Wagons used to be the main family vehicle here in the good 'ole US of A. Anybody with more than 2 kids usually had one. It could carry the entire family and dog and luggage and camping gear and ... well you get the idea. They were big, powerful, and did their job like the car gods intended. You could throw a trailer hitch on and pull a camper or horse trailer and get to where you needed to go without a hiccup. But, unfortunately like most American cars in the 70's, they got downsized, made less powerful, and made uglier in some cases. It was left up to the European and Japanese car makers to give us a wagon, but they were smaller and got better fuel economy. Toyota, Datsun, Volvo, and Merecedes-Benz were just a few that gave us wagons to carry our families and entire load of groceries from the Piggly Wiggly.Through the 80's there were still many choices of wagons out there. GM and Ford still made rear wheel drive full size wagons along side many mid-size wagons, AMC still had their popular 4-Wheel Drive Eagle Wagon, and Many overseas car makers still built a plethora of options; this author owned an '89 Toyota Corolla Wagon for many years. We saw the birth of the SUV thanks to the Jeep Cherokee, which unfortunately changed the fate of the Wagon.
The 90's was the beginning of the end. SUVs became a major craze and car buyers saw them as a better option than the Wagon even though the only difference was ride height and optional 4-Wheel-Drive. We saw everything from the Ford Explorer to Mercedes M-Class to the Cadillac Escalade. The Wagon was still around, but unfortunately wasn't a major contender in the family car market anymore. Why buy a full size Caprice wagon when you can buy a Tahoe or Suburban? Then came the CUV. They didn't call it that then, but it's what they call it now. Why buy a Corolla or Camry Wagon when for a not much more you could get a Rav4? Everyone liked that "sitting higher than everyone else" feeling. All the "Soccer Moms" wanted to feel superior to the rest of the automotive world.Fast Forward to 2012. Wagons are still very much alive, just not here in the States. See, in Europe and other parts of the world, the Wagon is still used as what it always has meant to be. People still accept them for their purpose and they don't feel the same about SUVs as people do here. SUVs are too large and very inefficient which is a major concern for car buyers there. Luckily, with the addition of diesel engines, they have become more efficient (but not much), but they are still too large for some. Cars are still more efficient than most CUVs.
Here in the U.S., there are few companies that still offer us Wagons. A couple Japanese companies, a few European companies, possibly a Korean company, and surprisingly, an American company. So, there are some options to be had still. I think however, in the next 10 or so years, the Wagon will vanish for us here in the States. With engine technology improving and economy getting better, CUVs seem to be taking reign over what we have left of wagons.
I feel that the Wagon is a good car, no matter the size. Easier to maneuver, easy to get in, good fuel economy, and for me, they look cool. Which is why we come full circle back to the Chevy Cruze Wagon. It's probably the best Wagon I have seen in a long time. It also looks like the inside is a proper Wagon. The other thing is that it comes with an optional diesel engine which means awesome fuel mileage. The only problem is that GM does not want to sell it in the U.S., they fear that it won't sell here. I, however, feel different. I think it could sell here. Why buy an SUV that is going to cost you $70 to fill up and get 300 miles out of the tank or buy a car that has the same interior space, costs $40 to fill up, and you get 500 miles out of the tank. Would sure make a hell of a car in the city.
I hope that one day, SUVs and CUVs can thin out and people buy them for their true purpose. Maybe then we can see the Wagon make a comeback.
I'm not gonna hold my breath......
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