1985 Mercury Colony Park LS Station Wagon

Although station wagons have largely been usurped by SUVs and minivans in the new millennium, they have retained a loyal cult following among a certain segment of consumers. Today, there are dozens of station wagon fan clubs around the U.S., as well as websites devoted to the vehicles. The American Station Wagon Owners Association professes to be a club that “gives wagons of all kinds the love they deserve.” The association's site publishes personal stories of people reflecting on their love affair with the station wagon, as well as dates for events where station wagon owners congregate to show off their vintage cars. This enduring following has led many automotive makers to feel that the time is right to mount a comeback for the station wagon.

For consignment, shades of National Lampoon's Vacation in the form of a 1985 Mercury Colony Park LS. If you are tired of climbing into your SUV, or you are over 45 and just have fond memories of the hot summer trips with the family in the “wagon”. We present the nirvana of the wagon set. She's a woody, has been well maintained and cared for, and is a hen's tooth from the 80s right at the end of the station wagon's reign. Ripe for your pickin' this classic harkens back to the ultimate family vehicle that has gone by the wayside, but is considering, and attempting, a comeback. I would not stand by the door to await one to show up anytime soon.

Exterior
Square and rectangle design abounds on this land yacht. Chrome is looking shiny and bright, a grille in front flanked by dual headlights and a faux wood grain harkening back to the days of yore when a station wagon actually picked up a group of people at the train station. Silver paint shows a few minor areas of rust bubbling, but they are sparse and not all that involved to the point where they are taking over. The wood grain appliqué is nice, flat, and smooth. It has a surrounding of thin chromed trimmings with some more thin bands of faux wood grain in-between. The roof rack is on and a swinging hinged rear door/gate allows all to pile in at will. Large panes of panoramic glass are seen throughout and nary a passenger, no matter where they are seated, will not miss any large dinosaurs, or snow covered mountains, or great pains while on the trip. Turbine style wheels are wrapped by thin white walls on all 4 corners. A sticker on the rear glass confirms that this car has visited “Wally World”. We might have to charge extra for that!!

Interior
Seating 10 comfortably and maybe even more if they are kids, no one will be left home alone. And when they get in, they will be surrounded by all very nice looking yard upon yard of burgundy leather. Up front, for the driver and passenger a large are couch like overstuffed wide bucket seats with dual cushy armrests that fold up and down, allow mom and pop to drive in comfort. The second row features a bench also overstuffed, and also in burgundy tuck and roll and uber comfy. In back you can unfold dual facing benches for those extras, and friends that want to come along for the ride. Or fold them down and have copious amounts of cargo space along with the outside roof rack. Doors are also beautifully finished with burgundy vinyl padding, and some wood grained accenting is within their panels, along with power window toggles, power locks and a side view mirror joystick. Beautifully preserved red carpeting covers all floors, and the lower third of the doors. On front, a wood grained dash with more square and rectangle design is seen and is loaded with an aftermarket Kenwood digital AM/FM/CD and a digital clock as well as climate sliders. A red headliner hangs tightly above all this passenger/cargo space.

Drivetrain
Under the long silver hood is a 5.0-liter V8 which is original to this car. It is unrestored but well documented, maintained, and is fed fossils through EFI. On the back is an AOD 4-speed automatic transmission, which throws power way rearward to a Ford 8.8-inch 3.08 rear axle.

Undercarriage
Underneath we can see plenty of black paint and no rust for this environment, save for front suspension and driveshaft that present with surface rust, all unremarkable. Independent coil springs are up front, and in back is a 4 link with coil springs suspension. Power disc brakes are reserved for the front, and power drums for the rear. A stock exhaust is on and shows no rust or holes so go ahead get 'er inspected!

Drive-Ability
My cohort and myself decided to do a road trip to the local fast food venue, so we packed up all our gear, and commenced our journey. Here we experienced good solid acceleration, bias free braking, and smooth shifting. We were not going to break any performance records, however we turned heads, and received lots of thumbs ups! We experienced the tailgate window not working unless it was manually put down with a key to the rear gate lock, otherwise all worked well, and even the air blows cold as it has been converted to R-134.

Who needs an SUV when you can tool around the country in this classic that is no longer oft seen. Plenty of room for people or cargo, or both, and a smooth ride that will hopefully put them all to sleep. A very nice example taking up lots of real estate right here at Classic Auto Mall.

VIN DECODE
2MEBP94F4FX697219
2-Canada
M-Mercury
E-Passenger Car
B-Manual Belts
P94-Colony Park Station Wagon
F-302ci V8 EFI
4-Check Digit
F-1985
X-St. Thomas, Ontario Assy Plant
697219-Sequential Unit Number

Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special interest automobile showroom, featuring over 600 vehicles for sale with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle barn find collection is on display.
This vehicle is located in our showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just 1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888) 227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.