1983 saw the premier of a classic American film: National Lampoon’s Vacation. In it, the Griswolds, a typical American suburban middle class family, journeys across the country on a road trip vacation. At the beginning of the movie, patriarch Clark Griswold, played by Chevy Chase, buys a huge and hideous station wagon for the journey.
That car was called a Wagon Queen Family Truckster, which did not exist in real life but was typical of the great land yachts which sailed across American highways in the 80s. The movie production studio built the Truckster from a 1979 Ford LTD Country Squire.
The movie has inspired Steve and Lisa Griswold—yes, that’s their real last name—to build a replica of the Truckster out of a 1984 Ford LTD Country Squire, then take it on road trips. They modified the car in precise and exhaustive detail, even going to far as to install a fake gas cap hatch where it was in the movie. You read more about the car conversion and see photos here.
-via Core77