This book is an absolute must read, especially for those with a weak spot for vintage station wagons and road trips. Published by Ford in 1957, this is hardly a “consumer’s guide to camping gear”–there’s a definite independent vibe and lots of backyard ingenuity!

Of course, you’ll find lots of little gems like this (wrong on so many different levels):

“Families with small children find the wagon a special boon on long trips. Suitably padded, the long floor space behind the front seat becomes a safe play area. Back there with their toys and picture books youngsters can work off their restless energy without interfering with the serious business of driving the car.”

Now in the public domain, you can download the book freely from the Internet Archive.