The "Wagon Queen Family Truckster" actually started out life as a Ford Country Squire station wagon. Noticable changes included the addition of a second grill and headlight assembly to the front, a second set of taillights, changing the style of the rear windows, adding the gold crown logos everywhere, all that fancy wood trim and yes, you eyes don't deceive you, those are green wall tires! My favorite is the heft garbage bag for an airbag. The Griswald's wagon at the beginning of the move that gets crushed is a early 70s Olds Vista Cruiser, which was Unique becuase of the glass observation window over th rear seat.
Chevy Chase designed the car.