With Sedans Disappearing Are Station Wagons Preparing For A Comeback?

In the absolutely superb 1949 war film Twelve O’Clock High, a doctor stationed at a U.S. Army Air Force base in WW2 England uses an interesting comparison when describing a character’s mental breakdown.

“Have you ever seen a light bulb burn out? How bright the filament gets right before it breaks?”

A similar phenomenon could be at work in a certain vehicle niche, one which gets more press than actual sales warrant. The lowly, reviled, and suddenly revered station wagon, now referred to in terms meant to dispel the stodgy family hauler image of decades past.

zlives - 1/7/2019 3:04:09 PM

+3 Boost

umm not with that name, call it what sells... cross-over

dstampfer - 1/7/2019 3:04:41 PM

+8 Boost

The automotive press loves wagons. Dynamically, drive much better than a crossover and have similar hauling capacity. The American public will not go back because they like the elevated seating position and ground clearance of crossover SUV's and don't care how well they corner. Still, the E63S Wagon and past generation CTS-V wagon get/got stellar reviews...

CarCrazedinCali - 1/7/2019 3:18:28 PM

+2 Boost

I hope so!

PUGPROUD - 1/7/2019 3:53:20 PM

+2 Boost

At some point the younger or following generation will not want to drive their fathers' Oldsmobile (SUV) and will go for something different...wagons perhaps.

atc98092 - 1/7/2019 3:53:58 PM

+2 Boost

Since my Outback is really a wagon, not a crossover, I'm fine with it. VW calls theirs the AllTrack. Audi has the Allroad. They're all station wagons with a little higher ground clearance.

mre30 - 1/7/2019 6:24:50 PM

+5 Boost

Station wagons are a novelty thing - basically they are very handsome vehicles and look sexy in auto press/blog photo-spreads.

The do NOT offer more utility than similar SUV's even though it may seem so on paper. At this point, Americans prefer the high seating position of SUV's.

MDarringer - 1/7/2019 6:56:35 PM

+5 Boost

I seriously doubt station wagons are going suddenly be a thing.

Section_31_JTK - 1/7/2019 7:17:26 PM

+2 Boost

Nope. Unfortunate but no. Wagons are better than CUVs/SUVs.

I'd love an Audi RS8 avant.

xjug1987a - 1/7/2019 7:38:45 PM

+1 Boost

Surprisingly 212,000 wagons were sold in America this past year... Personally, I prefer a car to an SUV/CUV.... To bad GM is such a wreck, a current gen CTS-V would have been amazing... Go wagons!!

https://www.hagerty.com/articles-videos/articles/2019/01/07/station-wagon-wealthy-buyers

valhallakey - 1/9/2019 12:03:53 AM

+1 Boost

Agreed, go wagons! Unfortunately even when they are produced we don’t always get the ones we want to see, like say a BMW 340i wagon with a 6sp. Ford would do well with a 4 door “shooting brake” ie wagon version of the Mustang was well. Make cool wagons, market them and they will come. By the way when is the last time you saw a wagon in a car commercial? Most likely the answer is never.

mini22 - 1/8/2019 11:23:33 AM

+2 Boost

Volvo, Subaru, Volkswagen. They make most of the wagons. I don't see them increasing wagons on additional models. Until that happens wagons are not happening.

malba2367 - 1/8/2019 7:07:42 PM

+2 Boost

Most people eople like the higher seating position and the ease of entry/exit of crossovers....A wagon doesn't do anything for that. Remember that the vast majority of drivers don't care about driving dynamics.