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Grew up with a Ford LTD station wagon. I remember all of us piling into it to go to the drive-in movies. We kids had our blankets and pillows in the back and usually we would fall asleep before the movie was over. I also remember cross country trips where I would be wedged in between the luggage. Ours didn't have a carpeted cargo area and I remember how hot the metal would get. Ahh the days of riding in the back with no seat belts.
I owned a 740 volvo SW and could haul anything in that big boxy cargo area (brought home a new washing machine with it). Almost all of my vehicles have been hatchbacks (no SUVs) and I am really not a sedan person. I love being able to just throw stuff into the back.
It's true that it's a niche market now, but I don't think it's going away completely. To me it's still the best of worlds: you can get the drive of a sports sedan, good handling and gas mileage combined with ample space. Yeah there is usually not a 3rd row of seats, but most crossovers don't have that either.
Regarding the OP's article, I've never been a big fan of Volvo, but I am kind of pissed that even Subaru doesn't really have a wagon anymore since they have redesigned the Outback and turned it into another huge crossover. I probably would have bought one last year, but the redesign completely turned me off. We ended up getting an Audi Avant, which I absolutely love, but I do wish that more wagon options besides the rather expensive German ones were available. There's the TSX now, but it doesn't have AWD, and the Magnum, which is a bit too long for my taste. I'm still hopeful that the Subary Legacy wagon will come back to the US.
I hear the CTS Sportswagon will be getting dropped after 2013 since the platform is getting changed. Same with the CTS coupe. Although depending on the popularity, maybe they will get replacements.
Yeah but then you have to live with that Dodge interior. They finally got their act together for 2011 in terms of interior quality and the Magnum is no where to be found.
I hear the CTS Sportswagon will be getting dropped after 2013 since the platform is getting changed. Same with the CTS coupe. Although depending on the popularity, maybe they will get replacements.
The CTS coupe really is quite unattractive now that I've been seeing them around. I saw one at a light next to me the other day and my girlfriend mentioned how the rear end is really awkward, the guy thought we were checking out his new car because he mashed it once the light turned green. The current CTS has a really tall rear end which looks slightly strange on the sedan but isn't too noticeable but is absolutely awful looking on the coupe.
I hear the CTS Sportswagon will be getting dropped after 2013 since the platform is getting changed. Same with the CTS coupe. Although depending on the popularity, maybe they will get replacements.
They are getting dropped because the next CTS will be bigger and more expensive and they are developing an ATS to fit in as the entry level car. The ATS will have coupe and station wagon AND convertible variants. The ATS will be a true 3 series fighter. As it stands now the CTS is a bit bigger then a 3 (but is priced almost the same) ad compares more favorably to a 5 series. The next CTS will most assuredly be a 5 series/E-class competitor. Cadillac knows they have a better chance of selling a smaller 30-35K wagon and coupe then they do a 60-65K wagon and coupe.
Right now the CTS Sportwagon is the second best selling wagon in the luxury segment.
You can blame CAFE. Wagons were and are held to a different MPG standard (passenger cars) than SUVs/CUVs/Minivans (light trucks)
Ding, ding, ding...we have a winner. It had nothing to do with what car companies wanted to build or what people wanted to buy. It had everything to do with CAFE and that wagons were held to the stricter car standard while SUV's, minivans and light duty trucks were given much more lax MPG and emissions standards to meet.
It all comes down to how the automaker chooses to certify the vehicle based on NHTSA definitions:
Quote:
1) Passenger Car – any 4-wheel vehicle not designed for off-road use that is manufactured primarily for use in transporting 10 people or less.
2) Truck – a 4-wheel vehicle which is designed for off-road operation (has 4-wheel drive or is more than 6,000 lbs. GVWR and has physical features consistent with those of a truck); or which is designed to perform at least one of the following functions: (1) transport more than 10 people; (2) provide temporary living quarters; (3) transport property in an open bed; (4) permit greater cargo-carrying capacity than passenger-carrying volume; or (5) can be converted to an open bed vehicle by removal of rear seats to form a flat continuous floor with the use of simple tools.
Since wagons couldn't meet the light truck standard, they were forced to be cars. However, Chrysler figured a way around the rules by creating a minivan that with the removal of the rear seats (by tools) could provide more cargo capacity than passenger capacity on a flat floor.
The SUV jump is obvious based on the definition and is why vehicles like the Subaru Outback and many crossovers are light trucks do to their "offroad worthiness" which is defined by ground clearance and approach/departure angles.
Moving along Chrysler flirted with this again, by making the rear seat in the PT Cruiser removable by tools and giving a flat load floor, making it a light truck and helping Chryslers truck fleet meet standard. Consequently the convertible that doesn't have a removable seat is a car.
As time went on Chrysler flirted with the definition again with the Magnum. The Magnum used a flat load floor via fold down seats, but was tested to "truck duty" standards. By accepting the Magnum as a truck it opened up the floodgates for others to fall under the looser standards and is why station wagons can now be made as light trucks.
The offshoot of that decision was the ability for Chrysler to introduce the "Stow and Go" seats on their minivans. Up until then, at least one row of seats needed to be removed from the vehicle in order for it to qualify as a light truck. This is why Chrysler was seemingly genius and people questioned why no other minivan makers did it. The answer is, no one but Chrysler knew they could get away with it (based on Magnum testing) and patented the process.
All of that is changing now that the standards have been updated.
Audi makes good looking wagons, the Avant. I see some A4 Avants but I don't think I've ever seen an A6 in the U.S. In Europe you can get an S6 Avant - a wagon with a V-10 engine. How can you make fun of a car with a V-10?
Ding, ding, ding...we have a winner. It had nothing to do with what car companies wanted to build or what people wanted to buy. It had everything to do with CAFE and that wagons were held to the stricter car standard while SUV's, minivans and light duty trucks were given much more lax MPG and emissions standards to meet.
Good points on CAFE as a reason and I agree that it's a factor, but I disagree that it has nothing to do with what people wanted to buy. Take the Subaru Outback for example: Up until the 2009 model, it was very much a station wagon and sort of a niche product. Since the 2010 redesign into a typical crossover though, sales have skyrocketed and soccer moms all over the country are driving them now.
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