Editing Station wagon (section)

===Tailgate designs===
Many modern station wagons have an upward-swinging, full-width, full-height rear door supported on [[gas spring]]s—often where the rear window can swing up independently. A variety of other designs have been employed in the past.

==== Split gate ====
The split gate features an upward-swinging window and a downward-swinging tailgate, both manually operated. This configuration was typical in the 1920s through the 1940s, and remained common on many models into the 1960s.

====Retractable window====
In the early 1950s, tailgates with hand-cranked roll-down rear windows began to appear. Later in the decade, electric power was applied to the tailgate window so it could be operated from the driver's seat and by a key-activated switch in the tailgate. By the early 1970s, this arrangement was available on full-size, intermediate, and compact wagons. The lowered bottom hinged tailgate extended the cargo area floor and could serve as a picnic table for "tailgating."<ref>{{cite web |title=1963 AMC Rambler Classic station wagon |url= https://digitalcollections.detroitpubliclibrary.org/islandora/object/islandora%3A210924 |work=Detroit Public Library |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref> 
* '''Side hinge:''' A side-hinged tailgate that opened like a door was offered on some three-seat station wagons to make it easier for the back-row passengers to enter and exit their rear-facing seats. 

{{Multiple image
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| image1            = Flickr - DVS1mn - 58 Chevrolet Brookwood (6).jpg
| alt1              = 
| caption1          = Split tailgate
| image2            = 1964 Studebaker Commander Wagonaire (19020043732).jpg
| caption2          = rear roof retracted and tailgate hinged down
| footer            = 
}}

====Retractable roof====
A station wagon design featuring a retractable rear roof section and a conventional rear tailgate with a window that rolled down and the gate opened down. The sliding roof section allowed the carrying of tall objects in the rear cargo area. This configuration appeared on the 1963–1966 [[Studebaker Wagonaire]] station wagon and the 1998-2009 [[GMC Envoy|GMC Envoy XUV]] SUV model.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Estrada |first1=Zac |title=The Studebaker Wagonaire And GMC Envoy Offer Sliding Roof Fun |url= https://jalopnik.com/the-studebaker-wagonaire-and-gmc-envoy-offer-sliding-ro-5929470 |work=Jalopnik |date=29 July 2012 |access-date=31 March 2022}}</ref>

====Dual and tri-operating gates====
{{Multiple image
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| direction = horizontal
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| image1 = Cstailgate1.jpg
| alt1 = 
| caption1 = Side-hinged tailgate
| image2 = Cstailgate2.jpg
| caption2 = Tailgate folded down
| footer = A dual tailgate on a [[Ford Country Squire]]
}}

In the United States, Ford's full-size station wagons for 1966 introduced a system marketed as "Magic Doorgate"—a conventional tailgate with retracting rear glass, where the tailgate could either fold down or pivot open on a side hinge—with the rear window retracted in either case. Competitors marketed their versions as a ''Drop and Swing'' or ''Dual Action Tailgate.''<ref name="pm"/> For 1969, Ford incorporated a design that allowed the rear glass to remain up or down when the door pivoted open on its side hinge, marketing the system, engineered by [[Donald N. Frey]]<ref name="time1">{{cite magazine|url= https://time.com/archive/6890312/autos-the-thinker-detroit-style/ |title=The Thinker (Detroit Style) |magazine=Time |date=21 April 1967 |access-date=1 July 2024}}</ref> as the "Three-Way Magic Doorgate". 

Similar configurations became the standard feature on full-size and intermediate station wagons from General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, and [[American Motors Corporation]] (AMC).<ref>{{cite web |access-date=1 July 2024 |page=4 |title=American Motors Presents: four ways you can be the 1970 wagon master (brochure) |url=https://oldcarbrochures.org/United%20States/AMC/1970_AMC/1970-AMC-Wagons-Brochure/slides/1970_AMC_Wagons-04.html |website=oldcarbrochures.org}}</ref> Some full-size GM wagons added a notch in the rear bumper that acted as a step plate; a small portion of the bumper was attached to the tailgate to fill the gap. When opened as a swinging door, this part of the bumper moved away, allowing the depression in the bumper to provide a "step" to ease entry; when the gate was opened by being lowered or raised to a closed position, the chrome section remained in place making the bumper "whole".

====Clamshell====
{{Multiple image
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| image1 = 1971 Buick Estate wagon rear.jpg
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| caption1 = Closed tailgate
| image2 = 1971 Buick Estate Wagon with clamshell-type tailgate system 3of7.jpg
| caption2 = Tailgate folded open
| footer = 1971 [[Buick Estate Wagon]] with a "clam shell" tailgate
}}

Full-size General Motors, from 1971 through 1976 station wagons ([[Chevrolet Kingswood Estate|Chevrolet Kingswood, Townsman, Brookwood, Bel Air, Impala, and Caprice Estates]]; [[Pontiac Grand Safari|Pontiac Safari and Grand Safari]]; [[Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser]], and the [[Buick Estate]] models) featured a 'clam shell' design marketed as the ''Glide-away'' tailgate, also called a "disappearing" tailgate because when open, the tailgate was entirely out of view.<ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Clair |first1=Jim |title=Collectible Clamshells |url= https://www.hemmings.com/stories/2008/05/15/collectible-clamshells |work=Hemmings |date=15 May 2008 |access-date=19 January 2023}}</ref> On the clamshell design, the rear power-operated glass slid up into the roof and the lower tailgate (with either manual or optional power operation), lowered below the load floor. Manually operated types included a lower tailgate counterbalanced by a torque rod similar to the torque rods used in holding a trunk lid open. It required a {{convert|35|lb|kg|adj=on}} push to lower the gate. Raising it required a {{convert|35|lb|kg|adj=on}} pull on a handhold integral to the top edge of the retractable gate.<ref name="popsci">{{cite magazine |title=The '71 Wagons, Big Changes Coming Up |magazine=Popular Science |date=October 1970 |pages=74–75 |first1=Jan P. |last1=Norbye |first2=Jim |last2=Dunne |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QwEAAAAAMBAJ&q=%22glide+away%22+tailgate&pg=PA75 |via=Google Books |accessdate=31 March 2022}}</ref> Power-assisted operation of both the upper glass and lower tailgate became standard equipment in later model years. Station wagons with this design were available with an optional third row of forward-facing seats accessed by the rear side doors and a folding second-row seat. They could accommodate {{convert|4|x|8|ft|m|adj=on}} sheets of plywood or other panels with the rear seats folded. The clamshell design required no increased footprint or operational area to open the cargo area. This enabled access even if the station wagon's rear was parked against a wall. 

The GM design, as used in a Pontiac Grand Safari, with a forward-facing third-row seat and the clamshell tailgate, was less popular with consumers and was described as the "least convenient of all wagon arrangements" with difficult passenger egress and problematic tailgate operation in comparison to the 1974 [[AMC Ambassador#Seventh generation|AMC Ambassador]], [[Dodge_Monaco#Third_generation_(1974–1977)|Dodge Monaco]], and [[Mercury_Colony_Park#Fifth_generation_(1969–1978)|Mercury Colony Park]], full-size station wagons conducted by ''Popular Science'' magazine.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Norbye |first1=Jan P. |last2=Dunne |first2=Jim |title=The Big Wagons: They do a great job—at a high price |magazine=Popular Science |date=May 1974 |volume=204 |issue=5 |pages=12, 21, 24, 26, 28 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=j989VTOlPwMC&pg=PA12 |via=Google Books |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref>
Subsequent GM full-size wagons reverted to the door/gate system for its full-size wagons.

====Lift-gate====
[[File:VW Passat Variant Typ B5GP Pic06 trunk.jpg|thumb|upright|A lift-gate on a [[Volkswagen Passat Variant|Volkswagen Passat]] Variant]]

A simplified, one-piece lift-gate on smaller wagons. The [[AMC Hornet]] Sportabout was introduced for the 1972 model year and featured a "liftgate-style hatchback instead of swing-out or fold-down tailgate ... would set a precedent for liftgates in modern SUVs."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Notte |first1=Jason |title=29 Classic Station Wagons We Miss From Childhood |url= https://blog.cheapism.com/best-station-wagons/#slide=6 |website=cheapism.com |date=9 April 2021 |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref> The 1978-1996 GM's mid-size station wagons also returned to the upward-lifting rear window/gate as had been used in the 1940s.
* '''Swing-up window:''' An upward-lifting, full-height, full-width rear door, where the window on the rear door can be opened independently from the rear door itself. The window is also opened upwards and is held on pneumatic struts. The [[Renault Laguna]] II station wagon and [[Ford Taurus]] wagon featured this arrangement.
* '''Fold-up license plate:''' Wagons (including the [[Volvo Amazon]] wagon, early models of the [[Range Rover Classic|Range Rover]], and the [[Subaru Baja]]) had an upward folding hinged [[Vehicle registration plate|license plate]] attached to the lower tailgate of the split rear door. When the tailgate was folded down, the plate hung down and remained readable. The wagon versions of the [[Citroën DS]], called the Break, Familiale, or Safari, had a different solution: two number plates were fitted to the tailgate at right angles to each other so one would be visible in either position.