Seven Passenger Vehicles

Throughout the years, seven passenger vehicles have undergone many different appearances. Every adult that is over the age of 40 remembers loading up the family station wagon on a Friday or Saturday night and heading toward the drive-in theatre with their brothers and sisters. Your father would back-up the wagon to the projection screen; clip the speaker to the wagon's tailgate and everyone would lie on blankets while sipping a soda pop and munching on snacks.

The above mentioned scenario is what has cemented seven passenger vehicles into both our history and our hearts. No other vehicle can bring a large family together each and every weekend by a simple phrase of, "Let's go for a ride." It didn't matter where you would go, just that you had fun riding together to get there.

One of the first popular family vehicles was the Station Wagon. Even though it was believed this vehicle would seat just seven, most models were actually capable of comfortably seating nine. With the standard seating arrangements of a bench seat in the front and behind the driver, each bench could easily seat three individuals. There was a special seat in the rear of the station wagon that set it apart from the rest. It was equipped with a rear facing bench seat in the back. The uniqueness of this design made the rear facing seat a much sought after seating area for many children.

Over time, the family wagon was transformed into the mini-van. The mini-van quickly became very popular with families. The versatility of the mini-van is second to none. Versatile enough to drive the children to the county fair and afterward, fold down the rear seats for the weekly grocery shopping. If a trip to the hardware store is required, there's no problem with loading a small amount of lumber in the back and build the kids a clubhouse over the weekend. For these simple reasons, the mini-van will always hold a special place in family memories.

The slow evolution of family transport vehicles is slowly evolving a new breed of family wagons. The Sports Utility Vehicle or SUV is fast taking place over the mini-van for dominance in the family wagon field. Families are getting back to nature and the SUV supplies them with not only the roominess of a family wagon but the ability to go into nature where station wagons and mini-vans have only dreamed of.