Crapwagon Outtake: 1967 Pontiac Stageway Airporter

Chris Tonn
by Chris Tonn

When I think of limousines, I think of high school and those classmates, who actually had dates to prom, enjoying a hired Lincoln or Cadillac. Dateless Chris worked on prom night, slinging hot doughnuts to hungry stoners and peace officers alike. I can perhaps stretch my perception of a limo to the lengthened sport utilities so often seen lately, as I’m sure body-on-frame trucks are easier to lengthen than unibody front-drive sedans.

However, if I see a stretched Porsche Macan hauling sweaty teens this May, I’ll likely throw my keyboard in disgust.

I struggle to imagine the typical use of today’s featured ride — a 1967 Pontiac Stageway Airporter. Horny high-schoolers in the “Summer of Love” were unlikely to enjoy four bench seats, though the station wagon cargo area could yield results.

I’m sure the answer to this cars purpose is in its name — Airporter — a ’60s shuttle bus for the jet age. I love the massive rooftop luggage rack, and wonder how much weight it could support as a parade float. Another option is as a professional car for funerals, so grieving family can take one last ride with the deceased.

I love that this eBay seller has included the original list price sheet. This 12-passenger wagon would have cost $8,000 when new, but only offered seatbelts for two front-seat occupants. Each additional belt was $8.12. The rear air conditioner was another $709.63.

The Armbruster-Stageway company is still building professional cars in Arkansas, primarily based on the customary Cadillac rather than some dead brand. Thank goodness for that, as nobody wants their loved one’s casket loaded into a stretched Pontiac G6.

Chris Tonn is a broke classic car enthusiast that writes about old cars, since he can’t afford to buy them. Commiserate with him on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Chris Tonn
Chris Tonn

Some enthusiasts say they were born with gasoline in their veins. Chris Tonn, on the other hand, had rust flakes in his eyes nearly since birth. Living in salty Ohio and being hopelessly addicted to vintage British and Japanese steel will do that to you. His work has appeared in eBay Motors, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars, Reader's Digest, AutoGuide, Family Handyman, and Jalopnik. He is a member of the Midwest Automotive Media Association, and he's currently looking for the safety glasses he just set down somewhere.

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  • Slave2anMG Slave2anMG on Feb 29, 2016

    Those of us Of A Certain Age will remember these "Airport Limo" beasts...the ones I recall seeing most in the metro NYC area were stretched Checker Marathon wagons. About 15 yards long with a turning circle just a bit better than that of the USS Missouri....

  • APaGttH APaGttH on Feb 29, 2016

    There is a silver one up for sale also - a '66. What are the odds!

  • Probert They already have hybrids, but these won't ever be them as they are built on the modular E-GMP skateboard.
  • Justin You guys still looking for that sportbak? I just saw one on the Facebook marketplace in Arizona
  • 28-Cars-Later I cannot remember what happens now, but there are whiteblocks in this period which develop a "tick" like sound which indicates they are toast (maybe head gasket?). Ten or so years ago I looked at an '03 or '04 S60 (I forget why) and I brought my Volvo indy along to tell me if it was worth my time - it ticked and that's when I learned this. This XC90 is probably worth about $300 as it sits, not kidding, and it will cost you conservatively $2500 for an engine swap (all the ones I see on car-part.com have north of 130K miles starting at $1,100 and that's not including freight to a shop, shop labor, other internals to do such as timing belt while engine out etc).
  • 28-Cars-Later Ford reported it lost $132,000 for each of its 10,000 electric vehicles sold in the first quarter of 2024, according to CNN. The sales were down 20 percent from the first quarter of 2023 and would “drag down earnings for the company overall.”The losses include “hundreds of millions being spent on research and development of the next generation of EVs for Ford. Those investments are years away from paying off.” [if they ever are recouped] Ford is the only major carmaker breaking out EV numbers by themselves. But other marques likely suffer similar losses. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fords-120000-loss-vehicle-shows-california-ev-goals-are-impossible Given these facts, how did Tesla ever produce anything in volume let alone profit?
  • AZFelix Let's forego all of this dilly-dallying with autonomous cars and cut right to the chase and the only real solution.
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