The ‘Family Truckster’. You know you’ve dreamed of owning one. Ya, it’s not really a ‘truck’, but it has truck in the name, and it’s an iconic Ford movie car.
The Wagon Queen Family Truckster station wagon was created specifically for the film ‘National Lampoons Vacation’. It was based on a 1979 Ford LTD Country Squire station wagon. The car was designed by George Barris, and it lampooned American cars of the late 1970s. The Truckster featured a pale avocado metallic green paint scheme; extensive imitation wood-paneling decals; eight headlights (the second pair was taken from another Crown Victoria/Country Squire and mounted upside-down below the stock pair); a grille area largely covered by bodywork with only two small openings close to the bumper; an oddly-placed fuel filler door; and an airbag made from a trashcan liner.
In the 2015 film Vacation (a sequel to the original), the Wagon Queen Family Truckster reappears at the bed-and-breakfast garage of Clark and Ellen Griswold. The Truckster used in this later film is the creation of Lisa and Steve Griswold, a real-life family living in Atlanta, who created the replica wagon to take family trips with their two daughters. In July 2014, the real-life Griswolds drove across the United States, visiting the locations seen in the original film, and ended their journey on the 31st anniversary of the film at Walley World (Six Flags Magic Mountain), so they could ride the Colossus before Six Flags’ planned closure of the roller coaster.
This fastidiously built movie car replica just sold for $100,100 at the Barrett-Jackson auction in April 2019.
Videos:
(Introducing: The Wagon Queen Family Truckster station wagon)
(National Lampoons Vacation Movie Trailer 1983)
More Photos:
Click the photos to enlarge.
