Woodie (car body style)

As a variant of body-on-frame construction, the woodie as a utility vehicle or station wagon originated from the early practice of manufacturing the passenger compartment portion of a vehicle in hardwood. It was a modern interpretation of an earlier horse-drawn wagon called a shooting brake which was made entirely of wood used to transport hunting spoils, gun racks, and ammunition on shooting trips.{{cite book|first=Richard |last=Tames |title=The Victorian and Edwardian Sportsman |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=lytfuLKy6zMC&pg=PA17 |year=2008 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA|isbn=978-0-7478-0666-0|page=17}}{{cite book | title= Motor Body-building in all its Branches |first=Christopher William |last=Terry |year=1914 |page= [https://archive.org/details/motorbodybuildin00terrrich/page/6 6] |publisher=E. & F.N. Spon |location=London |url= https://archive.org/details/motorbodybuildin00terrrich| quote=shooting-brake. }}

Woodies were 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 — some by large, reputable coachbuilding firms and others by local carpenters 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. — 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 — for reasons of strength, cost, safety, 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)

{{gallery

|File:1910 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost Croall & Croall Shooting Brake 7 litre 6 cylinder 50hp 100kmh pic2.JPG|1910 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost with original woodie coachwork by Scottish coachbuilder Croall & Croall|File:1923 Ford Model T Depot Hack.jpg|1923 Ford Model T Depot Hack woodie|File:1930sFordWoodie.jpg|1938 Ford Prefect woodie

|File:1937 Ford Model 78 780 De Luxe Station Wagon.jpg|1937 Ford Deluxe Station Wagon

|File:Nash Suburban 4-door sedan woodie at AACA show left side.jpg|1946–1948 Nash Ambassador Suburban

|File:Pontiac Woodie.jpg|1940 Pontiac Torpedo Special Series 25 woodie

|File:Bonhams - The Paris Sale 2012 - Rolls-Royce 40 50hp Phantom I Shooting Brake - 1928 - 009.jpg|1928 Rolls-Royce Phantom I with woodie coachwork fitted in the 1940s|File:BiscuterComercial200CLado.jpg|The Biscúter Comercial 200C (Spanish)

|File:Woodie wagon body 1947.jpg|Construction of wooden-framed station wagon body, 1947, Australia

|File:1948 Chrysler Town & Country Convertible (31737539506) (cropped).jpg|1948 Chrysler Town and Country, a convertible woodie

|File:Paris - Bonhams 2013 - Peugeot 202 Canadienne camionette boisée - 1948 - 001.jpg|1948 Peugeot 202 Canadienne woodie|File:1949 Packard Station Sedan in Black, rear right2 (Greenwich 2023).jpg|1949 Packard Station Sedan

}}

In 1950, Chrysler discontinued their woodie station wagons on DeSoto, Dodge and Plymouth station wagons. Buick's 1953 Super Estate Wagon and 1953 Roadmaster Estate Wagon were the last production American station wagons to retain real wood construction. Other marques by then were touting the advantages of "all-steel" construction to the buying public. By 1955, only Ford and Mercury, joined in 1965 by Chrysler, offered a "woodie" appearance — evoking real wood with other materials including steel, plastics and DI-NOC (a vinyl product). As the appearance became popular, Ford, GM, and Chrysler offered multiple models with the woodgrain appearance until the early 1990s.

The British Motor Corporation (BMC) offered the Morris Minor Traveller (1953–1971) with wood structural components and painted aluminium infill panels — the last true mass-produced woodie. Morris' subsequent Mini Traveller (1961–1969) employed steel infill panels and faux wood structural members.

{{gallery

|File:1950 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon.jpg|1950 Buick Roadmaster

|File:1950 Chrysler Newport Coupe woodie.JPG|1950 Chrysler Newport Town & Country convertible

|File:1951 Ford 79 Custom Country Squire Station Wagon.jpg|1951 Ford Custom 79 Country Squire

|File:Morris Minor 1000 green woody l.jpg|1960s Morris Minor 1000 Traveller

|}}

{{see also|Skeuomorph}}

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, 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 1970s. When Chevrolet proposed a simulated woodgrain option for the Chevy Vega Kammback wagon for the 1973 model year, after a gap of four years of applying woodgrain film on the Caprice, the Vega's production schedule made smooth application of the applique difficult without wrinkles and heavy scrappage — requiring retraining by the film supplier, 3M.Little-known Vega Development stories by John Hinckley, GMAD-Lordstown Vega Launch Coordinator Subsequent rebadged variants of the Vega (marketed as "Woody"),1973 Chevrolet Vega brochure Jan. 1973 including the Pontiac Astre Safari, Chevrolet Monza Estate and Pontiac Sunbird Safari, also offered simulated wood trim. Chevrolet offered a simulated woodie version of the Chevette in 1976, and AMC offered the Pacer wagon with optional simulated wood trim in 1977.

Ford also marketed version of their 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. In 1973, Ford produced a minivan prototype that offered a woodgrain appearance to preceded the Chrysler minivan, called the Ford Carousel, but it was not put into production. The 1973–1976 Chevrolet El Camino Estate, 1973–1977 Chevrolet Suburban, 1977–1979 Volkswagen Rabbit, and 1970–1991 Jeep Wagoneer had simulated woodgrain siding.{{cite news |title=Against the Grain: 21 Woodies That Weren't Station Wagons |url=https://www.caranddriver.com/features/g15376986/against-the-grain-21-woodies-that-werent-station-wagons/ |access-date=11 May 2022 |work=Car and Driver |date=2 September 2016}}

Introduced in 1981, the Ford Escort and Mercury Lynx four-door wagons offered optional simulated wood trim. GM offered its full-size wagons in wood trim versions until their final year in 1996. From 1982 to 1988, Chrysler used the Town & Country name on a station wagon version of the K-based, front wheel drive LeBaron, featuring plastic woodgrain exterior trim with three dimensional simulated framework. As the station wagon declined in North America, manufacturers offered faux wood trim on SUVs and minivans (e.g., the Jeep Cherokee and Chrysler minivans). Chrysler offered simulated wood as an option for the Chrysler PT Cruiser, introduced in 2000—and aftermarket firms offered kits as well.

Japanese carmakers shied away from the appearance apart from port-of-entry or dealer-installed trim offered to North American consumers, although Mazda equipped the 1972-1977 Mazda Luce/RX-4 optionally, Honda briefly offered the 1980 Honda Civic station wagon, and Nissan offered the appearance on the 1983-1987 Nissan Cedric V20E SGL and Nissan Gloria V20E SGL top trim package station wagons to Japanese customers only.

In 2010, George Barris created a woodie version of the Smart Fortwo, an aftermarket firm offered a simulated wood kit for the same car,{{cite news

| title = Batmobile, 'woodie' Smart cars conjured up by George Barris

| publisher = USA Today, May 13, 2010

| url = http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2010/05/batmobile-woodie-smart-cars-conjured-up-by-george-barris/1

| date=May 13, 2010}} and GM displayed a prototype woodie version of the forthcoming Chevrolet Spark for the 2010 Paris Motor Show.{{cite web

| title = Cowabunga, Europe: The Chevy Spark Woodie Wagon

| date = 5 August 2010

| publisher = Jalopnik, Matt Hardigree, August 5, 2010

| url = http://jalopnik.com/5605265/cowabunga-europe-the-chevy-spark-woodie-wagon}}

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

::[http://i.usatoday.net/communitymanager/_photos/drive-on/2010/05/13/woodiex-wide-community.jpg See: Smart Fortwo, George Barris woodie version]

::[https://web.archive.org/web/20120623063822/http://www.thecarconnection.com:80/news/1040526_heinous-car-pic-of-the-day-pimped-out-smart-fortwo-woody See: Smart Fortwo, aftermarket woodie kit]

::[https://web.archive.org/web/20121103201926/http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/12/2010/08/500x_chevy_spark_woodie_02.jpg See: Chevrolet Spark with woodie trim]

{{gallery

|File:1966 Caprice Estate.jpg|1966 Chevrolet Caprice Estate

|File:1968 Ford LTD Country Squire.jpg|1968 Ford LTD Country Squire

|File:1970RancheroSquire.jpg|1970 Ford Ranchero Coupe utility

|File:74 Vega Estate.jpg|1974 Chevrolet Vega Estate

|File:1972 Chrysler Town & Country station wagon.jpg|1972 Chrysler Town & Country

|File:1972 Fury Sport Suburban.jpg|1972 Plymouth Fury Sport Suburban

|File:1973 El camino.jpg|1973 Chevrolet El Camino Estate

|File:1974 Pontiac Grand Safari.jpg|1974 Pontiac Grand Safari

|File:1977 AMC Pacer wagon red woodie Nashville.jpg|1977 American Motors Pacer

|File:Honda CIVIC COUNTRY in the Honda Collection Hall.JPG|1980 Honda Civic Country

|File:1984 Mercury Colony Park, rear right (high).jpg|1984 Mercury Colony Park

|File:87-90 Chevrolet Caprice wagon.jpg|1988 Chevrolet Caprice Classic

|File:AMC Eagle Wagon blue wood grain 258 cid 5-speed.jpg|AMC Eagle

|File:1985 Voyager LE.jpg|1985 Plymouth Voyager

|File:83-86 Ford LTD wagon.jpg|1986 Ford LTD

|File:1986 Jeep Grand Wagoneer white-a Mason-Dixon Dragway 2014.jpg|1986 Jeep Grand Wagoneer

|File:Grand Wagoneer 1993.jpg|1993 Jeep Grand Wagoneer

|File:1993-Buick-Roadmaster-Estate.jpg|Buick Roadmaster Estate (1991-1996), the US' last full-sized station wagon

|File:2009 Ford Flex (One Quarter Perspective).jpg|2009 Ford Flex with horizontal grooves to evoke wood

}}

Columbia Pictures' top-grossing film for the 1940s, director John Stahl's 1945 Leave Her to Heaven starring Gene Tierney and Cornel Wilde, features a "woodie" station wagon early in the film. Many other American movies from the 1940s also feature woodies.

The woodie was also closely associated with surfers and Surf-rock, e.g., “I bought a ’34 wagon and we call it a woodie" from the classic "Surf City" by Jan and Dean or the 1963 instrumental "Boogie Woodie" by The Beach Boys.

In 1995, the U.S. Postal Service issued a 15 cent stamp commemorating the woodie wagon.{{cite web|title=Stamp Series |publisher=United States Postal Service |url=http://beyondtheperf.com/stamp-series |access-date=Sep 2, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130810160707/http://beyondtheperf.com/stamp-series |archive-date=August 10, 2013 }}

• Station wagon
• Shooting-brake
• Surf culture
• Wood trim

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{{Reflist}}

{{Commons category|Woodies}}

• [https://woodies.clubexpress.com/content.aspx National Woodie Club]

{{Kustom kulture}}

Category:Automotive styling features

Category:Surf culture

Category:Kustom Kulture

Category:Wood products