B-body wagon voted my family's favorite trip car

So this week, for the second time I took my extended family (5 total) on a long trip first in the Country Squire, then in the Park Avenue (total mileage for both trips together was almost 600!) and both times, several people in the car complained about how they liked the "red wagons" (OCC and Caprice) better. My Aunt and Sister complained about how the front seat in the Ford wasn't as comfortable as the OCC and Caprice, and in the Park Avenue EVERYONE complained about how the back seat wasn't as comfortable for 3 people and told me "you should have taken one the red wagons!" Apparently the rear middle seat is very uncomfortable and no one seemed to thrilled about the sort of "cupped" sides of the two outside seats. After we got back home my Mom said "next time take one of the red wagons, they're much more comfortable for 3 people" I said I thought they'd like the the leg room of the Park Ave and my Mom pointed out none of them are over 5' 5". Soooooo.... I learned my lesson, the B-body wagons have won in the comfortable for a lot of people on a long trip category. So for those of you who have other cars what does your family find they like the best for long crowded trips?

Lynol wrote:

So for those of you who have other cars what does your family find they like the best for long crowded trips?

um,. er,. well,. the town and country minivan,.or the conversion van,. everyone loves the conversion van with it,s ample head room,. easy access etc,. and the TV is good for everyone,.but the poor fuel mileage (TBI duh,..) makes it too expensive to use,. the town and country with its 4 buckets and bench backseat is just as good,. nobody minds either wagon on long drives,. but around town stuff they prefer the automatic,.
mommy's lincoln is ok when there's just 4 of us,. nobody really like the centre seat on it either although for short trips to town we do put 6 in it,.

Nick

My wife's "old" car was the 2002 Grand Prix that gets 29.9MPG consistently at 75MPH. My wagon gets 18. I "forced" her to take the GP if for nothing else, the fuel economy. She bitched the whole trip. "I don't care how much we spend in gas, we take the wagon from now on". We run until the tank is dry in the Buick, but had to stop and stretch out our backs about every 2 hours in the GP. The G8 is better, but, as awesome as those seats are, they are still not as comfortable as the Buick for the long haul.

Dont know if there is much difference in the padding but the Buick is much more comfortable
than my OCC.Hell we have always known that our wagons are the best long trip cars.Had
a new 5 speed turbo T bird that was pretty comfortable on trips too.For a Ford!
Jim

phantom 309 wrote:

Lynol wrote:

So for those of you who have other cars what does your family find they like the best for long crowded trips?

um,. er,. well,. the town and country minivan,.or the conversion van,. everyone loves the conversion van with it,s ample head room,. easy access etc,. and the TV is good for everyone,.but the poor fuel mileage (TBI duh,..) makes it too expensive to use,. the town and country with its 4 buckets and bench backseat is just as good,. nobody minds either wagon on long drives,. but around town stuff they prefer the automatic,.
mommy's lincoln is ok when there's just 4 of us,. nobody really like the centre seat on it either although for short trips to town we do put 6 in it,.

Nick

Ah yes, well my family also does enjoy the roominess of my Town & Country for long drives as well, except for my 90 year old Grandmother who really can't get in and out of the van without help, which is why we usually end up taking something else.

Flasheroo wrote:

Dont know if there is much difference in the padding but the Buick is much more comfortable
than my OCC.Hell we have always known that our wagons are the best long trip cars.Had
a new 5 speed turbo T bird that was pretty comfortable on trips too.For a Ford!
Jim

I don't know how the front seats were in our OCC's when they were new, but I feel the Roadmaster seats are a lot more comfortable for long drives than the seats in my OCC are.

Feels like I am sitting on the OCC seat and in the RMW seat.
IMHO
Jim

b bodies are awesome for road trips. I took a few with my dad for boy scout trips when he had his 77 wagons (1 poncho, 1 chevy). no one in the back seat ever complained. the fwd wagon (91 olds CC w/ 3300) he had was another story. the ride was very uncomfortable for everyone if there was more than 2 people. the front seats had to be moved up so the people in the middle seat could fit their legs in the car, which meant no one had leg room, and the 3 guys in the middle seat had no arm/ leg room. (and forget about the rear 2 person jump seat. I sat in it once for the hell of it (I was about 6 ft then). my knees were up against my chest and my shoes were up against the back of the car. my dad claimed that was the best wagon ever made for 2 people- and no more.

another noteworthy road trip vehicle is my 00 safari conversion van. I put flexsteel seats in it (original seats had 160k of wear and were ratty, along with being stiff and uncomfortable) , and it is quite comfortable. the middle row could have used about 1 ft more leg room (so the 2nd row people could stretch out), but 2nd row footroom is nice (better than stock). the rear bed (for people under 4.5 feet)/ 3rd row seat is 100% worthless. it feels like sitting on a marshmallow, and not in a good way. if you're taking 4 or less people, it is excellent. I still wish I had a roadie or OCC wagon though- those seats were so comfortable and cushy. it was like riding in a floating couch down the highway.

Krzdimond wrote:

My wife's "old" car was the 2002 Grand Prix that gets 29.9MPG consistently at 75MPH. My wagon gets 18. I "forced" her to take the GP if for nothing else, the fuel economy. She bitched the whole trip. "I don't care how much we spend in gas, we take the wagon from now on". We run until the tank is dry in the Buick, but had to stop and stretch out our backs about every 2 hours in the GP. The G8 is better, but, as awesome as those seats are, they are still not as comfortable as the Buick for the long haul.

My wife has that '01 Grand Prix, and to save gas we've used it on some weekend trips to Dallas. It's sporty, the 3800 gets good mileage, is fun around town, but the leather seats are flat and hard. Does not compare to road-tripping in the wagon. It's worth the extra gas money for the comfort!!

-Mike