I’m old….AARP eligible old. So maybe that’s why I’ve been casting an approving eye at some of the new station wagon models that have recently hit the scene. I mean, I was a teenager in the 1960’s – station wagons were what Steve Douglas (Fred MacMurray) drove during all twelve seasons of My Three Sons. You can’t get much more “un-hip” than that…right Uncle Charlie?
Of course, it could also be that automotive stylists have penned some absolutely beautiful wagons lately – I mean really top-notch designs. Allow me to highlight five of these wagons, in no particular order, that I think meet or exceed the attractiveness of their respective sedan stablemates.
Volvo V90. There was a time I thought that Peter Horbury was the only one out there that could style a good-looking Volvo (other than the P1800). But Volvo and Geely struck gold when they signed up Thomas Ingenlath as Volvo VP of Design – he showed his talents with the series of Volvo concepts several years ago – and the new XC90, XC60, and S90 are gorgeous. But the V90 is the best of the bunch – beautifully proportioned – a Scandinavian stunner.
VW Golf Wagon. All the Golf Gen 7 models are winners; but the best looking of them all is the wagon. Again, it has a symmetry and balance that just looks right. The analogy I’ve heard frequently with regards to Golf styling is that “it looks like an expensive, finely tailored suit”. I agree. Even the jacked up North American All Track model looks good.
Buick Regal Wagon. Europe sends North America another model which we then “ugly up”. But even with the added wheelwell plastic cladding, this Buick (Opel) wagon still looks striking. Low, lean, and again beautifully proportioned – I hope it sells in big numbers. If so, maybe Buick will give us the “clean” version (lower photo)
Mazda 6 (Atenza) Wagon. As CC readers know, I’m a big fan of the current gen Mazda 6 – because of our distaste for wagons, Mazda doesn’t sell this model in North America – our loss. The wagon is just as beautifully proportioned as the sedan – a sensuous, flowing design.
Peugeot 508 Wagon. As famous for their wagons as Volvo, the 508 carries on that fine Peugeot tradition – and looks great doing it.
So, what do you think, are we in a Golden Age for station wagon styling?
The perfect wagon has come and gone. May I present the SAAB 9-5 wagon: one of the few interesting yet practical takes on the wagon roofline, still with a big opening and clever loading options.
I do not know when the three-box design has become the default car form. My guess this trend started in late 1940s and early 1950s when the real post war models from US started to roll out for American publics who needed space for thier luggages.
I always like the two box drsign that was used to be either wagon or hatch back. Wagon is much more practical for long time until it was killed by minivan first and followed by SUV or CUV. My first time I saw a wagon when I was child in South China, it was a 1965 FSO Warszaws wagon, which was very rare in China then. I found it was more beautiful than the there box Warszaws sedan. After I moved out China in early 1980s, the wagon was still popular then. My all time favorites are Honda Civic Wagon and Mercedes-Benz W124 Wagon. Today my dream vehicle is BMW 3 series wagon with 3.0 litres inline six coupled with 6 speed manual. My guess is this has to be special ordered from dealer. More prctical one is the discontinued Acura TSX wagon.
I don’t know how good those big American wagons from mid-60s are, I would like to own Volvo 240, 740 and 940 wagons. The first generation of 740/940 wagon with its large size, over squared shape and large green house glass is the peak of wagon design.
How did the CTS-V Sport Wagon not make the cut?
Maybe because it’s an ill-proportioned, ugly beast?
Cadillac completely blew it with this “art & science” styling concept.
All the latest Volvo designs are gorgeous. The V70 being the best of them.
The VW Golf Alltrack is too clumsy for my taste.
The Mazda wagon while a looker at the moment, will look awfully dated in a few years with all its curvey lines. It might have a resurrection though in 30 yrs from now as a sought after classic.
The Opel / Buick? Looks good on photos and boring as f….ck in reality.
The Peugeot? Beautiful yet not daring enough to not look already outdated by now.
Clearly I’m a lover of wagons. The ones that you posted are some definite stunners, but so are all of the other wagon examples that have been shown as well. I don’t think that there is a “golden age” of wagons. Each era has their own beautiful wagons.
I’ve never owned a GM product (outside of 3 weeks of ownership of a 1983 Caddy), but that Buick really is a beautiful wagon. If I were in the market for getting a new car, I would really consider buying me one of those Buicks and Opel-izing it… lowered to normal ride height and removing the cladding.
Though I’ve had other forms of vehicles over the years, nothing makes me happier than a wagon that truly hauls.
Of those choices, the Volvo would be my pick. Yeah, I think whatever you have the memories of may influence your idea of the “Golden Age” station wagon. For me, it’s a tossup between the ’71-’76 GM clamshell models and their ’77-’90 predecessors. In my teens, the old clamshells were funky looking used cars that a highschooler such as myself could learn to drive and feel safe in; they were cheap to buy and dead reliable (at least the engine, certainly not the tailgate!) . . .But the newer downsized models were EVERYWHERE and admittedly, their structural design felt more rigid. Moms drove us kiddies on fieldtrips in these downsized B wagons before we got a driver’s license. I suppose since they were associated with our parents, I wanted to drive something older and “different” so that is why I fell head over heels for the older models, even with all their quirks. But their artsy fartsy tailgate design was like a lot of beautiful things; not practical in the slightest. Really, then, the trophy would go to the newer ones. They had a good design, it was both practical and stylish, and they were WAY easier to park in tight places like city streets, with a tighter turning radius, and doors that didn’t rattle. Time has made them no longer common and in some ways funky compared to modern SUVs.
Make that light blue and you have my old college ride. Very durable, with the 401 (?) V8 and light blue vinyl inside. But the inside B-pillars leaked some kind of grey glue from the shoulder belt anchor points, and the carpet looked like crap after a year – and was specially designed to trap plywood splinters in the cargo area. Still it was good for 100,000 miles with only a transmission rebuild.
Squinty little eyeglasses have been “in” for a while — maybe on their way out ? Squinty wagon rear side windows, while perhaps abhorrent, are nothing new either:
Some may think the aggressive styling of these current ‘wagons’ is golden. But squished roofs, tiny windows and hatches, with minimal cargo room makes for a glorified hatchback. Give me the boxy Wagons of the ’60s through ’80s – the rwd Volvos, various Amerfican wagons, even my little old Audi Super-90 wagon, which could haul a decent size chest-freezer, while keeping the back seat free to accommodate passengers!
Happy Motoring, Mark