1980s cars

Our featured “Malaise Machine” is a 1980 Mercury Zephyr Villager station wagon, and it was pitched to the same buyers who today clamor for crossovers: Middle-class families with kids and groceries to haul. Unlike today’s crossovers, the Zephyr wagon, and its Ford Fairmont sister, featured ample glasshouses designed to lend interiors an airy feel.