The coolest cars have hidden headlights. That was my credo when I was a kid, so when Mrs. Vinokur stopped by in her Country Squire to pick up her kids, she would turn on the headlights for my benefit so I could see the doors flip up to expose a pair of duals. I was on cloud nine.
Though a feature not as common as on coupes and sedans, there were other family haulers that had this feature in the 1960-70s—here’s a list.
American Motors
Seriously, AMC never offered any cars (wagons or otherwise) that featured concealed headlamps? Let’s have a moment of silence and shed a tear, then let’s be thankful for the AMX/III.
Buick
Another company that never built a wagon with hidden headlights, though it came close with the Skyhawk later in the 1980s—some body styles and/or trim levels offered concealed headlights, but it was never applied to the wagon.
Cadillac
The Standard of the World never officially offered a station wagon, so not much to say here.
Chevrolet
There were only two instances of Chevrolet wagons having hidden headlights, and they were available as an option on the 1968 Caprice Estate Wagon and its successor, the 1969 Kingswood Estate.
Chrysler
Though several models used concealed headlights starting in 1968 with the 300, no wagons ever had their halogens hidden.
DeSoto
DeSoto was an early adopter with its “Airfoil” lights for 1942 (never to offer them again), though a station wagon was not in the company’s portfolio at the time.
Dodge
The first full-size Dodge to feature hidden headlights was the 1972 Monaco and, yes, it was available as a wagon. This continued into 1973, and then the restyled (and renamed) Royal Monaco showed up for 1975. The treatment was given to the regular Monaco for 1976, then reverted to the Royal Monaco for 1977 because—guess what?—Dodge pulled a fast one and renamed the mid-size Coronet “Monaco.” Confused? Maybe we’ll write another story to sort that one out!
Ford
Ford first introduced hidden headlights on the 1967 Thunderbird, but the feature didn’t appear on wagons until the 1968 Country Squire. Ford continued this through 1970, then returned for 1975 with the LTD Country Squire, which was produced in this form through 1978.
But we cannot forget the Torino. The 1970 Torino Squire came with concealed headlights standard, and it was available as an option for the Torino wagon (though not available on the Fairlane 500 and 1970½ Falcon wagons). For 1971, the hidden lids were now optional for both the Squire and the Torino 500 wagon.
Mercury
Hidden headlights for the brand started with the 1967 Cougar but, when it came to wagons, the feature wasn’t introduced until the 1969 Marquis Colony Park wagon. For 1970, it was joined by a regular Marquis wagon. While the Country Squire ditched hidden headlights for 1971, both Marquis wagons continued to utilize hidden headlights. It would remain this way through 1978.
The first and only Montego wagon to feature a full-width grille shrouding headlights was the 1970 Montego MX Villager.
Oldsmobile
The company from Lansing never offered a wagon with hidden headlights, but wouldn’t a Toronado wagon be neat?
Plymouth
The 1970 Sport Fury was the first Plymouth to feature concealed headlights, as did its wagon companion, which was called the Sport Suburban (seen in the lead image of this article). This continued through 1972.
Pontiac
If you thought Pontiac never offered a wagon with hidden headlights, you’d be partially correct—you’d have to wait for the middle of the 1968 model year when Pontiac introduced hidden headlights for the Bonneville. Was there a surplus of Grand Prix grilles and Pontiac felt introducing the feature for the Bonneville would help? [Shruggy] Since there was a Bonneville wagon, it certainly was within the realm of possibilities to have a 1968 Pontiac wagon with hidden headlights.
However, a year earlier, Canadians were able to buy a Grande Parisienne Safari with the front clip from the Grand Prix. This was repeated again for 1968.
