Power Tour is currently roaming the country, and in the grand tradition I go through just about every year since it first kicked off, I wonder what I would drive on the route. When it first started back in the 1990s, I just wanted something nasty with a blower that would actually make the whole drive. Now? Eff that. I want air conditioning, legroom that would make the owner of a business jet jealous, and enough room to bring along a few friends to enjoy the experience with. That sounds like a blast, doesn’t it? Sure, it’d be cool to take a street machine out and watch necks snap but we’re thinking that something like this 1979 Mercury Colony Park wagon would be ideal.
Canadians, I’m sorry if I’m about to butcher this, but the ad says one thing and the car says another. The ad claims that this is a 1979 Montcalm Ranch Wagon, while the car itself says Marquis Colony Park. Either way you look at it, this is one of the last of the Big Fords, the monster 460-powered sleds that were big on room, features, and Di-Noc wood paneling. This Merc only has a little over 80,000 kilometers (just over 50,000 miles) on the odometer and that could stand to be raised by a few thousand while cruising the country with a few thousand like-minded friends with a cooler of (legal) drinks in the back compartment.
It used to be that the monster wood-paneled station wagon was hated…now, we’re kind of liking the idea of one!
Kijiji Link: 1979 Mercury Marquis Colony Park
(Thanks to Justin Wayne for the tip!)
Long roofs are the way to go! When I was a teenager my parents had a Vista Cruiser with the skylight and rear facing seat. I fell in love with it and have owned 20+ over the years. Wagons and sedan delivery’s , I love them all. Current project is a 66 Ford Ranch Wagon with the dual open tailgate. I have hauled cargo trailers , boats and campers with them all
Bring gas money. LOTS of gas money. Better yet, skip the hotels an sleep in the wagon to pay for gas.
Except it can’t actually be newer than 1978, because 1979 was the first year of the downsized Panther chassis full-size Fords and Mercs.