Wagon Life Has Returned to the US!!

"Wobbles the Mind" (wobblesthemind) 08/01/2017 at 12:55 • Filed to: Bodystyles

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Ive come to a decision, I am 100% in support of these lifted, bodycladded wagons that we keep seeing pop up for the US. They are actually pretty darn attractive, especially compared to all the car designs we have been seeing. I talked earlier about how car design is going from !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and I think that these cars prove it’s what we want. Whether you decide to call them Action Wagons, X-Wagons, Adventure Timers, Crossroaders, I honestly don’t care. Just keep them coming!!

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

Audi A4 Allroad

Buick Regal TourX

Jaguar XF Sportbrake

(Because I know a Sportcross is coming)

Mercedes-Benz E-Class All Terrain

Subaru Outback

(I’ll count it until the end of this generation)

Volvo V90 Cross Country

Volkswagen Golf Alltrack

Now, imagine the following coming to the US with a bit of a lift and some wheel arch treatments:

BMW 5 Series Touring

Ford Fusion Wagon

Kia Optima Sportwagon (could replace the 2-row version of the Sorento)

Mazda 6 Wagon “Waguna Seca” (close the gap between CX-5 and CX-9)

Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo (a X-Turismo won’t happen but can you imagine?!)

Im just saying that if we need to lift these cars up in order to sell them in the US then I’m cool with that. It opens the door for their lower to the ground siblings later. But when you open up your perspective you’ll see that wagons aren’t dead but actually beginning to thrive again. What’s really dying are hardtop convertibles, three door hatchbacks, FWD-only coupes and convertibles, and plain ol’ traditional, upright C-pillar sedans because they are all becoming 4-door coupes and liftbacks.

benjrblant > Wobbles the Mind 08/01/2017 at 13:01

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Apart from the Outback and the Golf Alltrack, none of these are remotely affordable or close to the average sale price of a car in the US right now. )=

random001 > Wobbles the Mind 08/01/2017 at 13:07

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What happens if you buy the lifted wagon, and lower it?

Wagonlife740 > Wobbles the Mind 08/01/2017 at 13:08

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I never left.

Yea... most of these are super expensive. I’ll continue my wagonlife in the 740s for a while yet.

Wobbles the Mind > benjrblant 08/01/2017 at 13:09

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I know, I noticed that too, but at least these $80,000-$90,000 stickers in 2017 are really $45,000 sale prices in 2020 or 2021.

DaftRyosuke - So Long and Thanks for All the Fish! > Wobbles the Mind 08/01/2017 at 13:09

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Always proud to be part of the wagon movement that’s barely keeping wagons alive in the US market.

Wobbles the Mind > random001 08/01/2017 at 13:10

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Then it’s a rally wagon!

Textured Soy Protein > Wobbles the Mind 08/01/2017 at 13:12

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No, Outbacktifying a wagon ruins a wagon. All the Outbacktified versions look worse than their non-Outbacktified forms. Curse you Subaru for foisting the Outback upon us and making the European car companies only sell Outbacktified versions of their glorious wagons in the US! Resist the Outbacktification!

Nothing > random001 08/01/2017 at 13:13

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That’s what I did with my old XC. Lowered it on S60 AWD springs.

random001 > Nothing 08/01/2017 at 13:13

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You’re my hero.

random001 > Wobbles the Mind 08/01/2017 at 13:14

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BOOM!

Nothing > Wobbles the Mind 08/01/2017 at 13:17

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Too bad CUVs are less expensive and can pull of the “action” look at the lower price point.

Wobbles the Mind > Textured Soy Protein 08/01/2017 at 13:17

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Coexist! Lower power = higher stance, higher power = lower stance. At least that seems to be the trend I’m seeing.

Svend > Wobbles the Mind 08/01/2017 at 13:19

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AmI under thinking this and think that the plastic cladding could just be unbolted/unclipped, generally removed. Fill in an holes.

Maybe replace the front and rear bumpers with Euro ones.

If someone so wished to have an estate that is.

Wobbles the Mind > Nothing 08/01/2017 at 13:26

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Which has made them so attainable and ubiquitous that they are no longer a status symbol. Thus, we need wagons to show you’re really, really well off. I heard a few years back that E-class wagon buyers had almost double the median household income of E-class sedan buyers.

Found it! About a $200,000 household income for the sedan buyers and a $375,000 household income for the wagon. All because those shoppers value practicality, family, and driving dynamics! That has future status symbol written all over it now.

http://www.automobilemag.com/news/interview-mercedes-benz-wagon-master-joe-stauble/

Wobbles the Mind > Svend 08/01/2017 at 13:30

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No one wants a new wagon badly enough to take off some exterior trim pieces. We talk big but don’t do big without a beer.

CalzoneGolem > Textured Soy Protein 08/01/2017 at 13:32

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You just picked better colors for the non-outbackafied ones.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Wobbles the Mind 08/01/2017 at 13:33

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We’re already a two-wagon household, so I guess we’re in!

Textured Soy Protein > CalzoneGolem 08/01/2017 at 13:34

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I didn’t even go looking for a specific color, I just found press photos of a relatively similar angle of the car.

Textured Soy Protein > Wobbles the Mind 08/01/2017 at 13:35

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I’m fine if the Outbacktified versions exist alongside non-Outbacktified versions but in many cases the Outbacktified version is the only one available in the US.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Svend 08/01/2017 at 13:38

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i’ve seen allroads where they just paint the cladding body color. looks better than grey plastic or no cladding

Svend > Textured Soy Protein 08/01/2017 at 13:38

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Subaru could of gave you the Levorg though.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Wobbles the Mind 08/01/2017 at 13:39

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I refuse to accept that as an Allroad. an Allroad has adjustable airride. everything else is just a lifted A4

Svend > Wobbles the Mind 08/01/2017 at 13:39

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Beer, the thinking mans juice.

Nothing > Wobbles the Mind 08/01/2017 at 13:43

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My son’s hockey coach has an ‘14 E Class wagon, although he bought it used last year. He’s had a good mix of cars. Bought the wagon to replace his ‘98 V70R that he bought new. His DD is a ‘92 M5 he bought in ‘95. Funny enough, his garage queen is a Crossfire SRT6.

That said, I didn’t know the intent of the article was that wagons = status.

Svend > OPPOsaurus WRX 08/01/2017 at 13:44

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True, smooth out the textured plastic, prime it and then paint it.

FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem > TheRealBicycleBuck 08/01/2017 at 13:49

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That Impreza ain’t no wagon though. But hatchbacks kinda count too, so eh.

Textured Soy Protein > Svend 08/01/2017 at 13:54

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Yes, I’m salty about that too.

TheRealBicycleBuck > FSI - alcohol enthusiast with a car problem 08/01/2017 at 14:11

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“That Impreza ain’t no wagon though.”

That’s debatable. My insurance company thinks it is. I’m pretty sure it says “wagon” on the title. Subaru skirts the issue by calling it a “5-door” in their literature.

I believe it meets the minimum requirements as defined by our own Torchinsky.

http://jalopnik.com/5872562/what-makes-a-wagon-a-wagon

Dusty Ventures > Wobbles the Mind 08/02/2017 at 01:38

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If it’s this or crossovers I’ll take this all day every day

Dusty Ventures > Textured Soy Protein 08/02/2017 at 01:41

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I get what you’re saying, and I agree the lower versions look better, but what if this is the only version manufacturers are bringing to the states because it’s the only way they’ll sell (which, if were honest, is likely the case), so it’s either this or nothing? Would you rather have no wagons over the lifted wagons?

Dusty Ventures > TheRealBicycleBuck 08/02/2017 at 07:25

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I would say Torch’s metric for Wagonhood is flawed. By his definition a Scion IQ is a wagon

As is the first gen Smart

I would say the better metric for wagondom is that the length of the cargo area be approximately equal to or greater than the length of any of the individual seating areas (note that this rule may only work with four door wagons, I’d have to research shooting brakes to see if it applies there as well). I’d also say the top edge of the rear glass has to start behind the rear wheel, but they’re starting to slope the rear glass more and more on wagons. So instead I will say the top edge of the rear glass needs to be behind the wheel hub (or, for easier visual purposes, more than 2 inches behind any lugnuts).

Textured Soy Protein > Dusty Ventures 08/02/2017 at 09:16

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Oh, I know that’s exactly the reason why we only get the Outbacktified versions. My saltiness is an extension of hating the fact that American car buyers have an irrational dislike of wagons even though they obviously love 2-box shaped vehicles, and the way to overcome that irrational dislike is by turning wagons into some kind of Frankenstein rally car wannabe SUV thing.