Kia Optima estate confirmed, future strategy revealed

It was a gorgeous vehicle. It's a shame that Americans don't buy wagons unless you tell them it's an SUV or a crossover.

For virtually all my driving life - I always had a station wagon of some type as my "house" car. They gobbled up the kids - and with the tents on the rack - we all went out on adventures. I particularly remember going to the Worlds Fair in Montreal - a bunch of years back - my wife driving the wagon - and me with the Van - we took the whole family. The same problem you mention with wagons exists with Mini-vans as well. Yet there are times when the Mini-Van or a station wagon would be the ideal vehicle. Especially when looking for a vehicle that can drive like a car - but carry more.

Still - the suvs are nothing more than 4x4 station wagons - in fact many are just front wheel drive as well. Most will never be used in a situation requiring a 4x4 - because they might get dirty!

My wife and I have 4 boys (1 @ 2 years, 2 @ 1 year, and 1 brand new) and we have a Flex because it's the closest thing to a station wagon you can get without going BOF SUV. I don't have a problem with a minivan, but the wife does. Her parents always took two cars rather than put the entire family in one vehicle. I grew up in a Chevy Kingswood estate. I'm the middle of five kids and she's the middle of 6. She wants 6, but after having 3 pregnancies and 4 kids in rapid succession--100% her choice on timing--she's decided to wait a couple of years before the next ones.

Although I am clearly much older than you - it seems we have children in Common. My wife and I had 5 boys in our first two years of marriage (Triplets and twins - I am a twin as well - we were both under 20) - and the 8th child was the girl. WE lived in a big old farmhouse. My oldest now has grandchildren. Subsequent to them and her death - I had quite a number of foster and or guardian children as well. So - having people movers was not an option - often more than one - we always had them. My boys could take apart and put together an engine before they "put together" their first cars. That lift in my barn has seen the creation of quite a number of cars in its day. So - cars held two places - the ones that we needed to get the family around - and the ones that we raced at the local tracks. I still put together a number of Powerglides every year for racers.

That sounds like an amazing life. I hope mine will be. It's looking promising.

We live in a sprawling, midcentury modern house out on the northeast by the river. My wife's parents live two miles downstream.

I have a steel garage that was built a year ago with a couple of faux sides so it looks like the house. It's there where I wrench on cars.

One of my toys is a TVR Sagaris with an LS7 under the hood. It's a blast to take out to the track. I've also done drags in it. I recently acquired a Tasmin that I plan to convert to a 2.3 Ecoboost just for spits and giggles. Both cars were acquired for cheap with grenaded engines and trannies.

I think the biggest difference between now and then - was that a car was not a right - only so many kids had them - and most of those cars were beaters or cars that were put together. High priced foreign cars were largely for older rich people - even the sports cars. And even with that - most used their own wrenches - for all but serious engine or trans rebuilding (And often that too) That shiny new car was a dream - and something you kept until it rusted out. There is one thing I can say - I will always be proud of my kids - not matter how they came to me. It is a shame that in the USA - there are so many older orphans who literally have no place to go and are unwanted. Proud to say I got all of mine through college.

While I love to see wagons like these on the road, as a father of 3, I can say an SUV is still my preference. When I put the car seats in my A6, its a cramped experience (same experience as having a wagon, as from the 2nd row forward, it's all the same). In my Q7, the added height allows for easier acess to get them in their car seats and less awkward bending over, and additional cargo volume in the back compared to a wagon.

We have 4 car seats in a Flex and despite its size, its still a challenge.