1959 Pontiac Laurentian Station Wagon & Richard Ford's CANADA

 from Alex Emond: "This wagon was in Redcliff , Alberta , which is close to Medicine Hat . What can I say ... this is one outrageous car . I don't think I've seen a longer wagon . Drive past those "small car only" slots"--AE 
We've posted before about our peculiar interest in 1959 Pontiacs. You can find PB's essay on the subject by following this link: the essay, which has been a lot of places, was reprinted most recently in a Mexico City magazine, LITERAL, last summer.  This wonderful wagon is a Canadian edition Pontiac, a Laurentian. In the US it was the year of Wide-Track Pontiacs--axles were stretched out a few inches longer and wheels pulled out to match the width of the body. But the Canadian Pontiacs of that era were actually Chevrolets with the wide Pontiac body bolted on, which meant their wheels were tucked inboard, ultimately kinda weird looking and unbalanced---the cars looked a bit like railroad boxcars teetering on narrow-gauge trucks.
AE's posts from southern Alberta and Saskatchewan are in my mind as I'm reading Richard Ford's wonderful novel Canada, part of which is set in that weirdly beautiful and desolate terrain. Best novel I've read in the past couple of years. The man does something simple, plain, and astounding with language.