The Willys-Overland Jeep Station Wagon is the forerunner to the modern SUV. Production began in 1946 and continued through 1964 in the US with more than 300,000 sold during the model run.

One of the highlighted road trips mentioned earlier was a 10,000-mile trip across the US in 2013 that featured a drive on the National Park to Park Highway. Built in the 1920s, this 5,600-mile-long roadway connects twelve National Parks in the western US.

Several body configurations were available. The Station Wagon was introduced in 1946. A panel van became available the following year and is extremely rare ! A luxury version of the Station Wagon known as the Station Sedan was introduced in 1948. A four-wheel drive version known as the Utility Wagon became available in 1949.

A wonderful 1950 Willys Overland Jeep Station Wagon that gets driven a lot !

1955 Chevrolet Bel Air.

1955 Chevrolet Bel Air.

If you had to pick an old car to drive regularly, it's hard to beat the "Tri-Five" Chevrolets from 1955 - 57. Parts and service support are tremendous. Just about any part you could want/need is widely available.

1958 Chevrolet Corvette.

1958 Chevrolet Corvette.

The 1958 Corvette is easily identified by the hood louvers that were only available that year.

1960 Chevrolet Impala.

This car has the 348 CID "W" V8.

1960 Chevrolet Impala.

1962 Chevy II 400 Nova convertible.

1962 Chevy II 400 Nova convertible.

Power for this car comes from Chevrolet's 194 CID I6 that makes 120 hp.

The Chevy II was available in three trim levels: The entry-level 100, mid-level 300, and upper-level Nova 400.

Of those three trim levels, only the Nova 400 was available as a convertible. This car is one of 23,741 Nova convertibles made that year.

1963 Ford Galaxie 500XL convertible.

I'm not 100% sure. But if I had to guess, I'd say this car is powered by Ford's 352 CID "FE Series" V8.

This car is one of 29,713 Galaxie 500XL "Sunliner" convertibles made that year.

1963 Ford Galaxie 500XL convertible.

1963 Mercury Comet S-22 convertible.

1963 Mercury Comet S-22 convertible.

The S-22 model was introduced in 1961 as a two-door sedan. But by 1963, it was also available as a two-door hardtop and convertible.

This is a rare car, one of 5,757 S-22 convertibles made that year.

I believe this car is powered by Ford's 260 CID V8 that makes 164 hp.

Another row of Driver Participation Class cars.

1990 Cadillac Allante.

1990 Cadillac Allante.

Power comes from Cadillac's 4.5L V8 that makes 200 hp. This engine was used in the Allante from 1989 - 92 and would definitely be my preference. The 1993 Northstar-powered Allante was faster, but also more complicated and expensive to fix.

The button-happy instrument panel wasn't everyone's cup of tea. Even so, I've always liked the Allante, and would own one in a heartbeat.

More Driver Participation Class cars that I have a hard time accepting as "antiques" even though they are.

1957 Chevrolet Corvette.

1957 Chevrolet Corvette.

I love this sign !

Like the Willys-Overland Jeep seen earlier, this Corvette embodies the "Driver" aspect of the Driver Participation Class perfectly. Almost 21,000 miles have been added to the odometer over the last three years. The comments in red make this sign great:

"Top Leaks"
"You get wet when it rains"
"Hotter inside than out"
"Wind whistles loud"

This 62-year old car has no a/c or power steering. But the good news is that the wipers have been fixed.

1981 Cadillac Eldorado.

This car has the much-maligned 368 CID "8-6-4" V8 that makes 140 hp. Cadillac introduced cylinder deactivation in 1981, an idea that was ahead of its time back then. Unfortunately, it didn't work very well. Horrendous problems with the electronics appeared so quickly that the "8-6-4" was pulled from the passenger car option sheet after one year, (it was used in the limousines through 1984).

1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon coupe.

1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon coupe.

The mid-1970s were very kind to the Olds Cutlass. More than 500,000 were produced for 1976 making the Cutlass the best selling car of that year.

The Cutlass was available in 11 different body configurations. This car is a Salon Colonnade coupe, one of 48,440 made that year.

This car has the optional Hurst Hatch T-Tops.

Power comes from Oldsmobile's 305 CID "Rocket" V8 that makes 170 hp.

1968 Volkswagen Beetle Karmann convertible.

1968 Volkswagen Beetle Karmann convertible.

German vehicle builder Karmann built numerous vehicles for different manufacturers, one of which was the Volkswagen Beetle convertible. Karmann built more than 330,000 Beetle convertibles for Volkswagen from 1949 - 1980.

Power comes from Volkswagen's 1.5L I4 that makes 53 hp.