Suburban Man's Griswold Station Wagon A Hit This Holiday Season

MCHENRY, IL — As Clark Griswold would say, "the most enduring traditions of the season are best enjoyed in the warm embrace of kith and kin."

And a local McHenry man, who has been lighting his house up like Griswold since he moved here four years ago, is looking to replicate Griswold's holiday spirit and share it with everyone he can.

Ted Ray has taken his love for the holidays and Griswold, played by Chevy Chase in the iconic "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation," and transported it to the Chicago area.

Literally.

This past year, Ray, 32, happened upon a gem on Facebook Marketplace, which he's been searching for.

The 1990 Ford Taurus GL wagon is the same make and model as Griswold's station wagon, which appears in the opening scene of "Christmas Vacation." The vehicle is used to transport the Griswold's "perfect" Christmas tree — roots and all — back to their home.

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"I acquired the station wagon on Dec. 21, 2022, and I had to drive four hours at 8 p.m. to go get it," Ray said, adding he purchased it for $300 from an older man who lived in the Wisconsin Dells area. It had only 86,000 miles on it, and the seller did not know it was the same car used by Griswold in Christmas Vacation.

But Ray, of course, did.

He'd been searching for years to find the right station wagon, which he initially planned to use just as a prop in his holiday lights display. He wanted it to be parked in his driveway for those stopping out to see his lights.

He checked out four or five in recent years, but none quite fit the bill.

"I’ve always been obsessed with Christmas Vacation and obsessed with Christmas since I was a kid and helped my dad put lights on the house every year," Ray said. "When I got my own house, I decided it was going to be the Clark Griswold house."

He started off with 500 lights on his home the first year he decorated it. Last year, he increased it to 4,750 and his electric bill was $850 in December.

And now, with the purchase of the Ford Taurus, he was able to take his obsession one step further.

Ray transformed the originally blue station wagon and began work on it in August. He painted the panels and completed other basic bodywork.

He put vanity plates on it that read "Griswold" and got a Christmas tree with the roots coming out of it, which remains secured to the top of the station wagon. A friend who works at a Christmas tree farm in Mundelein helped make that possible, using a skid loader to pull the tree out for Ray, he said.

And by Thanksgiving, it was ready to go.

While Ray wasn't originally planning to drive it around, he said the station wagon is in "great shape," so he decided to take it out for a spin on the day after Thanksgiving.

Right away, it was a hit.

"At every intersection there's people pointing with cameras out the window, taking pictures," Ray said.

Since then, the car rolled through the Woodstock Christmas parade, where it won in all three categories; it's become a popular drive-by attraction at Ray's house; and it has been popping up in selfies all over social media.

When it's parked while Ray is running errands, people will snap pictures and let Ray know how much they love it. The station wagon has also made an appearance at McHenry's Outdoor Theater, and Ray has had requests from people who want to rent it as a display item at their holiday parties.

Ray has even been pulled over — a couple times — by officers who simply want to snap a picture and tell him how great it is.

"I haven’t had anyone that hasn’t been impressed and completely blown away," Ray said. "And it makes me really happy when they tell me it's lifted them up and made their holiday season. That is enough for me."

Now, Ray takes the Griswold wagon out for a spin every day after getting back from his full-time job with his father's company, Roger Ray Heating & Cooling. He also plans to bring the Griswold wagon to family get-togethers this weekend with his wife and 20-month-old daughter.

For those wishing to see it, as well as Ray's holiday lights display, the decorations and station wagon will remain out and up after dusk through the holiday season at 2201 Country Lane, McHenry.

Or just keep your eyes peeled while out and about this holiday season — you might just spot it parked at a local business or cruising down the street.

"It's purely for the smiles. It's purely about Christmas spirit," Ray said.