[ColtFellow]

passenger car for the American large dog owner starting from 1950 on up.


For me it would have to be the 1979 Chevrolet Caprice Classic station wagon not because it is the most well constructed automobile ever made but because of its style and onboard luxury goodies. It has that American classy namesake CHEVY to boot. The rotten thing is the build quality of these elegant-in-shape-only Detroit cruisers was pure crap in the '70's. Nice style but chock full of cheesy molded plastic that breaks easily. Nothing solid like a Mercedes or Rolls-Royce. GM made nicely-styled cars with cheesy materials. Those "chrome" front grilles weren't metal at all. Cracked dashes with exposed foam rubber were common on late '70's GM cars on used car lots in the mid 1980's. I can't say Ford or Chrysler was any better in 1979 for materials and build quality. This Chevy boat for 1970's suburban America gets an A for style and an F for build quality. It's like picking up a gorgeous young centerfold chick and finding out she is rotten to the bone. The pretty rose with the underlying thorns. General Motors duped countless car buyers with looks and fancy names like Chevrolet and Cadillac.

 

[boatme98]

Lincoln Town Car. 1991-2011

 

[G66enigma]

For plenty of room, I'd much prefer a contemporary Audi S6 wagon or a Mercedes-Benz E-series wagon (such as the AMG E 63). Perhaps even one of the mid-sized crossover/SUVs (such as the new Volvo XC40 or XC60). Plenty of room, great performance, tolerable mileage, fairly good build quality. Trouble is, with the contemporary stuff, most cars are made with lighter, faux materials in many areas that simply aren't up to the long-term task.

Saw an Audi e-Tron SUV the other day. Elegant, roomy. Can't speak to the interior/accessories build quality, as I only had a quick peek inside. Beautiful contemporary car, far less expensive than many of the "custom" lux cars on the market these days.

For a sporty sedan that's in that same genre (great room, comfy, classy, elegant)? Perhaps, oh, a Bentley Continental GT coupe. Saw one the other day. Stunning. For even more room, the sedan variant. Big, and a gas hog. But pretty darned elegant. Very much less of the "faux" gear on such cars.

For a "run-of-the-mill" affordable car in the category? An Audi A6 or A8 sedan, or (if more room is needed) the wagon variant. In the "L" (lux) variant, for even more quality and ameneties. In the S or RS flavor, for more performance. Pretty darned good quality, in this "second-tier" (more-affordable) type of lux car.


Bentley Continental GT:

Audi A8L:

Mercedes-Benz AMG E63 wagon:

Audi e-Tron SUV:

For even more "room" ... allowing a person to experience the whole thing: a decently-comfortable, high build-quality bike. Say, an all-steel Kona Rove. Or a custom-built, all-steel, light-touring bike from R&E Cycles:

Kona Rove LTD:

R&E Cycles' Rodriguez Adventure:

 

[OLD Ron]

Chevy wagon

 

[boatme98]

G66, yeah those are all fun comfy cars but I don't know anyone that would let a dog in any of them!
Well, maybe the guys 19 year old mistress with the stupid purse dog would do it but if it was me and I caught her with a dog in the car I'd kick her sorry *** to the curb!
If I could afford a car like that, I'd have another squeeze within the hour.

 

[winds-of-change]

passenger car for the American large dog owner starting from 1950 on up.


For me it would have to be the 1979 Chevrolet Caprice Classic station wagon not because it is the most well constructed automobile ever made but because of its style and onboard luxury goodies. It has that American classy namesake CHEVY to boot. The rotten thing is the build quality of these elegant-in-shape-only Detroit cruisers was pure crap in the '70's. Nice style but chock full of cheesy molded plastic that breaks easily. Nothing solid like a Mercedes or Rolls-Royce. GM made nicely-styled cars with cheesy materials. Those "chrome" front grilles weren't metal at all. Cracked dashes with exposed foam rubber were common on late '70's GM cars on used car lots in the mid 1980's. I can't say Ford or Chrysler was any better in 1979 for materials and build quality. This Chevy boat for 1970's suburban America gets an A for style and an F for build quality.

I owned one of those in the early ‘90s. While everyone was driving minivans, this was all I could afford. I LOVED that car. Also owned a Buick Electra station wagon.

 

[boatme98]

I had a Pontiac Parisienne station wagon that came with a company I bought. It was around a 1984-86 model. I don't really remember it was such a forgettable pos.

 

[c3shooter]

Had a Buick Sport Wagon- about a '72 I think. Lots of room for kids and dogs- not the most elegant car I've ever driven- but had a pretty respectable 351.

Also drove a 69/70 Lincoln. Electric floor mats, power ashtrays, upholstered turn signals- (just kidding about the turn signals) But it DID have a 460 engine, and drove like it was on rails. LOVED that car!

 

[Txhillbilly]

The only place a large dog belongs in a vehicle is in the bed of a pickup.

 

[sheepdawg]

Around 1975 or so I was painting and hanging wallpaper out of a Pinto station wagon. I also had a 71 Cutlass Supreme as a weekend ride. A buddy of mine, Mucky had one of these, a 72 Town Car. We always thought he had a little pimp in him. Anyway a painter can wind up with a pocket full of money at times so we would load up Mucky's Town Car with clothes, pot, pills, beer, our golf clubs and head for the Gulf Coast. We'd get cheap rooms in some seedy dive and head out looking for suckers and pigeons at various golf courses around Pensacola, Ft. Walton or Destin. We'd try to look scraggly and after all long haired hippies can't play, though we could play our azzes off and sometimes we'd even win some cash. Nights were spent on the other side of Pluto, every now or then we'd get lucky if we found some hippy gals and pumped enough euphoria through them. We had a ball till the money or drugs ran out, then it was back to Memphis and back to work. Good times. Anyway the Town Car was huge, and that big 460 was great on the highway. Gas hog, no doubt, but all part of the fun. Amazing what you could get in it. My golfing buddies and I would head out to the Gulf for many more years in my Cutlass, Volkswagens busses, a Mazda pick up, a mid 80s Chevy van, an 80s Pontiac Bonneville but the most hell was raised during the runs in Mucky's Town Car. Eventually we all grow up.

 

[ColtFellow]

Chevy wagon
View attachment 231996

That '57 Chevy wagon is not nearly as luxurious or roomy as and not as modernistic and sleek in styling as that big 1979 Chevy wagon but it sure the devil is a lot more solid in build quality though. This never was a perfect world. I like the 50's build quality but the late '70's styling and comfort for American car brands. The debut 1979 Mercedes wagon was probably the most well-built wagon on the market for that year. The 1979 Toyota Cressida wagon would also have been a great one for reliability and build quality. It was stylish and luxurious too.

The only new-model vehicles I favor in 2020 for a large dog owner are Toyota trucks with a cap on them. I want a vehicle that will keep animals off the seats and that is why I have cargo vehicles in mind. Big classic station wagons had that right amount of style, car-like comfort and capacity for families and/or large pet owners. Minivans, SUV's and full-size vans don't have that classic car-like elegance, lower profile and low stable center of gravity.

In the 1970's on up, American carmakers cut build quality and materials quality as on the interiors and bodies to maximize profits. If you wanted full-size Big Three roominess, you would have to sacrifice on build quality. There was no getting Detroit roominess combined with European and Japanese quality in any wagon.

Large American families had no choice but to buy full-size American, shoddiness notwithstanding. Detroit carmakers knew that and could push cars with crappy-made bodies and interiors onto people in big numbers based on the needs of roominess. The Big Three cars were also overpriced for what they really were. Mechanically speaking, these Detroit car owners did not enjoy Toyota-grade reliability and longevity also. Foreign car makers could capitalize on build quality and not sheer interior volume.

 

[OLD Ron]

That '57 Chevy wagon is not nearly as luxurious or roomy as and not as modernistic and sleek in styling as that big 1979 Chevy wagon but it sure the devil is a lot more solid in build quality though. This never was a perfect world. I like the 50's build quality but the late '70's styling and comfort for American car brands. The debut 1979 Mercedes wagon was probably the most well-built wagon on the market for that year. The 1979 Toyota Cressida wagon would also have been a great one for reliability and build quality. It was stylish and luxurious too.

The only new-model vehicles I favor in 2020 for a large dog owner are Toyota trucks with a cap on them. I want a vehicle that will keep animals off the seats and that is why I have cargo vehicles in mind. Big classic station wagons had that right amount of style, car-like comfort and capacity for families and/or large pet owners. Minivans, SUV's and full-size vans don't have that classic car-like elegance, lower profile and low stable center of gravity.

That 57 was big enough for 3 kids mom & dad & the dog ....... & it had power windows & of all things AC
Funny what a kid remembers .

 

[Notrighty]

When I was18 I had a dachshund beagle mix that I zipped in my jacket and went on motorcycle rides. Even had a little set of glasses. Wish I had a picture.

 

[Chainfire]

Kia Rio?

 

[JTJ]

New car Cadillac Escalade.
https://www.google.com/search?q=cad...FW60KHYkUDhAQ_B16BAgSEAE#imgrc=CUwHoSBjxrDpPM

 

[Chainfire]

When I was a kid, one of the cars we had was a (probably '58) Pontiac Super Chief station wagon. The four kids could play in the back and never disturb Mom and Dad in the front. (It was long before the days of seat belts) That vehicle was like an ocean liner!

My father, who had no problem with driving ****faced drunk, took that old Indian to it's final resting place when, in the wee hours of the morning, he hit a grown cow at about 80 mph. It woke a nearby family who said it sounded like a dynamite explosion. The azz of the cow came through the windshield and painted the entire inside of the car with cow ****, including dear old dad. Pops, being drunk and limber, crawled out, and with a broken jaw, walked the final few miles home and came in stinking and singing. He never had the jaw attended to, and it changed his looks, something I never quite got used to.

When the sheriff investigated the wreck, my pop had not been driving and no one owned the cow!

So, yea, the Super Chief would do for a family with a large dog.

 

[Chainfire]

passenger car for the American large dog owner starting from 1950 on up.


For me it would have to be the 1979 Chevrolet Caprice Classic station wagon not because it is the most well constructed automobile ever made but because of its style and onboard luxury goodies. It has that American classy namesake CHEVY to boot. The rotten thing is the build quality of these elegant-in-shape-only Detroit cruisers was pure crap in the '70's. Nice style but chock full of cheesy molded plastic that breaks easily. Nothing solid like a Mercedes or Rolls-Royce. GM made nicely-styled cars with cheesy materials. Those "chrome" front grilles weren't metal at all. Cracked dashes with exposed foam rubber were common on late '70's GM cars on used car lots in the mid 1980's. I can't say Ford or Chrysler was any better in 1979 for materials and build quality. This Chevy boat for 1970's suburban America gets an A for style and an F for build quality. It's like picking up a gorgeous young centerfold chick and finding out she is rotten to the bone. The pretty rose with the underlying thorns. General Motors duped countless car buyers with looks and fancy names like Chevrolet and Cadillac.

Are you looking for an American dog owner, or an American car?

 

[boatme98]

Westphalia!

Roomy ✓ comfy ✓ elegant, about as elegant as a hippo at the ballet. Classy, only if everybody else was in a Pinto.
Ex #2 and I travelled for almost 2 years in the 78 VW Westphalia with 3 dogs and 2 white cats.
A pure black shepard, a chow, and a border collie mix.
The shepard was just a big hug muffin but she had a mean bark. The other 2 were pretty fiesty. Nobody screwed with us.
I put a small U bolt on every corner of the bumpers and got 20' of chain for each dog so we could put them out and they'd still have enough lead to be happy.

 

[slow_burn]

a 1960's Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser station wagon, with those "look out" windows in the roof..

had a cousin that had one, and it was awesome.

 

[ColtFellow]

That 57 was big enough for 3 kids mom & dad & the dog ....... & it had power windows & of all things AC
Funny what a kid remembers .

but I liked the shape and lines of that 'New Chevrolet' "That's More Like It" big Chevy that debuted in 1977. I liked the distinctive grille of the '79 model the best for that whole generation. That distinctive grille was unfortunately molded plastic, however. It's so sad the build quality and materials just weren't there. That full-size GM body style ran from 1977 to 1990. I was 13 when those came out in the fall of '76 and remember the TV jingle:

The thing that also puts me off about Big Three is the people working at Big Three dealerships are total arse-holes. From about the early 1980's on up, they often treated the customers as if "the customer owed them something". The Dodge and Chevy dealerships were among the worst. They just want your money and never want to see your face again. They know that their crappy American cars stink. Many of those "American" cars have been made in Canada and Mexico for a couple decades now. The nicest guys always have worked at Volkswagen or Japanese brand dealerships. I've gotten the nicest treatment at Toyota dealerships. My 1995 Corolla is made right here on American soil. Buy an American-made car or truck that's worth a damn: buy a Toyota.