What's up with the attitude towards Stationwagons in the U.S.? I read in a car magazine lately that BMW & Volvo may stop selling wagons in the U.S. BMW, I wouldn't be surprised because never really sold a lot here, but Volvo?! While American Wagons were falling by the wayside when the SUV craze started, Volvo wagons were still selling strong here and seemed to have a folllowing. I for one never could understand how SUV's ( I hate the term...don't see where the sport comes from) were ever considered cool.) I think they're ugly fat a**ed looking things with bad handling. statistically, 85% of people who own them never take them off road. just bought them as a fad. And most of them (the small ones anyways) still can't carry as much as the American wagons. I guess now, many carmakers want to focus on crossovers. To me though, many crossovers are the same size or nearly so as an SUV anyways. look at the Ford Edge and Dodge Journey for example. GM is coming out with the Cadillac CTS wagon and a Buick wagon based off an Opel is in the works. See how well those sell and if GM will kepp them around. I think the Cadillac is going to be too expensive for most people. Even the V6 model will be like over 40k. The V8 high performance (V) version will be like 70k+ Ouch. It's funny, Chrysler killed off the Dodge Magnum because it wasn't selling well. (it didn't sell well because for some reason Dodge stopped advertising it after 2006 for some reason). i've gotten more compliments and questions with my Magnum more so than any other car I've owned. All positive. Dodge stopped selling the Magnums in 2008, but now I see more Magnums in my area than when they were being sold. I think a lot of people wanted one but either couldn't afford them or couldn't find one on a dealers lot when new. My Magnum (and any other wagon) is much cooler than any big-bloated-butt SUV. nuff said.
Families are smaller, and most parks charge high fees just to get in. Then of course, families can visit by webcam. Lots of stuff has developped to take the adventurer out of the vacationing drivers.
Hummmm O.K. Magnite, now tell us what yeah really feelSeriously, From one Mopar Dude to another. How does your 3.5L compare to the 5.7L far as get up and went and MPG? The 6.1L doesn't do it for me. .10 faster then the 5.7L+ 93 octane? WHOOPIE! Hard tah find '06s, '07s or '08s without the hole in the roof too unless their radio 'n heater delete carz with burlap chairs. Harder still to drop 15 or 20 Large and put in up on blocks for indefinate stiffelThen theirs the little issue of convincing the Bride we need more iron in the driveway I've passed on ah couple SRT-8s just 'cuz ah that 93 octane thing tho' Love them LiL' LONG ROOFZ
It's all about "image" or "status symbols". A wagon has a lingering image as a stodgy old car. That's why you'll see a Hummer parked outside a rental unit. People think I'm bohemian for driving an old wagon, but I don't care, so what?
You?! Bohemian? Just cause you have 2 in the yard and your own area 51, 51A, and 52? Can't believe it. Signed: The pot calling the kettle black.
It's not SUV's that did in the station wagon, it's MINI-VANS. The death knell for station wagons was sounded back in the mid-80s when Chrysler introduced the first mini-vans, the Dodge Caravan and the Plymouth Voyager. They were the new, direct competition for station wagons as the family hauler. I had three small children during the 1990s, and we owned first a 1990 Ford Taurus wagon, which we loved, and then a 1995 Pontiac Transport mini-van which we also loved. We traded that in on a 2002 Oldsmobile Silhouette mini-van before our kids got old enough that we went away from them. Frankly, mini-vans are very good vehicles. They may not be very sexy, but they do what they were designed to do very well. That's why you see them on the road by the millions. Our kids liked ours because access was easy, especially with the Silhouette, which had rear doors on both sides, everybody gets a window seat, there's LOTS of window area so visibility is good from everywhere, the seating position was higher off the road for the driver, and the vehicle as a whole was more versatile as all the seats could be easily removed completely from the car on those occasions where you wanted to haul some significant cargo. Plus, because the rear doors slid rearward instead of opening outward like a standard door, you were never telling the kids to be careful opening the door so as not to nick or dent the car in the next parking space. By my estimation, the SUV craze didn't really get started until the mid-90s at the earliest, ten years after the first mini-vans came out and well into the era when station wagons were fast fading.
As much as SOME people may dislike the mini-van...what Jaunt says is true. Chrysler hit one outta the park with that product. Families flocked to it. And it was the wagon's demise. Unfortunately.
Stodgy? look at my gallery and tell me if my wagon looks stodgy in any way ,lol. The Hummers are big pigs. The military H1 is a different beast than the H2 and H3's, which are not nearly as capable offroad. good at guzzling gas mostly. Most people that drive in my Magnum automatically ask, "does this have the Hemi?" They are surprised that it is a V6 because of the power. Well, have to realize, it's a V6 yeah, but still has 250 hp. Compare that to the 165 hp 305 V8's they were putting in the 1982 Trans am. I can still blow away some V8 pickups and SUV's, It's all about power to weight. Yeah, the Hemi's are a good bit quicker than my 3.5L all right. I use 89 octane and get about 25 mpg HWY. Not as good as a little import wagon for sure, but my Mag is a bit tubby for a new car. About 3900 lbs, so around 450 lbs heavier than my 2001 Intrepid, and about 1500 lbs heavier than a Honda Fit! Lol I had a 1985 Plymouth Voyager. Great vehicle, but the engine choices at the time weren't. They came with a 2.2L (underpowered) and a 2.6l (a little less underpowered) which I had. I think the 3.0 V6 became available in 87. Top speed with the 2.6L was 95 mph. (tested and confirmed,lol). The great thing was is how you had so much room under the hood like a car. Then later Chrysler made them more round and ugly IMO. I call them the Jellybean version. Messed up the formula. The hood was shorter and the engine bay more cramped. The new ones look closer to the originals and better looking IMO.
Contrary to accepted thought, station wagons are still being manufactured for sale in the U.S. and Canada......... ..................................They're just not called 'station wagons', and they may sit a little higher. Most of them are categorized as 'CUV's. MagNite's very own Dodge Magnum is about to come back to life as the next iteration of the Dodge Durango - now on a full frame (for the Magnum - Durango always was full-frame). And doing a flip-flop, the previously full-frame Ford Explorer will be all new for 2011 as a unibody vehicle, built on a modified version of the Ford Flex platform. Oh, and speaking of that Ford Flex - don't kid yourself, it's a station wagon. 'Station Wagon' has apparently become a dirty word in Detroit, but 'Station Wagons' are still out there. You'll just have to accept a slightly higher-riding suspension and funny off-road styling.
