Woodie (car body style)

[2][3] Woodies were popular in the United States and were produced as variants of sedans and convertibles as well as station wagons, from basic to luxury.

They were typically manufactured as third-party conversions of regular vehicles — some by large, reputable coachbuilding firms and others by local carpenters and craftsmen for individual customers.

By 1955, only Ford and Mercury, joined in 1965 by Chrysler, offered a "woodie" appearance — evoking real wood with other materials including steel, plastics and DI-NOC (a vinyl product).

The British Motor Corporation (BMC) offered the Morris Minor Traveller (1953–1971) with wood structural components and painted aluminum infill panels — the last true mass-produced woodie.

Morris' subsequent Mini Traveller (1961–1969) employed steel infill panels and faux wood structural members.

When Chevrolet proposed a simulated woodgrain option for the Chevy Vega Kammback wagon for the 1973 model year, after a gap of four years of applying woodgrain film on the Caprice, the Vega's production schedule made smooth application of the applique difficult without wrinkles and heavy scrappage — requiring retraining by the film supplier, 3M.

Ford also marketed version of their Ranchero model, a coupe utility produced between 1957 and 1979 with an open bed like a pickup truck but from a station wagon platform, with simulated woodgrain siding.

From 1982 to 1988, Chrysler used the Town & Country name on a station wagon version of the K-based, front wheel drive LeBaron, featuring plastic woodgrain exterior trim with three dimensional simulated framework.