Wagons should rule the world!

Ive seen the Mazda 6 hatch and wagon on the market.. but it got canned.

Ya ask the dingus over at Mazda why.. and he will point to the Escape badged Tribute in the corner, or the CX7, or the CX9…

Funny, ya got 3 Suvs / jacked up wagons sitting over there with 1 fullsize regular wagon.. and ya can it cause its got competition against itself.

All I know is when my 00 Accord is ready to go.. Im pickin up a Mazda 3 5dr hatch.

Better than a Civic, cause Civic has no hatch and more interior design.

Better than the Accord, cause SOMEONE BEEN FEEDIN IT too many damn doughnuts!

But thats alright… Imma trade in the Mazda 3 5dr hatch when the Civic 5dr for the US comes..

My fiance and I had a multi fasceted discussion…
She was looking at the Escape for a larger vehicle

But the discussion broke down to the point that its just not worth buying.

1.We checked out 5 different car sites that each gave a different GVWR / Curb weight for a 1st and 2nd gen Escapes.

2. It doesnt make any sense to have a 2wd unit of the current generation. Its just too damn big.

3. The Current Escape is as big as the last Exploder and sticking a hybrid system in there, or a 4cycl unit it just pointless. The vehicle is just too damn big, with a motor thats trying to be efficient.

So in the end, the current escape is too damn big, doesnt make good use of a hybrid battery unit (3-5g) hurts fuel economy rather than help it.

And we’d never use it as designed. I mean honestly.. how many people have actually used it in the snow as designed.

I keep telling her… go for the Focus 5dr Hatch in 2010. Its better looking, has the 2wd unit, is less weight than an Escape, and doesnt have any of the inefficiencies of that overblown obese POS!

My future… driveway…
Her a 2010 Focus 5dr
Me.. 08, 09, 10 Mazda 5dr hatch..

Hatches just do the job better and with out the wweight and bs.

I’ve driven and owned many wagons, and the crossovers (Matrix XRS) and SUVs (Jimmy, 4Runner) I’ve owned were treated as wagons, too.

I now enjoy my E46 3-Series wagon more than any other car I’ve owned. I purchased 3 years old for nearly half what it sold for new. Depreciation on wagons is very favorable to used buyers.

Like a previous comment, I see my wagons as enclosed pickups and often drive with rear seats folded, for dogs, large loads or because I don’t often have rear passengers.

If that’s the case than Boston and New York and Portland (ME) and Portland (OR) had better change their names, because those names are so UK. Names often have fascinating historical roots.

As for the magnum, its problem is those slit windows. Who wants to drive (or ride in) a car you can’t see out of, no matter how coolly thuggish it looks? Despite the way that sounds, I like the look. But I’d like it more if the windows were bigger.

I find CUVs stupid. Or at least horribly ugly. The Murano???! The Infiniti version is not much better. This is marketer-driven. I mean, just say cross-over utility vehicle three times in a row. The name is as stupid as the vehicle. Wagons, on the other hand, the BMW, Audi, Volvo, VW, and Subaru wagons are just as cool as the sedans. The people who buy CUVs are sheeple.

Door wouldn’t open far enough, maybe the door jamb wasn’t big enough… Box would not fit between the top of the trunk and the floor (under the glass).

I can’t imagine why anybody would want a small four door sedan instead of a small four door wagon… HEAR THAT DOMESTIC AUTO MAKERS?

Admittedly in the recent past decade there have been some really ugly small wagons on the market but I’m not convinced that the manufacturers didn’t want to encourage us to buy the SUV sitting next to it… VBG!

We bought a new ‘99 CR_V way back when b/c we wanted a Honda and there were no Honda wagons to be had. Its been great but $4 gas has encouraged us to think about replacing it at around 200K with a small wagon or hatchback. 39K miles to go… If it continues to be a good car we’ll keep driving it though.

Granted, it’s not super high-tech, but it’s a nice size for those who need the passenger space and the versatility. Our other choice would have been a Focus wagon, but, they are no longer produced.

Personally, I wouldn’t be caught dead driving an SUV unless I felt I was genuinely making use of its capabilities (off-roading, etc.) and I think the SUV’s a bit of a pariah vehicle for a lot of the people in my age group – it’s already gaining the dowdy-family-car image that Detroit-Iron mused about. Give me a V70 – or a Mazda 6 wagon, for that matter – over an Escalade any day of the week. I appreciate that there are people who really need an SUV/truck, and I won’t dump on them as I have a beef myself with urbanites who forge ahead with their “green agenda” with no regard for rural concerns.

‘course, the SUV-as-pariah is somewhat a function of my particular social group, and I won’t deny that there’s a segment of urbanites around my age who think SUVs are the bee’s knees. I think (read: hope) the price of gas will put paid to that, though, and that manufacturers will realize that some of us young’ns want utility without the urban-SUV image and associated fuel consumption.

The other problem of course has been the CAFE truck loophole. Gas prices have only just begin to deal with that.

Then there’s all the marketing, that plays up the “toughness” of the SUV…

scicarb: Which S4 do you have? I was under the impression both the B5 and B6 were both a bit of a gas guzzler.

Even if there were large wagons I don’t think you’d get many to buy them. For example, I have 5 passengers going for a week long beach vacation. I’m going to have a hard enough time packing everyone and everything we need into a Honda Odyssey. I couldn’t imagine doing it in a wagon, actually it probably couldn’t be done. Two are still in booster/kid seats.

Now for those that didn’t need an SUV anyway then wagons may be an option. People still like to have a high seating position and ease of entry that vans and CUV’s offer. It’s going to be a hard sell in the U.S.

I just got an Astra and I need something to stick on it.

My favorite was a 2000 Volvo V70 with all the options and a very long list of dealer maintenance.

On a 2000 mile trip through South Carolina, one third city / two thirds hwy, we averaged 30.5 mpg.

I’ve had Mercedes, BMW, Subaru (at least 6 Outbacks), Ford/Mercury and even a classic Peugeot 505. None of them were as good as the Volvo. Although I could see the Outback as a worthy alternative for those who want a more sporty driving experience.

A Camry/Accord/Malibu wagon front wheel drive with snow tires will be the new Tahoe.

Full disclosure, We’ve had a manual Legacy GT wagon for 3 years now and wouldn’t trade it for anything at this point.

The original dodge caravan with its reasonably good fuel mileage and greater people /cargo capacity seemed to have signaled the demise of the traditional wagon. It continues today our Odyssey gets better mileage and carries more people/stuff than the Allroad it replaced. Three kids in car seats made this switch a necessity for us. I for one would love to see a reasonably sized wagon with rear/awd and some stow and go style third row seating – preferably with a six speed and european handling….

Kids loved to ride in the 3rd seat.

Personally, I drive a VW Golf, which is after all a small station wagon, because I rented on one on a trip to France. What a revealtion! So fun, so useful. Here, people buy big fat cars on stilts, no fun to drive, horrible fuel use. I have never understood that.

And I dont beleive that the problem is that there are none to buy – VW has offered wagons here, so have a few other makers. People just dont seem to like them. I dont know why.