Station Wagons...

[emmahumpfritter]

http://autos.yahoo.com/articles/autos_c ... ion-wagon/

[hberdan]

That's an interesting article. But it seems to me that many of the so called "crossover" vehicles he mentions as station wagon replacements are actually just awd wagons--even though the author thinks they aren't. I see literally dozens and dozens of Subaru wagons everyday, they're as thick as flies on you know what. The Audi and Volvo awd wagons are everywhere too. And the Ford wagons, what are they called nowadays? "Crossover"? Bah hah. They're just awd station wagons with better suspensions than a 1967 Chevy Bel Air wagon, albeit without the suicide seats in the back.

[dlb]

my thoughts exactly, hberdan. sure, volvo might not be selling wagons like they used to but there are tons of ford focus wagons and subaru forrester and impreza wagons around here. as long as there are families and hippies and over-priced gas, station wagons will always be in demand.

[ARCHINSTL]

Does BMW still call their wagons "Sports Action Vehicles ?"
GAG!
Tom M.

[Petros]

I do not think he knows what he is talking about. What would he call a Toyota Matrix? Or a Mazda 5? All the Subarus they sell are not exactly SUVs. What about the cool Suzuki SX4 (a worthy replacement to the Tercel4wd, 150 hp engine AND 30 mpg, with AWD). The Chevy Aveo, the Yaris and the Fit are nothing but small wagons. The large family station wagon was made obsolete by the SUV and the minivan, with help from the idiotic federal regulations. The family station wagon was great, it could pull a boat or travel trailer, and seat a large family. CAFE fuel economy standards did them in, they put SUVs in with "trucks" so you either have to move your customers to an SUV, or into a much smaller car.

[ARCHINSTL]

All the Subarus they sell are not exactly SUVs.

I wonder if Subaru dealers tout the wagons as "SUVs?" I recall one woman got mighty upset as I was taking a bike out to her Subie. I made the mistake of asking "Is that your blue Subie wagon over there?"
She replied, quite haughtily "That's a Subaru SUV!"
Of course, this was in yuppie-land...
Tom M.

[dlb]

She replied, quite haughtily "That's a Subaru SUV!"

wow, that's pretty uptight. probably has a real swell homelife. missionary position every sunday night for precisely 10 minutes and then straight to sleep, i'm sure.

[emmahumpfritter]

She replied, quite haughtily "That's a Subaru SUV!"

wow, that's pretty uptight. probably has a real swell homelife. missionary position every sunday night for precisely 10 minutes and then straight to sleep, i'm sure.

You are a hoot David!

I think all of you are spot on. It's a matter of semantics. "families" in North America have been chopped up, reduced and pitted against each other long before the use of a big family vehicle would be needed. Everyone seems to need 4wd now (even in Southern California, or Florida, where it rarely rains, let alone snows!) and shoot, it's the highest elevation in Florida EPCOT center?

This has me wondering: vehicles offered today must say something toward the state of the union so to speak. Station wagons were full blown family vehicles (that were later co-opted by "hippies" and weirdos like me that sleep in their cars a lot)

I still think the 60's Falcon wagon is one of the coolest cars ever sold.

[Petros]

everyone I know with a big family has to either drive a full sized Ford or Chevy passenger van, or a Suburban or Expedition just to get enough seats for everyone. Even the minivans fall short of enough seats for what has now become the "combined" family, one spouse after a divorce getting all the kids, and than remarrying another divorced person who also has all the kids from a previous marriage. And of course there are a few large families that still managed to have lots of kids "the old fashioned way". Good for them, but there are no nine seat passenger cars anymore.

[4x4wagon]

VIVA LA RESISTANCE!

The wagon will never die, it will just hang out patiently making people think it's a crossover for a few years until it becomes the it thing to have again. Look at the huge following the 80's and 90's wagons have now with car guys, maybe they're not as popular as some cars, but there's definitely a following there.

I myself love wagons, and always plan to have some kind of wagon in the future. And lets not forget, when the SUV came out, it was called a "4x4 wagon."