Finally, a dream car for the whole family. Let’s take a closer look at the 1958 Plymouth Cabana station wagon.

As we’ve often noted here at Mac’s Motor City Garage, station wagons were rather rare in golden age of Detroit dream cars, so we like to feature them when we can. This one, the 1958 Plymouth Cabana, was never shown outside the Chrysler design studios as far as we know, but it’s certainly worth a closer look now. While the exterior styling could be described as far out, the design also includes some clever and useful features.

The central feature of  the Cabana, its calling card if you will, was the panoramic glass roof section over the rear passenger compartment.  Nice for sightseeing, but with all the ultraviolet energy streaming in, we suppose a high-capacity air-conditioning system would be in order. A rear-facing third seat and conventional seating up front provided room for up to eight or nine passengers. The instrument panel is remarkably clean and elegant for the time, we noticed, with the instruments and controls nestled directly in front of the driver.

The Cabana’s exterior development began, evidently, with a rendering by the prolific Ford and Chrysler stylist John Samsen (1927-2020). The original proposal (above, courtesy of Fine Art America) featured an overall look much like the production 1957 Plymouth, combined with a greenhouse treatment that resembled the 1956 Chrysler Plainsman dream wagon with its inverted-pyramid C-pillar.

The eventual Cabana design combines familiar elements we associate with Ghia, a frequent Chrysler collaborator, with Virgil Exner’s Foward look. The rear bumper and front grille treatment remind us of the 1956 Chrysler Dart show car by Ghia and the later Ghia SS sports cars as well. Meanwhile, the bold tailfins are pure Forward Look. Body construction is standard Detroit-style four-door pillarless hardtop, but with a twist: Note the forward-opening (suicide) rear passenger doors.

The Cabana was reportedly constructed by Ghia in Turin on a production 1958 Plymouth rolling chassis with ladder frame, torsion-bar front suspension, and 115-inch wheelbase. However, an engine and drivetrain were never installed, reports say. As with so many non-functioning Motor City dream cars, the Cabana was apparently scrapped once the exercise was wrapped up.