![]() Once the XC90 and V90 Cross Country were certified for U.S. In a comment that underlines another reason other than stigma why many automakers avoid station wagons, Robertson admits they will only sell a few hundred V90 wagons. Volvo does this dance with its XC60, V60 Cross Country and V60 station wagon. Remove the added ground clearance and the cladding along the lower sill and wheel arches and you have the V90 station wagon. It has basically the off-road capabilities of the SUV type of vehicles, providing the agility of an SUV with the road holding a sedan.” Volvo calls it a Crossover Wagon. Designed on the same platform is the V90 Cross Country, “It’s not as extreme as an SUV, but based on a wagon with more ground clearance and all-wheel drive standard. product manager, Anders Robertson, explains how they managed to have what they freely call a station wagon. Most all of us who owned one have warm memories of them, whether a 122, the 145 or my intercooled Turbo Wagon that could chase down pony cars. Volvo has long been what you might call the “keeper of the keys” when it comes to station wagons. The automaker labels them SUVs when it in reality, they are attractive, sweet-size station wagons with lower cladding and a bit more ground clearance. If we all have to nod our heads and agree not to use the term ‘station wagon’ so be it.” Mercedes-Benz GLA45AMGĪrguably the most glaring example of redefining the wagon might be Mercedes-Benz’ GLA250 and AMG GLA45. “The good news is, no matter what you call them, these vehicles all offer greater utility and flexibility than a similarly sized sedan. Karl Brauer, analyst at Kelly Blue Book adds, “No car maker wants to admit to making a station wagon because of the stigma still attached to that word, so most of them use phrases like ‘crossover’ or ‘sportwagon’ to avoid visions of Chevy Chase driving across America in the Griswold family’s Truckster. CUVs, on the other hand, were 33.9 percent of vehicle sales in the first three months of 2017. These days, station wagons make up just 1.1 percent of vehicles sold. It’s easy to understand why automaker’s marketeers dig deep into their cauldron of adjectives to describe a vehicle as a CUV or SUV rather than a station wagon. In other words, an automaker can make up its definition of a CUV as it goes along. Wikipedia’s definition says it, “…is a vehicle built on a car platform and combining, in highly variable degrees, features of a sport utility vehicle (SUV) with features from a passenger vehicle, especially those of a station wagon or hatchback.” 1941 Chrysler Town & Country Thanks to Chrysler, minivans became the people hauler of choice after 1984 and by the mid-1990s there were civilized SUVs to tempt families. 1976 Buickĭefinitely not the vehicle for the future, given the fuel economy standards put into effect after the 1973-1974 Arab Oil Crisis, ready to hit automakers right between the headlights in 1978. Worse yet, the car’s handling has been described as that of a bathtub half-full of water. The 1976 Buick in the below photo weighed just over 5100 pounds and needed a thirsty 455-cubic-inch V-8 to get the job done. Then steel took over, though homage was long played to the segment’s heritage with “woodie” station wagon options.Ĭome 1976, station wagons were 10 percent of the vehicle market, more than 970,000 sold. In the beginning, the vehicles often had hand-built wooden bodies. They were called station wagons because they were originally devised to take people to and from stations. Station wagons are still around…in style and utility if not in name. You missed a sweet spot in the automotive timeline. You possibly grew up in minivans or SUVs. If you are less than about 55 years of age, that paragraph likely means nothing. Like the dog, they were lovable members of the family. That slow-as-a-slug 6-cylinder automatic Chevy Kingswood. The red and white Ford Parklane with the Thunderbird V-8.
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