The most beautiful time of the year is approaching – the one when you have the Elf and The Grinch on repeat, and you are getting cozy at home instead of running errands or working overtime. Christmas is the season for homemade hot chocolate and settling down. But for passionate car enthusiasts, this is also the time of the year when they think of how much horsepower Santa’s sleigh produces or what car Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character drive in Jingle All the Way?

If you love Christmas and have seen every holiday film released in the past twenty years, you are probably familiar with the Griswold's antics in National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. In this 1989 classic holiday movie starring Chevy Chase and Beverly D’Angelo, the family has decided to remain put and spend Christmas at home. However, thanks to the extended family that is visiting during the holidays, everything goes horribly wrong.

One of the most memorable scenes in this comedy that will keep you smiling until the very end is when Clark Griswold drives the family to cut down their Christmas tree. In that scene, we get to see the family’s car, which ended up under a semi-trailer. If you were wondering what car that is, keep on reading to find out more about the legendary Ford Taurus.

Related: 10 Of The Coolest Movie Cars We've Ever Seen

The Griswold's 1989 Ford Taurus Wagon

Ford Taurus Wagon From National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Via imcdb.org

One of the first things that strikes you while watching the movie is that the Griswold's wagon had classic wood paneling, which was a custom-made feature added for the movie. To be fair, this tiny detail gives off the impression of a grandpa car, but then again it works perfectly fine with Clark Griswold’s character who thinks “Burn some dust here! Eat my rubber” is a cool thing to say.

Time and time again, we wonder why production has chosen this car in particular, as it seems old-fashioned, slow, and dull. Ultimately, the 1989 Ford Taurus Wagon has some redeeming qualities. For example, it has a spacious interior as it fits a family of four plus a gigantic Christmas tree. It is also the ideal wagon for those who love to chop and haul their trees.

Did we mention that it is also a magnificent car for drivers who want to replicate some seriously cool movie stunts that would make even Dom aka Vin Diesel in Fast & Furious jealous? Even though that’s a bit of an exaggeration, it is still impressive to see how this wagon ended up driving safely under a semi-trailer. But then we also got to enjoy the race scene, where Clark Griswold entered a road competition with some pickup-driving gents and ended up stuck under a truck.

On the whole, the Ford Taurus is a formidable family car, which also got featured in another Christmas classic, The Santa Clause (1994).

Related: Here's What We Love About The 1986 Ford Taurus

This Is Why Production Selected The Ford Taurus For The Movie

Ford Taurus Wagon From National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation
Via IMCDB

The Ford Taurus is something like an all-American hero, as industry experts, journalists, and gearheads credit it with saving Ford from bankruptcy. Additionally, this was the first Ford vehicle designed and built using the statistical process control theories envisioned by W. Edwards Deming. Following Deming's arrival at Ford, the company’s executives received roles and responsibilities for quality management, and the automaker embraced a quality culture.

There is a new philosophy behind Ford products, represented by Taurus and Sable. That philosophy begins with quality and being responsive to our customers needs and wants,” said J. W. Rick, Program Manager at Ford Motor Company.

This new philosophy revolutionized not only Ford but the entire American car industry as it created a novel approach to car building, which led not only to a massive improvement in quality but also to changes in design and technology. American cars became more aerodynamic and started using modern tech and could finally compete against Japanese vehicles.

“What went into the execution of the Taurus blueprint was a new level of manufacturing technology and a team approach. It was the most significant new assembly development since Henry Ford’s moving assembly line,” says Work Life.

Evidently, the Taurus became a huge commercial success, and both the public and media went gaga for it. Not only that, but Ford ended up selling over 200,000 units in 1986 alone and more than 2,000,000 first-generation Tauruses between 1986 and 1991. In addition, the Ford Taurus won several awards and honors, including the 1986 Motor Trend Car of the Year. The choice of a Ford Taurus Wagon for the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation movie may appear ill-considered at first, but in essence, there is no finer vehicle for an all-American family than this one.