Courtesy of The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation, here’s a neat little three-minute history of that proud American institution, the station wagon.   

America knows Mo Rocca, the journalist, humorist, and actor. We first got to meet him as a regular correspondent for The Daily Show on Comedy Central and The Tonight Show on NBC, and listeners to National Public Radio are well-acquainted with his dry and playful wit as a panelist on the quiz show Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! Mo is a familiar face to kids as well, as the host of the The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation sketches on Saturday mornings on CBS.

Here, Mo has teamed up with The Henry Ford’s curator of transportation, Matt Anderson, to present a brilliant little three-minute history of the station wagon, an American institution. Station wagons, or depot hacks as they were once also known, are nearly as old as the auto industry, but they really came into their own after WWII with the explosion of suburbia and the baby boom. In more recent years the once-popular body style has been eclipsed, first by minvans and then the SUV craze. But among car enthusiasts, hope springs eternal for a longroof revival. Please enjoy the video.