Minor|Morris Minor Traveller (1953–71) with wood structural components and painted aluminum infill panels & mdash; the last true mass-produced woodie. Morris' subsequent Mini#Morris_Mini_Traveller_and_Austin_Mini_Countryman_.281961.E2.80.931969.29|Mini Traveller (1961–9) employed steel infill panels and faux wood structural members.

Simulated woodgrain

After the demise of models using actual wood construction, manufacturers continued to evoke wood construction with sheet-vinyl appliques of simulated wood grain, sometimes augmented with three-dimensional, simulated framework & mdash; and later by a simple series of indented grooves in the bodywork.

The 1966 Chevrolet Caprice in its second season, added to the four-door hardtop body style a full line of models including a vinyl-wood trimmed station wagon, the Caprice Estate. Dodge also reintroduced simulated wood the same year.

Ford marketed the Ford Pinto Squire with vinyl simulated wood trim in the early 70s. When Chevrolet proposed a simulated woodgrain option for the Chevy Vega|Chevy Vega Kammback wagon for the 1973 model year, after a gap of four years of applying woodgrain film on the Chevrolet Caprice|Caprice , the Vega's production schedule made smooth application of the applique difficult without wrinkles and heavy scrappage & mdash; and requiring retraining by the film supplier.Little-known Vega Development stories by John Hinckley, GMAD-Lordstown Vega Launch Coordinator Subsequent Badge engineering|rebadged variants of the Vega (marketed as "Woody"),1973 Chevrolet Vega brochure Jan. 1973 including the Chevrolet Vega#Vega variants|Pontiac Astre Safari, Chevrolet Monza#1975–1980|Chevrolet Monza Estate and Pontiac Sunbird Safari, also offered simulated wood trim. Chevrolet offered a simulated woodie version of the Chevrolet Chevette|Chevette in 1976, and American Motors Corporation|AMC offered the AMC Pacer|Pacer wagon with optional simulated wood trim in 1977.

Ford also marketed version of their Ford Ranchero|Ranchero model, a coupe utility produced between 1957 and 1979 with an open bed like a pickup truck but from a station wagon platform, with simulated woodgrain siding.

Introduced in 1981, the Ford Escort (North America)#First generation (1981-90)|Ford Escort and Mercury Lynx four-door wagons offered optional simulated wood trim. General Motors|GM offered its full-size wagons in wood trim versions until their final year in 1996. As the station wagon declined in North America , manufacturers offered faux wood trim on SUV s and minivans (e.g., the Jeep Cherokee (XJ)|Jeep Cherokee and Chrysler minivans ). Chrysler offered simulated wood as an option for the Chrysler PT Cruiser , introduced in 2000 & mdash; and Aftermarket (automotive)|aftermarket firms offered kits as well.

In 2010, George Barris created a woodie version of the Smart Fortwo , an aftermarket firm offered a simulated wood kit for the same car, and GM displayed a prototype woodie version of the forthcoming Daewoo Matiz#Third generation|Chevrolet Spark for the 2010 Paris Motor Show .

Introduced in 2008, the Ford Flex featured a series of side and rear horizontal grooves intended to evoke a woodie look & mdash; without either wood or simulated wood. Car Design News said the styling references "a previous era without resorting to obvious retro styling cues."

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