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There must be a small but dedicated group of people who still go for station wagons. Just saw a Mercedes wagon and every so often you see a BMW. A few Audis and VWs as well. They must be low volume and are not cheap but apparently, enough people want them to make it worthwhile. Some say SUVs killed the wagon but both Mercedes and BMW have a big line up of SUVs too. Interestingly, they are all European.
I'm not sure what you mean by "station wagon". You're not talking about the little Euro-wagons, the smaller-sized ones that have been popular since the first came out, back whenever that was? The Ford Taurus-sized ones? Are you talking about the big, old-fashioned 1950's type ones? The only ones I've seen are older used ones from around 20 years back. Toyota made one that's still popular, and gets snapped up, whenever it shows up on a used-car lot.
I don't have much use for a big one like that. I like the smaller ones, though.
I had an 84 Ford country squire, what a boat. Later I think I got the last wagon made which was a Taurus. Now I'm driving a 2014 Impala LTZ which they no longer make, another orphan car.
There must be a small but dedicated group of people who still go for station wagons. Just saw a Mercedes wagon and every so often you see a BMW. A few Audis and VWs as well. They must be low volume and are not cheap but apparently, enough people want them to make it worthwhile. Some say SUVs killed the wagon but both Mercedes and BMW have a big line up of SUVs too. Interestingly, they are all European.
My Mother bought a 1986 Ford Escort L. That little bugger drove 40 miles to the gallon....Hauled me and her to New Mexico, then up to Little Rock Ark and then back to Hobbs NM and then back to PDX all for $200 in gas!
I had a Buick station wagon and would sleep in it. Got great gas mileage (16-18 mpg) and was solid...I liked how the Ford Flex looks, but not enough to blow $20K for one.
I'd got for the older ones though..Smog emissions not pleasant to deal with.
Mom was really forgiving about Ford though. She bought a 1973 LTD Station wagon (HUGE beast). One day driving to work, the steering column snapped. 40 MPH into other cars, was in hospital for 9 months...
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady
Ramblers of that era, especially the station wagons, rocked. We had a couple of them (one for him, one for me). Wish we still had them.
The AMC Eagle (AWD with 'extra ground clearance button' still are pretty hot in our rough climate (80 mph winds + freezing rain)
Quote:
Originally Posted by NC Transplants
Love Wagons... especially the American kinds of yesteryear. ALL gone!!
Then the best wagons were the Volvos... real "wagon" square in the back while BMW, VW, etc. started to round the square back hatch which loses stowage capacity. ....
VW B4V's (1995 - 1997 Passat Wagons) have the largest interior space of imported wagons (since 1990's)
Quote:
Originally Posted by bmcass
I wholeheartedly agree. I drive an '02 VW Jetta wagon with a manual, which has been a great car for me. The wagon and manual transmission, by themselves, are unique; putting them together makes its a rare car. In addition to the E63, I also love the stately Volvo V90 (the most traditional of all the wagon offerings in the US, in my opinion), as well as the sportier V60.
I'm glad BMW still makes the 3-series wagon in a diesel, but I only wish the latest generation of the Golf sport wagon was still sold in TDI form.
I personally can't stand SUV's.
I have a few friends who would not give up their BMW Diesel Wagons!!! When they have to drive a gasser loaner, they are NOT impressed...
Nice Station Wagons... 52 mpg, great torque, love to tow small campers / utility trailers (Large caravans in UK / Europe).. I try to keep a stash of at least 1% of all the imported B4Variant TDI wagons. 1250 mile range per tank is a bit tough to equal. But... I have had to make my last (2) from GLX donors. I outfit mine for rad trips (HW heater, outdoor shower, platform for storage / cooler / bed) Using Bio D home brew or a grease tank, you are talking a CHEAP ride!!! You can make your own for < $4000 and it will deliver for you for 600k+ miles probably 1m+ 1996 Volkswagen Passat TDi Variant | German Cars For Sale Blog
While in NZ and AU we drove quite a few Subie Boxer Diesel wagons. They were nice, but not economical as a TDI. I would imagine a Hyundai TDI wagon would be great in USA. Their TDI sedans are great Taxis in Asia, and much more economical than a VW TDI.
Wagons are pretty handy for quick and cheap trips to town for those of us who build houses, fix rentals / tractors, run livestock.
We are on our third CRV. I could care less that it's classed as a CUV or SUV. We own it because it is an extremely practical wagon. The funny part is that my wife, along with a huge portion of the US market, is horrified to even consider it to be a wagon, since they won't be caught dead in a wagon. The marketing of vehicles in this country is amazing. Two of the most practical vehicles on the planet, the mini-van and the small wagon, are as dead as roadkill, since the car makers have done a great job of convincing the majority that both are terminally uncool. Now we have Toyota and others introducing silly, painfully useless wagons and carefully avoiding that "W" word. They build a five door, then rake the back glass to the point that the utility of the rear cargo area is severely compromised, so that it can be passed off as, "not only is this thing totally cool looking, it certainly ISN'T a wagon". The stupidity of it all is painful.
I wonder if automakers will be able to continue pushing SUVs as cool when the children that rode around in them start buying vehicles? Granted, practicality will always be a selling point. I just happened to read an article that mentioned the birth rate falling from something like 1.85 to 1.7 - if trends like that continue, perhaps the next gen won’t even need all the practicality an SUV offers. Maybe wagons will be different enough (better performance) to become a thing again.
We are on our third CRV. I could care less that it's classed as a CUV or SUV. We own it because it is an extremely practical wagon. The funny part is that my wife, along with a huge portion of the US market, is horrified to even consider it to be a wagon, since they won't be caught dead in a wagon. The marketing of vehicles in this country is amazing. Two of the most practical vehicles on the planet, the mini-van and the small wagon, are as dead as roadkill, since the car makers have done a great job of convincing the majority that both are terminally uncool. Now we have Toyota and others introducing silly, painfully useless wagons and carefully avoiding that "W" word. They build a five door, then rake the back glass to the point that the utility of the rear cargo area is severely compromised, so that it can be passed off as, "not only is this thing totally cool looking, it certainly ISN'T a wagon". The stupidity of it all is painful.
A CRV is not a wagon at all. I just saw one sitting next to a sedan at a light, not even in the same stratosphere of being the same. Europe keeps putting out new wagons, my dealer has a Panamera 4S Sport Turismo (fancy word for wagon) it actually looks better then the regular Panamera. Then again every person there doesn’t own a truck, so wagon is perfect for them. I also saw a newer CTS-V wagon today
I see the wagon buyer as someone that wants 100% car performance (acceleration, handling, gas mileage) and 90% of the utility a similarly sized SUV offers.
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