Photos: Car and Driver
Not long ago the vehicle of choice for many families in the US was the Station Wagon. Vista Cruisers, parked along side Ford, Chrysler and other stations wagons capable of carrying ten passengers filled the nation Shopping Malls.
In 1984, Chrysler changed the landscape with its Mini Vans, the landscape changed again in the late nineties with the popularity of Sports Utility Vehicles.
Today, SUV’s is the vehicle of choice in America, most are based on car platforms (crossovers). Only Subaru and Volvo continued to sell wagons in the US. While stations wagon (called Estates) are very popular in Europe.
Just don’t call them ‘STATION’ Wagons
In the mid nineties, tiny Subaru (Fuji Heavy Industries) didn’t have the resources to build a truck based SUV,so they took a Subaru Legacy Wagon, raised the height a few inches added some cladding to the wheel wells and called it the “Outback”. The Outback was a resounding success for Subaru.
Volkswagen and its subsidiary Audi have recently introduced small wagons. Volkswagen’s Golf SportWagen and the 4 wheel drive Golf Alltrak and Audi Allroad.
Late last year Volvo released a wagon version of the S90 luxury car called the V90. While the S90 is handsome the V90 is super sexy, much sexier in person.
The Interiors are as sexy as the exterior.
Photo: Motor Trend
The V90 comes in an all wheel version called the Cross Country. The Cross Country is higher than standard V90 note the body cladding.
Pricing for the V90 starts at $49,950 and $55,350 for the Cross Country
Meanwhile Back in the US of A
The last generation Buick Regal a rebadged Opel Insignia built in Germany, the wagon version of this car didn’t make it across the pond. Opel the European subsidiary of General Motors was sold to french auto manufacturer Peugeot-Citroen last month. After seeing early pictures of the Insignia and the Insignia wagon, American auto journalist hoped General Motors would bring the wagon version to the states.
A week ago, General Motors introduced the Buick Regal a week before the New York Auto Show. In a bold move, the new Buick will be sold as a hatchback and a wagon. The Wagon will be called “Regal Tour X”.
The 2018 Buick Regal will go on sale at the end of the year, it will be built in Germany. Eventually, the vehicle will be manufactured in America . Prices could range from $37,000, to $45,000 for the Regal TourX. While GM Cadillac division is struggling to find buyers, Buick has been a bright spot. Its appeal to younger buyers is growing and it’s GM’s most reliable brand. Last year J.D Powers ranked the brand ranked fourth in reliability, Below Lexus, Porsche, Toyota and above Mercedes Benz.
The question, can these Sexy Wagons take sales from SUV’s ?
CityFella
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