image credit That Hartford Guy
Years produced: 1971-1976 Original starting price: $4,135 The Grand Safari “clamshell” design made its way onto the biggest versions of the Chevy Kingswood, Belair, and Caprice Estates; Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser; and Buick Estate — and so did a “glide-away” tailgate that glided away only if you exerted 35 pounds of pressure to lower it. Getting it back up was no dream, either. But having a tuck-away tailgate solved a problem that even SUV and minivan liftgates haven't figured out: How to you open your cargo door in a tight space, such as a closed garage? At a time when wagon owners had smaller garages and actually had to parallel park these beasts on city streets, it was a question worth asking.
