The Atlantic magazine once published a charming piece called The Last, Great, Gasp of the American Station Wagon . Charles Moss reminisced about a childhood spent loathing the family’s nine-passenger, 1984 Chevrolet Caprice Classic wagon, with its faux wood paneling and rooftop rack.
1984 Chevrolet Caprice Classic
“I waited impatiently for it to die so we could buy a smaller, cooler car. But it never did,” recalled Moss. That Caprice Classi wagon was a durable workhorse that “defined the modern, middle-class family” for decades. In Moss’s particular case, it endured for 200,000 miles.
Moss survived the teenage humiliation and, in fact, suffered a change of heart: “Now that I have a family of my own, I kind of miss it.”
1962 Rambler Classic
My station wagon story is not dissimilar. When I still celebrating single-digit birthdays, our family car was a well-used, light blue, 1962 Rambler Classic wagon with a push-button, three-speed automatic transmission and oceans of backseat room for me and my older brother, along with lots of space for camping behind us.
1964 Chevrolet Bel Air
As a young teenage driver, I learned to twist my dad’s wrenches on a sturdy 1964 Chevy Bel Air wagon. I paid $325 for it. Sold it later for $500 and bought a Chevy Nova with a small-block V-8. Thanks, dad, for letting my use your garage and your tools.
Rambler phased out the Classic in 1966. Various versions of the Bel Air rolled from 1950-81. And Chevy phased out the Caprice wagon and its corporate sibling, the Buick Roadmaster, almost two decades ago (1996).
Detroit-based carmakers found that customers who grew up in wagons wanted nothing to do with their dad’s car. Young family-type boomers gravitated to minivans in the early 1980, but soon enough proved willing to pay hefty premiums for sexier and thirstier SUVs (sport-utility vehicles).
Volvo V60
However, some carmakers, notably Volvo Car and German manufacturers, have remained station wagon stalwarts. I thought of this as I clamored into one of the raciest wagons for sale today: Volvo’s 455-horsepwer V60 Polestar Engineered family hauler. This test came on the heels of an earlier experience in the far more sedate but still quite lovely Volvo V60CC or Cross Country.
V60 Cross Country
Volvo no longer sells wagons in the United States and the United Kingdon, but Canadians are an odd lot. A small buy loyal bunch still prefer the station wagon over the SUV. We are European in that.
The obvious question now for Volvo, given the brand’s shift to an all-EV lineup in an SUV/crossover world: Is there a future for actual station wagons from a global brand that gave us the P1800ES (1972-73P), the 700 Series (1984-92), the P220 Amazon (1962-69) and, of course, the Duett (1953-69)?
1972-73 P1800ES
Geely-owned Volvo has been coy about the future of its station wagons during its remake under the Chinese conglomerate. Station wagons are not popular in China, nor in America. It’s a different story in Europe. As recently as 2021, two-thirds of global station wagon sales were on the Continent.
1984-92 700 Series
It makes sense for Volvo to at least contemplate a line of station wagon EVs. Automotive News Europe has predicted that wagons are poised to make the electric transition. Does Volvo plan to put an EV wagon in the product pipeline – a pipeline with a new EV launch every year for the next five years?
1962-69 P220 Amazon
“It’s a decision that we need to make, and we need to make it with the market intelligence that we have,” Volvo boss Jim Rowan told Auto Express.
“Can we do a really nicely designed and intelligent wagon? Yes, of course we can. The point really is whether we should do it – is there enough margin there, is there enough demand for that car?” he told Auto Express.
1953-69 Duett
I hope Volvo stays the station wagon course. Like Charles Moss, I grew up with station wagons and they are often the perfect solution for those of us who love to drive but also need space for passengers and cargo.
Even the best SUV can’t help being a bit clumsy to drive. The height and focus on space and comfort above all else pose huge challenges for SUV engineers.
But wagons have the ride height of a normal passenger car, while delivering the space of an SUV. Volvo and others now build wagons that not only offer many, many practical advantages, but also entertain like a true performance car.
沃尔沃全新V60外观
The two Volvo wagons I’ve just tested, for instance, are delightful machines, with wonderful responses, exceptional braking and tremendous cornering skills.
The V60 Polestar boasts a 0-100 km/hour time in the five-second range and the fuel efficiency of economy car: 7.6 L/100 km combined. Sure, this specialty wagon comes in at $77,500 plus fees and taxes, but for that you get a lot of zoot and premium features like the excellent Harmon Kardon sound system.
V60 Cross Country, Leather Charcoal in Charcoal interior
As for the V60 Cross Country, the base version starts at $57,790. It looks very much like the Polestar version, but is more sedate at 247 hp for a 0-100 km in about seven seconds. Tis is very much an up-market wagon with tremendous seats, tasteful looks, modern technology and the space for road trips with all your gear.
We don’t yet know where Volvo is going with station wagons in an electrified automotive world. But it is hard to imagine a Volvo lineup without a station wagon, even if the business case outside of Europe is quite obviously hard to make. I hope that these are not the last two Volvo wagons I’ll ever road test.
The Atlantic magazine once published a charming piece called The Last, Great, Gasp of the American Station Wagon . Charles Moss reminisced about a childhood spent loathing the family’s nine-passenger, 1984 Chevrolet Caprice Classic wagon, with its faux wood paneling and rooftop rack.
1984 Chevrolet Caprice Classic
“I waited impatiently for it to die so we could buy a smaller, cooler car. But it never did,” recalled Moss. That Caprice Classi wagon was a durable workhorse that “defined the modern, middle-class family” for decades. In Moss’s particular case, it endured for 200,000 miles.
Moss survived the teenage humiliation and, in fact, suffered a change of heart: “Now that I have a family of my own, I kind of miss it.”
1962 Rambler Classic
My station wagon story is not dissimilar. When I still celebrating single-digit birthdays, our family car was a well-used, light blue, 1962 Rambler Classic wagon with a push-button, three-speed automatic transmission and oceans of backseat room for me and my older brother, along with lots of space for camping behind us.
1964 Chevrolet Bel Air
As a young teenage driver, I learned to twist my dad’s wrenches on a sturdy 1964 Chevy Bel Air wagon. I paid $325 for it. Sold it later for $500 and bought a Chevy Nova with a small-block V-8. Thanks, dad, for letting my use your garage and your tools.
Rambler phased out the Classic in 1966. Various versions of the Bel Air rolled from 1950-81. And Chevy phased out the Caprice wagon and its corporate sibling, the Buick Roadmaster, almost two decades ago (1996).
Detroit-based carmakers found that customers who grew up in wagons wanted nothing to do with their dad’s car. Young family-type boomers gravitated to minivans in the early 1980, but soon enough proved willing to pay hefty premiums for sexier and thirstier SUVs (sport-utility vehicles).
Volvo V60
However, some carmakers, notably Volvo Car and German manufacturers, have remained station wagon stalwarts. I thought of this as I clamored into one of the raciest wagons for sale today: Volvo’s 455-horsepwer V60 Polestar Engineered family hauler. This test came on the heels of an earlier experience in the far more sedate but still quite lovely Volvo V60CC or Cross Country.
V60 Cross Country
Volvo no longer sells wagons in the United States and the United Kingdon, but Canadians are an odd lot. A small buy loyal bunch still prefer the station wagon over the SUV. We are European in that.
The obvious question now for Volvo, given the brand’s shift to an all-EV lineup in an SUV/crossover world: Is there a future for actual station wagons from a global brand that gave us the P1800ES (1972-73P), the 700 Series (1984-92), the P220 Amazon (1962-69) and, of course, the Duett (1953-69)?
1972-73 P1800ES
Geely-owned Volvo has been coy about the future of its station wagons during its remake under the Chinese conglomerate. Station wagons are not popular in China, nor in America. It’s a different story in Europe. As recently as 2021, two-thirds of global station wagon sales were on the Continent.
1984-92 700 Series
It makes sense for Volvo to at least contemplate a line of station wagon EVs. Automotive News Europe has predicted that wagons are poised to make the electric transition. Does Volvo plan to put an EV wagon in the product pipeline – a pipeline with a new EV launch every year for the next five years?
1962-69 P220 Amazon
“It’s a decision that we need to make, and we need to make it with the market intelligence that we have,” Volvo boss Jim Rowan told Auto Express.
“Can we do a really nicely designed and intelligent wagon? Yes, of course we can. The point really is whether we should do it – is there enough margin there, is there enough demand for that car?” he told Auto Express.
1953-69 Duett
I hope Volvo stays the station wagon course. Like Charles Moss, I grew up with station wagons and they are often the perfect solution for those of us who love to drive but also need space for passengers and cargo.
Even the best SUV can’t help being a bit clumsy to drive. The height and focus on space and comfort above all else pose huge challenges for SUV engineers.
But wagons have the ride height of a normal passenger car, while delivering the space of an SUV. Volvo and others now build wagons that not only offer many, many practical advantages, but also entertain like a true performance car.
沃尔沃全新V60外观
The two Volvo wagons I’ve just tested, for instance, are delightful machines, with wonderful responses, exceptional braking and tremendous cornering skills.
The V60 Polestar boasts a 0-100 km/hour time in the five-second range and the fuel efficiency of economy car: 7.6 L/100 km combined. Sure, this specialty wagon comes in at $77,500 plus fees and taxes, but for that you get a lot of zoot and premium features like the excellent Harmon Kardon sound system.
V60 Cross Country, Leather Charcoal in Charcoal interior
As for the V60 Cross Country, the base version starts at $57,790. It looks very much like the Polestar version, but is more sedate at 247 hp for a 0-100 km in about seven seconds. Tis is very much an up-market wagon with tremendous seats, tasteful looks, modern technology and the space for road trips with all your gear.
We don’t yet know where Volvo is going with station wagons in an electrified automotive world. But it is hard to imagine a Volvo lineup without a station wagon, even if the business case outside of Europe is quite obviously hard to make. I hope that these are not the last two Volvo wagons I’ll ever road test.
About the Author / Jeremy Cato
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