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I don’t want to become flame bait, but just ask an honest question and start a debate. We all love these cars, but lets get real – in their later days they were over priced, under-performing and incredibly unreliable. It is hard to believe this model lasted for 28 years, especially past 1980 when gas prices were at a record high, and people were standing at long lines at the pump and there were many, more sensible alternatives.
My wag, Panoscopic (bsweigert.tripod.com/Wagoneer.html) has been in our family since it was new. I have every document that associated with the car since it was delivered new, and two-inch thick pile of maintenance documents for the typical Wag maladies – rear window inoperative, leaking power steering pump, windows not working, rough idle, well, you know the drill. Seemed typical of what you would expect of AMC at that time, or any other car manufacturer ready to go bankrupt.
I remember when I borrowed the Wag for a weekend when it was new. I could not help but think that I could rent a compact car and the gas savings would pay for it versus driving the Wag.
Think of the price of these cars. The original sticker in 1986 was $23,465. In today’s dollars, that is at least $50K. For a 25 year old truck design gussied up with fake wood (which was a ‘70’s cliché and already out of style) and leather trim. Who would buy these kind of cars? Turned out they were doctors and professionals who bought these for second cars. But that price, who would put up with such poor quality? For that kind of money, you could drive a Mercedes Benz, Land Rover, or a Toyota Land Cruiser or two Chevy Suburbans. Frankly, if I had bought Panoscopic new, that would have been the last American car I would have owned, ever!
I was a person who was always attracted to German and Japanese sports sedans and always had these cars tuned to perfection. It seemed odd that I would fall for a car like the Wag, but there was just something about it. To this day, I can’t tell you why I like it.
When my Aunt traded up to a new Grand Cherokee, I said, “Don’t sell the Wag! I’ve got to have it”! The next day I was on an airplane to LA to drive Panosopic back to Chicago.
I put a lot of love and some dollars into getting Panoscopic nice. I tried to make her my daily driver, but alas, I love her only when I can deal with her on a part-time basis. The horrendous fuel economy and regular repairs that occupied my every weekend were just too much for me, and sorry to say, her 40 year old chassis just was too crude to deal with on a daily basis. Hey, and Panoscopic is a nice wag – 75K original miles and from SoCal!
But hey, I have to admit, she has a lotta class! You just don’t see them as nice as mine around here in the Midwest. Lots of people have stopped as asked me about it. Older folks tend to look on in approval – given the incredible model run, they can all remember them. The younger people just snicker as they blast past in their tuned Honda Civics.
I’ve now replaced Panoscopic with a new 2001 TJ as my daily driver. Yes, TJ is a crude road car too, but with modern build quality and engine control systems, it is a world of difference. I keep Panoscopic for occasional drives and weekend runs to the Home Depot, where her quaint antiquity is entertaining, not annoying.
Lastly, why do I call her Panosocpic? My favorite feature of the Wagoneer is the roof-line, and the rear pillar. In the 1963 debut at the Geneva auto show, the design was termed Panoscopic, referring to the panoramic visibility of the roofline. Being a child of the sixties, I can’t help but love it!
So, what do you like about your Wag?
My wag, Panoscopic (bsweigert.tripod.com/Wagoneer.html) has been in our family since it was new. I have every document that associated with the car since it was delivered new, and two-inch thick pile of maintenance documents for the typical Wag maladies – rear window inoperative, leaking power steering pump, windows not working, rough idle, well, you know the drill. Seemed typical of what you would expect of AMC at that time, or any other car manufacturer ready to go bankrupt.
I remember when I borrowed the Wag for a weekend when it was new. I could not help but think that I could rent a compact car and the gas savings would pay for it versus driving the Wag.
Think of the price of these cars. The original sticker in 1986 was $23,465. In today’s dollars, that is at least $50K. For a 25 year old truck design gussied up with fake wood (which was a ‘70’s cliché and already out of style) and leather trim. Who would buy these kind of cars? Turned out they were doctors and professionals who bought these for second cars. But that price, who would put up with such poor quality? For that kind of money, you could drive a Mercedes Benz, Land Rover, or a Toyota Land Cruiser or two Chevy Suburbans. Frankly, if I had bought Panoscopic new, that would have been the last American car I would have owned, ever!
I was a person who was always attracted to German and Japanese sports sedans and always had these cars tuned to perfection. It seemed odd that I would fall for a car like the Wag, but there was just something about it. To this day, I can’t tell you why I like it.
When my Aunt traded up to a new Grand Cherokee, I said, “Don’t sell the Wag! I’ve got to have it”! The next day I was on an airplane to LA to drive Panosopic back to Chicago.
I put a lot of love and some dollars into getting Panoscopic nice. I tried to make her my daily driver, but alas, I love her only when I can deal with her on a part-time basis. The horrendous fuel economy and regular repairs that occupied my every weekend were just too much for me, and sorry to say, her 40 year old chassis just was too crude to deal with on a daily basis. Hey, and Panoscopic is a nice wag – 75K original miles and from SoCal!
But hey, I have to admit, she has a lotta class! You just don’t see them as nice as mine around here in the Midwest. Lots of people have stopped as asked me about it. Older folks tend to look on in approval – given the incredible model run, they can all remember them. The younger people just snicker as they blast past in their tuned Honda Civics.
I’ve now replaced Panoscopic with a new 2001 TJ as my daily driver. Yes, TJ is a crude road car too, but with modern build quality and engine control systems, it is a world of difference. I keep Panoscopic for occasional drives and weekend runs to the Home Depot, where her quaint antiquity is entertaining, not annoying.
Lastly, why do I call her Panosocpic? My favorite feature of the Wagoneer is the roof-line, and the rear pillar. In the 1963 debut at the Geneva auto show, the design was termed Panoscopic, referring to the panoramic visibility of the roofline. Being a child of the sixties, I can’t help but love it!
So, what do you like about your Wag?
So I picked up the local paper looking for some kind of junker 4X4 that could handle the snow and an occassional logging trail on the rock bound coast. The only thing I could find was my now beloved '89 GW with 126k miles, a couple of corner dings, but otherwise in great shape. I figured that for the $2500 price that the original owner was asking, I could bang around for the remainder of my trip and then sell her and have driven it for free. FAT CHANCE - I fell in love. 
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