davyjordi

they do really sell, especially in the pacific northwest, the upper midwest, and new england. i'm sure you can imagine why.

mmarshall

I understand what you are saying, but the Forester, with its super-conservative squared-off styling and large square windows (for easy visibility) is probably more of a traditional wagon than its CUV competition, which includes the likes of the RAV-4, CR-V, Outlander, CX-5, Escape, etc.... Those competing vehicles are certainly in the same class, but not as traditional-wagon-styled as the Forester.

Coleroad

+1. The Chrysler mini van changed it all. Then once suv's came in a variety of sizes, they have taken over.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

yup, and like coleroad said, the suv, starting with the explorer, pretty much finished off the limited utility of a station wagon.

and marshall, the forester may be 'squared off' but that just makes it an ugly cuv, not a station wagon.

mmarshall

Well, SUVs, wth their raised ground-clearance and AWD, are more flexible in bad weather, but, except for the giant SUVs of the Suburban/Expedition-EL class, minivans are still the King of the people-movers.

Well, I'll respect your opinion, but if you look at the Forester's platform, it's an AWD Impreza chassis/drivetrain with a classic two-box wagon body on it....just as the Outback is a Legacy Wagon on a raised-suspension
(the Legacy Wagon is no longer sold in the U.S.).

I owned an Outback for six years (as you know)...and I can tell you, from my own experience, that it's the King of the snow-cars. That's why it's the official vehicle of the U.S. Olympic Ski Team.

And, the box-styling that you call "ugly" on the Forester adds greatly to its utility, space-efficiency, room for tall persons, and outward visibility.

chromedome

Goodness... That Jag and the Panamera wagon all look like sex on wheels. Seriously, those are beautiful, sleek yet very practical cars. The Cayenne and F-Pace look like porky dumplings in comparison.

There's only one SUV that I'd consider over all these wagons: the Alfa Stelvio. I saw a fleet of 'em roaring up a mountain road, probably on a test drive event, and they looked sensational.

b2884987

Will the wood trim on the side of the car ever be cool again? I wondered why those aren't popular anymore.

Toys4RJill

If automakers offered AWD on smaller cars with a hatch, like the Corolla IM, or a Camry wagon with AWD you would see more wagons. To get AWD and hatch capability, you have to step up to a CUV. That was not always the case as for example Toyota was offering AWD Camry wagons in the past, Matrix AWD hatches, as well as the Venzas. I believe a new Buick wagon is coming.

Allen K

iTrader: (4)

The Rav4 is based on the same platform as the Corolla and Prius and the CR-V uses the same platform as the Civic. Platform sharing with a car doesn't make it a wagon. If we're using two box + platform sharing as the criteria for a wagon, the Highlander, the RX, the Pilot and basically any crossover SUV will all be considered wagons.

chromedome

Yeah, I'd say a wagon has to use sedan underpinnings and a similar body, although the suspension can have more ground clearance. All wagons share the same seat height as their sedan cousins, whereas crossovers and SUVs (even those based on the same sedan platform) have higher seat heights, more upright driving positions and overall taller bodies.

Anyway, going off topic a bit but the Bollinger B1 electric Jeep looks fantastic. It's got more ground clearance than most people need, a crazy powerful Tesla-style drivetrain and enough cargo space to carry some sheep in the back.

Airbalance

Use to own this beautiful wagon, just like this one, 1980 Dodge Aspen
vinyl seats, we had 3 car seats across the back and one in the middle on the bench seat

mmarshall

Well, you've hit on one of the more difficult things in the auto industry to determine....just exactly where to draw the line between an SUV, crossover, and wagon. As I see it, though (and a number of product analysts do as well, including Consumer Reports), the Forester and Outback are somewhat closer to their basic sedan-platform underpinnings (Impreza and Legacy) than the Toyota and Honda SUVs/CUVs are to their Corolla/Camry and Civic/Accord underpinnings.

mmarshall

Get this....Lee Iacocca and Hal Sperlich, who were at Ford at the time, actually wanted to do a minivan back in the 1970s. Iacocca, of course, had been the driving force behind the hugely successful Mustang in the 1960s. Later, after Henry Ford II, in his well-known arrogance and stubbornness, had fired both of them, they wound up together again over at Chrysler, out of King Henry's reach. There, of course, they were able to develop the Caravan/Voyager minivan and actually bring it to market. The rest, like the Mustang, is history.

gengar

The Jaguar looks amazing - it's just a shame that the XF doesn't offer more engine options, especially since it is a smaller, lighter platform than the E-Class and so a performance variant would have certain advantages over the AMG.

As far as wagons generally - I'm surprised no has mentioned the big elephant in the room, which is CAFE standards and gas guzzler tax. As we know, many CUVs/SUVs/crossovers on truck/light truck platforms have the exact same footprint and cargo area as station wagons classified as passenger cars, but the light/trucks are exempt from gas guzzler tax - implicitly making the respective station wagons less competitive. It won't account for all the "cool" factor, but if American companies aren't developing and marketing station wagons and foreign companies aren't marketing station wagons and bringing them to the US, there's necessarily going to be drop in interest from consumers.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

nothing difficult at all, it's not about the platform, it's about the ground clearance and body shape. wagons are sedans (at sedan height) with a rear expanded (non-coupe-like) hatch.
cuv's/suv's have much heigher ground clearance typically, and a much more upright interior and car space, regardless of what platform they're on.
a more gray area is what bmw has done with their successful gran coupes and coupe-like x models like x6 which are basically cuv's/suv's with a more coupe like back hatch.
a friend just got rid of (surprise) and unreliable but sexy jag coupe (xk-f i think) and got a bmw x6