[39][40], In 2011, the Toyota Prius V introduced hybrid power to the compact wagon market, but was discontinued in 2017 to streamline the Toyota hybrid lineup and focus on the RAV4 Hybrid Crossover SUV. The American Heritage Dictionary defines a station wagon as "an automobile with one or more rows of folding or removable seats behind the driver and no luggage compartment but an area behind the seats into which suitcases, Steamer Trunks parcels, etc., can be loaded through a tailgate. Checker Motors Corporation of Kalamazoo, Michigan, made the iconic taxicabs that prowled the streets of New York City and other major American metropolises throughout most of the 1960s, '70s, and '80s. Honda (Acura's parent) didn't make many wagons for the U.S. market, but those it did make were excellent, and the TSX was no exception, being, as it was, a rebadged and upgraded European-market Honda Accord Tourer.

The third-gen car is our favorite because its back window featured not one but two wipers. In the heady 1960s, nearly every car sold in America could be had as a wagon, while today station wagons are both very cool and very scarce. From the 1950s until the 1990s, many full-size American station wagons could be optioned with a third row of seating in the cargo area (over the rear axle) for a total of nine seats. [26][pageneeded] In lieu of glass, side curtains of canvas could be unrolled. The Parklane was a one-year only model, succeeded by the Ford Del Rio in 1957.

Cargo floor contour: A station wagon often has a fold-flat floor (for increased cargo capacity), whereas a hatchback is more likely to have a cargo floor with a pronounced contour.

[34] The Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG in Estate trim is a performance station wagon offered in the U.S. market. Chrysler created the Eagle brand for cars sold at Jeep dealerships, and the Medallion became an Eagle for '89.

Early advertising for the Land Rover version took the name literally, showing the vehicle collecting people and goods from a railway station. ", "E61 BMW M5 Touring: One of the best M cars of all time", "A Short History of Station Wagons in the USA", "The Last, Great, Gasp of the American Station Wagon", "Motoring Memories: The history of the station wagon", "Postwar Station Wagons: Mom's Car Makes a Comeback", "About Cars; Chewing Over the Art Of Automotive Design", "Europe's station wagons flourish - The Washington Times", "Comparison of passenger vehicle economy and greenhouse gas emission standards around the world", "BMW Might Kill 5 Series Wagon in Favor of GT Crossover", "Toyota's own hybrid models are eating away at Prius sales", "Volkswagen Is Ending Golf Sportwagen Alltrack Production", "2018 Volvo V90 Wagon Will Be Custom Order Only in America", "Against the Grain: 21 Woodies That Weren't Station Wagons", "DI-NOC Siding: Restoring a station wagon's wood grain is now quick and easy", "Jeep's Wagoneer Making Fake Wood Grain Fashionable Again? [citation needed]. Rear suspension: A station wagon may include reconfigured rear suspension for additional load capacity, Rear Door: Hatchbacks usually feature a top-hinged, This page was last edited on 23 June 2022, at 08:15. The same enthusiasts stoked because "Lexus wagon!" Several German manufacturers have produced station wagon versions of high-performance models, such as the Audi RS4, Audi RS6, Mercedes-AMG C63, Mercedes-AMG E63, BMW M5 (E60/E61), Volkswagen Golf R and Volkswagen Passat R36 wagons. After struggling sales, the Chevrolet Caprice and the Buick Roadmaster, the last American full-size wagons, were discontinued in 1996. Perhaps it's not the biggest surprise that Volvo is still here and Saab isn't. The TSX Sport Wagon was great to drive, had plenty of cargo space, and was attractive in a practical way. Ford ceased production of wagons in Australia when the Ford Falcon (BF) ended production in 2010, largely due to the declining station wagon and large car market, but also following the 2004 introduction and sales success of the Ford Territory SUV. Where manually operated, the lower tailgate was counterbalanced by a torque rod similar to the torque rods used in holding a trunk lid open, requiring a 35 lb push to fully lower the gate. When a new Corolla made its debut for 1998, it was nearly identical to the car it replacedbut the wagon was gone. Unfortunately, the cars were plagued by rapidly-rusting bodies and engines that overheated and warped. Dodge and Plymouth's infamous K-cars, the Aries and Reliant, were available in coupe, sedan, and wagon variants, so naturally the Chrysler division had to get one, too. The majority of these models were two-door wagons and several models were built on the chassis of relatively small cars. The Marathon's classic 1950s styling lent itself perfectly to the wagon body style. Like the rest of Saturn, this was a great idea that was poorly executed. GM was shooting to build the ultimate import fighter, investing beaucoup bucks in systems and technologies to back it up. In the United States, Ford's full-size station wagons for 1966 introduced a system marketed as "Magic Doorgate" a conventional tailgate with retracting rear glass, where the tailgate could either fold down or pivot open on a side hinge with the rear window retracted in either case. Kia doesn't break out Rio sales by body style, but we can't imagine the Cinco was very popular as we rarely saw them on the streets back then and we never see them now. (Full disclosure: We're easily amused.) [70] In 2005 a 'Sportwagon' version of the Saab 9-3 was introduced and produced until 2011. Pontiac's version of that car, which is best known as the Chevy Monza, was called the Sunbird. Ford began production of steel-bodied two-door station wagons in 1952 with the Ford Ranch Wagon. The Squire was always the highest trim level of any Ford Wagon and included the signature woodgrain applique, and usually additional exterior chrome, better interior trim, special emblems, etc. [25] The first all-steel station wagon body was the 1935 Chevrolet Suburban. Many modern station wagons have an upward-swinging, full-width, full-height rear door supported on gas springs often where the rear window can swing up independently. When Kia redesigned the Rio for 2006, the Cinco had been sunk-o. If there's one thing we know about Suzuki, it's that the company never throws anything awaywitness the Samurai, which it kept on the market for seven years after Consumer Reports ruined its reputation. [38] In 2012, the Volvo V50 compact station wagon was withdrawn from the U.S. market due to poor sales. However, Japanese manufacturers did not build station wagons in large volume until recently. Time for a reminder! [3] For 1969, Ford incorporated a design that allowed the rear glass to remain up or down when the door pivoted open on its side hinge, marketing the system, which had been engineered by Donald N. Frey[12] as the "Three-Way Magic Doorgate". Ford called it the Pinto Squire, as it was essentially a junior version of that diva of the stick-on wood-grain appliqu, the Country Squire. Early[when?] The Rio has held down the fort as Kia's subcompact since the turn of the millennium, and for a while Kia offered it as a wagon called the Rio Cinco. The FD- and FE-Series Vauxhall Victors, built between 1966 and 1978, were very large cars by British standards and featured station wagon models in the style of an American station wagon with front and rear bench seats and large-capacity petrol engines. Geo, for those who don't remember, was GM's captive-import brand sold through Chevrolet dealerships presumably to give the brand plausible deniability that Chevys were still American cars. General Motors adopted the rear-facing third row for most models during 1959-1971 and 19771996. In its early years, Saab was best known for the funky-looking 93 and 96 coupes, but it also made a nifty little wagon called the Saab 95 (not to be confused with the 9-5). The first all-steel station wagon was the 1935 Chevrolet Suburban, which was built on the chassis of a panel truck. The Type 3's rear-engine layout was retained for the station wagon models, but the engine profile was flattened, resulting in a small car offering interior room, as well as trunk space in the front. The Holden's main competitor, the Ford Falcon (XK) introduced wagon models in 1960.
Daewoo Motor followed suit a year later with the first-generation Nubira. [20] As part of the overall trend in the automotive industry, wooden bodies were superseded by all-steel bodies due to their strength, cost, and durability. [74] Production of wagons in Australia ceased in 2017 when the Holden Commodore (VF) ended production. Ford offered a Pinto wagon right up until the model was discontinued in 1980. The turn of the decade was not a great time for Acura: It was getting beat up over the horrendous bionic beaver-tooth grille on the 2009 TL and there was plenty of grumbling about the new TSX, which was bigger and heavier and didn't get the turbocharged engine everyone was hoping for. Worthy of note is the fast roofline, which ate up some cargo space but gave the car a slicker, sexier look aimed to change the minds of those who still viewed wagons as un-hip mommy-mobiles. The Renault Medallion launched in spring '87 as a 1988 model, just before Chrysler bought AMC. [21] They also came to be known as "carryalls" and "suburbans". For example, a sedan might have a model life of four years, but the wagon was not updated for up to eight years (such as the Toyota Corolla wagon built from 1979 to 1987) and the 1987-1996 Mazda Capella wagon). The Ford and Mercury full-size wagons built after 1964 were available with four rows of seats, with the rear two rows in the cargo area and facing each other. During the interim years when families transitioned to minivans and then to SUVs and crossovers, there were some rather oddball wagons produced. ", "PM Owners Report: AMC Pacer Station Wagon No one feels wishy-washy about AMC's eye-catchingest wagon", "A Short History of the Citroen Traction Avant", "The World's Greatest Wagons: Peugeot 203, 403, 404, 504, 505 An Illustrated History", "Volvo Celebrates 60 Years of Station Wagon History", "Volvo Cars Gent 2019 production numbers", "Curbside Classic: 1970 Saab 95 Saab Shows Ford How To Make The Shortest Three-Row Wagon", "Saab 9-3 Sportwagon (2005 - 2011) review", "Kombibilen tappar i vrlden men str sig stark i Sverige", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Station_wagon&oldid=1094544798, Articles with dead external links from July 2021, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2020, Pages using multiple image with auto scaled images, All articles with vague or ambiguous time, Vague or ambiguous time from November 2018, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from November 2018, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, D-pillar: Station wagons are more likely to have a.
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