The boxy shape and paneled woodwork of this Ford Woodie Wagon make it look a little like a garden shed on wheels. The final design is almost a perfect embodiment of form following function. These early workhorse Ford station wagons were purpose-built as farm vehicles and passenger transportation. There was no window glass in these early woodies, but over time they gained canvas side curtains to keep the elements in their place.

The wooden panels forming the station wagon body resemble the paneling from wooden horse-drawn wagons that dominated transportation in previous centuries. In retrospect, it seems quite straightforward to replace a horse-drawn wagon with a motor-powered wooden wagon on four wheels. But in reality, it was tremendously difficult.

Henry Ford did hard things.

Henry Ford aimed to make automobiles affordable to every man. To achieve his goal, he revolutionized the industry with the mass production of the Model T, the invention of a transmission and the moving assembly line to become the world's largest automobile producer. The transformative impact of the automobile is akin to the upheaval we are experiencing in the 2020s, driven by global adjustments to blockchains and artificial intelligence.

In recent years, the automotive industry has deviated from its core function of transporting people safely from point A to point B, and focused increasingly on niche vehicle production to extract maximum value from the supply chain. But in an odd twist of fate, this early Ford Woodie Wagon endures with perpetual stature, despite the diminution of its functionality in today’s world.

After World War II, wooden automotive body production ceased due to abundant steel mill production capacity. The wooden-bodied station wagon was deemed outdated, but the wagon found a new class of users seeking the practical cast-off wagon. This unique vehicle began transporting surfers and their boards to and from the beach. It has become a visual icon of surfer culture.

Surfers adopted woodie wagons as an affordable means of transporting their boards and providing shelter for themselves from the elements. As the popularity of surfer culture grew, these wagons unwittingly became the secondary basis for a new class of owners— classic car collectors. It could be argued that woodie wagons started the classic car collector craze.

Anyone who surfs, respects the elements, and yearns to ride the highest wave is driven by a human imperative: to touch the unknown and sense elemental forces. Seekers of all kinds yearn for the invisible divine. Ecstasy manifests in various forms, including religion, art, drugs, gambling, sex, speed, and sports. These transformative paths offer a sense of exhilaration and fulfillment.

It’s fair to say that surfers, like most adventurers, seek the sacred collision of the elements. Like a gambler dealing the cards and compiling odds in his mind, a primo surfer will huddle on the beach until some ineffable force tells him that now is the moment to pick up his board and plunge into the unknown sea. What drives him? It’s a uniquely human urge to ride the wave.

The waves at Delmar, California, are not the biggest, but in many ways, they're the heartbeat of surfing culture, and by association, woodie wagons and the roots of car collecting.

In the 21st century, this vintage woodie wagon has transformed into a luxury item, far from the utilitarian vehicle Henry Ford envisioned for every man. Function has absorbed form as a status symbol. Long may it roll, and let its legends be told. Car Culture wants every man to know its stories and preserve its provenance.

Surfin' at Del Mar

🚗 ⚙️ **CarMania: Woodie Wagon Series** Collect the Classics. Cruise the Future. This limited edition Woodie Wagon is part of the CarCulture: CarMania Garage collection. Each NFT provides exclusive access to our AI chat system where you can ask questions about your specific vehicle and learn its history.

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This article about Car Culture is inscribed on blockchain, ensuring that it can be read for another hundred years and probably more. A new form (blockchain) for an old function—to educate and inform the future.

The accompanying CarMania artwork celebrating this Ford woodie wagon and surfing culture is also stored on blockchain. I inscribed this onchain as a sacred sign for the next generation of surfers who ride the elemental wave. Is this limited edition NFT the new collectible?

Ride the wave with me, and know thy people.

Join the CarMania garage and collect these icons, especially if you a surfer. Celebrate your heritage.