In 1952 Ford introduced the Ranch Wagon, a name that would prove to have considerable staying power in the automaker’s wagon lineup.
In the final woody era of 1949-51, Ford could offer only two-door station wagons, a limitation that was remedied with the all-steel wagons introduced for 1952. While the four-door Country Sedans and Country Squires gave the company greater reach into the expanding wagon market, two-door wagon buyers weren’t abandoned. For them, Ford introduced the no-frills, utitlity-oriented Ranch Wagon—a name that would prove to have considerable sticking power in the Ford product line through the years.
As a nominal member of Ford’s base trim level, the Mainline, the Ranch Wagon sported very little exterior bright metal, but it did offer a base price of just $1,832, easily supporting the claim that here was the lowest-price wagon in the full-size class. At the time, Chevy offered only one wagon, the four-door Deluxe Styline at $2,297. And while the Ranch was available only in a two-row, six-passenger configuration, Ford emphasized the rear seat’s “Stowaway” feature, opening up a flat cargo area that was nearly (but not quite) eight feet long.
Thus equipped, Ford advertised the Ranch Wagon as ideal not just for growing families, but for sportsmen and trades people as well. Farmers, too. “For payloads or playloads,” the ads declared. While the Ranch didn’t offer faux-wood trim like the Country Squire, classy two-tone paint combinations were available, and all the usual Ford features as well: a choice of overhead-valve six or flathead V8, paired with three-speed manual, overdrive, or Fordomatic drive.
Despite its lack of rear passenger doors, the ’52 Ranch Wagon was a mover on the dealer lots thanks to its low, low price, outselling both the Country Sedan and Country Squire. That trend continued into ’54, when the four-doors became the volume leaders in wagons. The Ranch Wagon proved to have some upmarket potential, too, serving as the basis for the 1956 Parklane and 1957-58 Del Rio luxury wagons. Hot rodders and racers adopted Ranch Wagons as tow vehicles, and among Ford enthusiasts the two-door longroof models are collectibles today.
In 1958, the Ranch Wagon lost some distinctiveness as Ford altered the script, offering a four-door body style for the first time. Still, it continued on as the price leader in the wagon category, in base trim levels with seating for six. In ’63-’64, the Ranch was briefly demoted to the intermediate Fairlane platform, then returned to full-sized status where it remained in production for a total of 23 years—all the way through 1974.
