Why Are Wagons An Endangered Species In The US?

Updated: 10 Oct 2024

There was a time when nearly every American auto manufacturer made a station wagon of some sort, whether it was the on the luxury end of the market like a Buick Electra 225 Estate Wagon, or it was something sporty like a Ford Galaxie with a four-speed manual, bucket seats and a 390 cubic inch V8. Obviously, most of those barges have been crushed and turned into anything from the refrigerator in your kitchen, to the little metal bits in your phone, several times over. In Europe though, there are all sorts of wagons, and even some that would sell well over here, if we didn’t have so many darn SUVs.

The automakers definitely didn’t want the wagon to die off, just a few years ago, there were wagons being produced by The Big Three, in the forms of the Chevrolet HHR, Chrysler PT Cruiser, Ford Taurus Wagon, Dodge Magnum, and Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon. While some of these like the Taurus and Magnum (in V6 Trim) catered to a more practical audience, most of them had high-performance variants whether it was the HHR SS, PT Cruiser GT or Limited, Magnum SRT8, or the crown jewel of all of these, the CTS-V Sport Wagon.

Ah, yes. 556 horsepower, taillights that stretched to the heavens, and enough room for a weeks worth of groceries in the back. I shouldn’t have to mention the LSA 6.2L Supercharged V8 upfront, but what I will choose to mention was that the CTS-V Wagon ended production in 2014. That means that four years ago, America was still prideful in the fact that it made wagons, and from Cadillac no less!

Nowadays, the only thing we have to show for our wagon prowess is the Ford Flex. Say what you will about it, I still maintain that this is one of the best all-round wagons the US has produced to date. Sure these seven-seater muscle cars are nothing more than stories now, but why is that? Where did all the cool wagons go?

Why aren’t we making something like this? Why is it that the E61 M5 Touring never made it to the US? Was it because Americans couldn’t be seen driving a station wagon in 2007…..oh wait, they could be, because the Magnum SRT8 was still on sale. Why isn’t the RS6 Avant being brought over here, but the new E63S is? Why are Americans buying so many SUVs?! I’ll never know, but what I do know is that we need big, fast, wagons again. Even on the lower end of the market, we need the Kia Optima Sportswagon, and the Mazda6 Estate, or the Mondeo Estate. Hell, I’ll settle for a Buick Regal TourX without the plastic body cladding!

Is that too much to ask?

Maybe I’m just stuck in the past, but maybe, just maybe, we could see a revival of wagons in the US, as the traditional sedan inches ever closer to the chopping block. It would make sense for the several hundred thousand sedan buyers to make the transition to a more practical all-round vehicle, which would mean that wagons would be the performance oriented vehicles, while SUVs grow more bland and conservative, (I’m looking at you, Nissan Kicks).

Am I crazy? Or just old-fashioned? Comment Below!!!

Comments

Completely unrelated, but I just found out that Cadillac makes a 410hp V Sport version of the XTS. Sleeper land yachts FTW!

There is hope!

Chrysler makes a 450 horsepower version of the 300C

The Mazda6 wagon is a really good looking, I wish they would sell it here in the States, but I understand why they dont.

I dont get it either, i love it. It would totally sell here against the Outback and stuff

This is the way I see it: Wagons are utilitarian, moreso than some of the flashier SUVs.

People who buy a Camry as a commuting appliance may be interested in a more practical wagon.
People who buy a something like a BMW sedan as a status symbol would not usually be interested in a more utilitarian wagon. In fact, they’d be more swayed towards flashy SUVs.
Car enthusiasts obviously prefer sedans and wagons over SUVs, but our place in the new car market may as well not exist, plus we’d usually prefer coupe options anyhow.

Fair point.

From a manufacturers perspective, a crossover makes much more financial sense than a wagon. A crossover can share enough components with a similar model to keep costs way down while the bigger body allows them to market it as a totally unique vehicle. By doing this they are able to charge a premium for crossovers and achieve much healthier profit margins when compared to wagons. I understand that enthusists don’t like crossovers and large SUV’s but this is what is making the manufactures payroll money so they can fund projects for fun and sporty cars.

I absolutely agree with you. Wagons are beautiful and useful cars. It’s really sad that there aren’t any from the us anymore. They should really sell the Mazda 6 there. It’s in my opinion the best looking wagon currently