The death of the station wagon

cnn.money ^ | February 15, 2011 | Alex Taylor III

[Daffynition]

The news came like a blow to the gut for this child of 1950s suburbia:

Volvo, the company most associated with station wagons for the last 20 years, will stop selling wagons in the U.S. The market is drying up.

The Volvo wagon had been on life support for months. After dropping the larger V70 Volvo in 2010, Doug Speck, CEO of Volvo Cars of North America, told Automotive News he was giving the V50 another year because there "is a bit more energy in the small wagon segment."

Not enough, apparently. Volvo, which was sold to China's Geely in 2010, sold just 480 V50s last year, about two per dealer.

[Daffynition]

[Daffynition]

For '52 the Chevrolet Deluxe Station Wagon factory price was the highest of all the 1952 Chevy's at $2281.00. In spite of the high cost, 12,756 units were sold. On the other hand the same 4 door 8 passenger 1952 Ford Station Wagons sold only 11,927 units and the cost was $200.00 less. On the other hand Chrysler's 1952 Town and Country Windsor Station Wagon only sold 728 units at a much higher cost of $3,200.00. While the 1952 Chrysler Saratoga Town and Country cost even more at $3,925.00 and a production figure of 481 units.

[Daffynition]

[Noob1999]

btl

[Doogle]

"..wait wait, there's too many hands, on the other hand"

[AlexW]

Volvos were great cars.
My first, and in my early 20s was a P1800.
After that, as a married man with daughter, all were Volvo wagons, at least 3 of them.
None of my Volvos were bought new.

[Einherjar]

DANG !!!!! I was planning on riding with the Griswold family this summer , how will i ever get to Wallyworld now ?

[BigCinBigD]

the station wagon hasn't gone any where. It's now called a “cross over”.

[Wolfstar]

Indeed. Cross over, minivan, SUV are all different variations on the station wagon.

[Cincinatus]

"You think that you hate it now -- but wait 'till you drive it!"

[OBXWanderer]

2011 Taurus SHO wagon...not your everyday Country Squire, IMO......works for me..now, get Ford to make em...and I need a luggage rack...

[fwdude]

Mine is close to the Griswold’s: A 1970 Buick Estate wagon, green with wood-grain siding. It’s not going anywhere (into oblivion.)

[21twelve]

My first and only vehicle was a pickup. But once I had kids I wanted a pickup, but also LOVED the idea of my Dad’s old station wagons where the seats would lay flat, etc. I even thought of modifying a crew-cab pickup to do that.

Luckily for me I saw an article about the Chevy Avalanche before they came out (HEY- that is EXACTLY what I want!), and my old pickup was on it’s last legs. Of course, my wife’s mini-van is ALMOST as capable, but I haven’t tried loading a stack of 4’x8’ plywood in it like my truck.

[BigCinBigD]

Ford Edge, Volkswagen Jetta “wagon” all just station wagons. personally I like a good wagon.

[Daffynition]

Two wagon examples, I see around town...mostly driven by *older* folks.

[Daffynition]

We had a *series* of Chevy Estate wagons ...one-after-the-other...work horses...great engines. Perfect for kids, dogs, sports equipment, yada. Those 454 cui BigBlock V8 engines would probably go 300K. Then the mini-van was marketed.

[Dustoff45]

1952 Ford Station Wagons

In '52, my folks traded in the old '49 ford for a 1952 Ford Ranch Wagon. I thought of it as a poor man's station wagon, because it was a two-door model and of course my frugal parents had to buy the economical 6 cylinder with the three speed manual.

I have fond memories of climbing into the back and standing on the floorboard holding onto the back of the front seat as my parents sat in front. What's a seat belt?

5 years later, they bought a '57 Ranch wagon, again underpowered, but large inside.

I never really did get past the thought that my folks just could not bring themselves to buy a real station wagon.

So what is in the driveway today, A Mercury Sable Wagon (4-door) with a Dodge Ram diesel sitting along side. :-)

[fwdude]

That photo exemplifies the “cat” attitude perfectly.

[Daffynition]

Kids need to get to college

[Dustoff45]

Years ago I was visiting a small group start up for a new church. We were participating in the ice-breaker of the week and that was to go around and tell the folks the type of car the family had when we were in 7th grade.

For me that was easy, it was a 1957 Ford Ranch Wagon. But the question was a little harder for a little lady that came to us from Cambodia.

Finally, she spoke up, "We didn't have a car, we had a Water Buffalo!