Editing Station wagon (section)

==== Full-size wagons ====
{{Multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical
| image1   = 1969 Ford LTD Country Squire.jpg
| caption1 = 1969 [[Ford Country Squire|Ford LTD Country Squire]]
| image2   = 1975 AMC Matador four-door station wagon with 2-way tailgate and 3-rows of seats at 2017 AMO meet 05of11.jpg
| caption2 = 1975 [[AMC Matador]] with third-row seat and two-way tailgate open for passenger egress
}}

From the 1950s until the 1990s, many [[full-size car|full-size]] American station wagons could be optioned with a third row of seating in the cargo area (over the rear axle) for a total of nine seats. Before 1956, the third-row seats were forward-facing.

Chrysler's 1957 models had a roof too low to permit a forward-facing seat in the cargo area,{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} so a rear-facing seat was used for the third row.

General Motors adopted the rear-facing third row for most models during 1959-1971 and 1977–1996. However, the 1964–1972 [[Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser]] and 1964–1969 [[Buick Sport Wagon]] featured raised roof lines beginning above the second-row seat and continuing to the rear tailgate, resulting in the third row of seats being forward-facing. General Motors also used forward-facing seats for the third row from 1971 through 1976 [[#Clam shell|clam shell wagons]].

The Ford and Mercury full-size wagons built after 1964 were available with four rows of seats, with the rear two rows in the cargo area facing each other. The third and fourth rows were designed for two people each (although these seats were relatively narrow in later models), giving a total seating capacity of ten people.

The trend since the 1980s for smaller station wagon bodies has limited the seating to two rows, resulting in a total capacity of five people, or six people, if a bench front seat is used. Since the 1990s, full-size station wagons have been largely replaced by SUVs with three-row seating, such as the [[Chevrolet Suburban]], [[Ford Expedition]], [[Dodge Durango]], [[Land Rover]] [[Land_Rover_Defender_(L663)|Defender 130]] and the [[Range Rover]], [[Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class]], and [[BMW X7]].<ref name="motortrend.com">{{cite web |title=2013 Mercedes-Benz GL450 vs. 2012 Mercedes-Benz E350 4Matic Wagon |url= https://www.motortrend.com/legacy/1301-2013-mercedes-benz-gl450-vs-2012-e350-4matic-wagon/ |first=Erick |last=Ayapana |date=3 January 2013 |website=motortrend.com |access-date=1 July 2024}}</ref>