If Mom and Dad had it, we don’t want it. The principle has been an article of faith since homo sapiens first stalked the savannah. Bouffant hairstyles? Brylcreem? Gedoutta here. Eighteen-hour girdles? Puh-lease. When it comes to vehicles, there’s nothing stodgier than Mom's old station wagon. If thirty or forty-somethings think about the genre at all, it’s with mocking derision. From National Lampoon’s “Family Truckster” to That 70’s Show’s Vista Cruiser, the station wagon is the ultimate icon of suburban conformity and, well, blah. It really IS your father’s Oldsmobile.

“Back to the Future” is Hollywood fluff, but the movie has its moments.  When Marty McFly takes his 1985 vintage nuclear-powered Delorean to Dr. Emmett Brown’s 1955 alter ego for repairs, “Doc” looks at the car’s complicated electronics and snorts “No wonder it broke down.  It was made in Japan.”  “What are you talking about?” McFly corrects.  “That’s where all the best stuff comes from.”  The throwaway line perfectly illustrates the sea change that's swept the American automobile industry during those crucial 30 years.