The Station Wagons Thread - More Trunk For Yo Junk

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > The Station Wagons Thread - More Trunk For Yo Junk

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

DropShadow posted:

I'm pretty sure that's a photoshop, but I want to believe it's not.

Looks a little like this photoshop:

# ¿ Nov 4, 2012 19:20

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 10:53

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

DreamOn13 posted:

I want to have my cake and eat it too. 30mpg, wagon, 400hp, AWD/RWD and a manual transmission. Is my best bet just getting a 2.0/2.5 turbo WRX wagon and throwing a huge turbo on there and tuning it and hoping to get close to 30mpg? I can't think of anything else that could come close to all those criteria.

You're basically describing a CTS or CTS-V in everything except mileage. Either that or an S4/S6 wagon.

OXBALLS DOT COM fucked around with this message at 22:38 on Nov 4, 2012

# ¿ Nov 4, 2012 22:33

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

InitialDave posted:

BMW have gone weird with their engine availability anyway. At one time, it was pretty much a case of "pick engine size, pick bodystyle", now they're really constraining which engines you can get in which cars. Ok, they have more engine options now, but why can you buy a 335d coupe, but not a saloon, convertible or Touring? 335i, sure, that opens up the saloon and convertible, but still not the Touring. Even the spec requirements are different. 335i SE coupe or convertible? No problem. 335i saloon? Got to be M Sport or Luxury. SE stops at 328i. You want an ES-spec saloon? I hope you want a 316d, you loving poor. Want a Luxury-spec coupe? NO.

It's not like they have to do anything particularly special to fit a 3-series engine in a 3-series. I appreciate combinations outside the high runners will incur more faffing around, but they're making a mistake to simply not offer them. If Audi can build and sell an RS4 Avant, they can build and sell a 335i or M3 Touring. Hell, a 335i Touring would undercut the Audi by nearly �15k and, based on the coupe time, be comparably quick. I could live with 5.5 seconds to sixty instead of 4.7 with that amount of extra cash staying in my pocket, that's for sure.

Probably it's to reduce the number of model codes to simplify assembly and stocking for factories and dealers.

# ¿ Nov 5, 2012 03:12

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Not a lot of 400 hp diesels that aren't giant trucks. Even BMW's new M550d, which has almost that much output at 376 hp, barely squeaks in at 30 mph highway when the euro mileage is best guess converted to a US equivalent.

# ¿ Nov 5, 2012 21:20

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

nm posted:

If Mercedes can sell a random $100,000 wagon to rich weirdos (at a loss, I'd assume), Cadillac should do the same with a $60,000 wagon.
Someone theorized that these cars were not about volume but to get car guys to geek out about a brand and tell other people.
That has some ring of truth as I was at the autoshow with my dad (who can afford such things) and geeked out over the CTS-V wagon for like 20 minutes afterwhich i ranted about how I much better caddy is now that 10 years ago. So yeah.

Wasn't Lutz on record as saying that they know the wagon won't actually be profitable, especially the V, but they're doing it anyway to build buzz?

Mighty Horse posted:

There is a huge demand from like 30 people on the internet for this car!

A thus, is why we don't get any wagons in the US. They don't sell. The masses that need to buy them with rather drive a Tahoe with 9 MPG and Ed Hardy Seat covers.

And yet, the geniuses at BMW think that this is the answer:

Hmm, yes, let's kill the 5 series wagon because it might cannibalize 7 series sales, and not let you put the turbo engine in the 3 series wagon, but let's give people a whole range of options on this turd.

OXBALLS DOT COM fucked around with this message at 04:11 on Dec 5, 2012

# ¿ Dec 5, 2012 04:09

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Throatwarbler posted:

VW and BMW can keep building wagons because they have a captive market in their European home countries *and* they can command the premium on the US market, unlike say Ford which does sell wagons in Europe but can't sell them for economical prices in the US.

Actually, Ford is bringing a new wagon to the US next year:

It's being marketed as a "wagon" because apparently "minivan" is literally the only word more toxic than "station wagon" in the American market.

# ¿ Dec 5, 2012 04:38

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Sir Cornelius posted:

To claim that there exist things worse than the currently discussed not-a-wagon does not make the not-a-wagon an almost-wagon. It's a hatchback and a provocation. Hatchbacks does not belong here.

Bah, it's got a D pillar and the roofline extends past the rear wheel well and covers > 50% of the load floor. It's a wagon.

# ¿ Jan 26, 2013 22:21

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

If the Flex is out for looking "weird," then the Transit Connect is really out, right?

# ¿ May 21, 2013 03:54

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Friar Zucchini posted:

The Transit Connect is out because it's a van. The only word more terrifying to Ford than wagon is minivan, so if they can't call it that then the next best word is wagon I guess.

Yes but the SWB Transit Connect is nearly a foot shorter than the Mazda 5. If you're going to include the Mazda 5 or Kia Rondo, then I don't think it's that much of a stretch in terms of definitions since they're all minivans anyway.

Obviously it's still more a commercial vehicle, but with the upcoming facelift and marketing for the passenger version, it seems like an interesting alternative / comedy option.

# ¿ May 21, 2013 21:13

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Steve French posted:

So does the current Jetta wagon not count because it's based on a hatchback?

That would actually still meet the criteria since the Jetta is a sedan, and the related hatch is called the Golf.

# ¿ May 21, 2013 23:01

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Steve French posted:

Except that the current Jetta wagon is based on the Golf, and is sold as a Golf elsewhere, and is really an entirely different car from the Jetta sedan of the same model year.

And there is a Focus sedan.

But it's sold as a Jetta here. Variant models often lag behind the mainstream model for platform updates or refreshes. And if you want to go down the platform sharing route, basically every carmaker shares platforms between various models. Also, there is a Focus wagon, so what are you trying to say?

Personally, I go for the "D pillar + roofline extends to over 50% of the cargo area or past the rear wheel well" definition, with the former being flexible. Back in the SUV era, you could try and make a distinction between car-based and truck-based platforms, but nowadays crossovers are all car based and they're a grey area.

OXBALLS DOT COM fucked around with this message at 16:49 on May 22, 2013

# ¿ May 22, 2013 16:47

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Friar Zucchini posted:

It might be useful to mention that they don't sell it in the States, though, only the hatchback.

...Hatch or wagon, whatever you call it, it's better than a sedan though.

The Focus wagon is honestly a pretty good and practical looking wagon. Not excessive drop on the roofline or angle on the rear hatch. Would probably be a strong cross-shop with the Jetta wagon if they sold it in the US (yes I know this will never actually happen, but then again this: http://social.ford.com/your-ideas/technologies/performance/please-bring-focus-wagon-to-us/ ):

Especially the ST:

# ¿ May 22, 2013 20:55

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Don't forget Subaru, which has been steadily turning their wagons into crossovers or hatchbacks.

# ¿ May 23, 2013 03:47

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Vigo327 posted:

So i anticipate i will be derided heavily on account of some people not considering this a station wagon, but Datsun (yes, Datsun) just revealed this bad boy, the Go+.

It has a 1.2L gas engine and 5spd manual. If you were to seriously ask about hooking an automatic to that bad boy i would say you are shopping the wrong segment. But it seats 7 and lists for ~$8700 in India!

I know i'm a little off by american car enthusiast standards but i do wish that they would sell stuff like this here, and that people would buy them. If they could make it hit our safety standards and sell for $12k new i'd think it was an important contributor to our market. There are probably a lot of young families that could use a tiny 3-row wagon-thing with current safety tech for a measly $200/mo financed. And to be honest.. I think this thing is slightly cooler than the cheapest nissan you can get here, the hideous Versa Sedan.

Dunno, 75 hp to move what must be at least 2000 lbs of car unladen (I base this guess on the Nissan Micra, a smaller car which shares platforms with this)? I think the standards for "dangerously slow" are often pretty overstated, but even I would be put off at getting something like that up to highway speeds if you're selling it as having seating for up to seven corn-fed Americans.

Also, add in the cost of airbags, TPMS, and other required safety equipment and you're probably already going to start tickling the $10k mark. Pay a little more and you get a whole lot more car.

Though I do agree that more utilitarian transport options would be cool - something that's intended for fleet buyers and has cost of running and ease of maintenance prioritized over stuff like styling.

OXBALLS DOT COM fucked around with this message at 00:38 on Sep 28, 2013

# ¿ Sep 28, 2013 00:33

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

blk posted:

Speaking of MPG, and since I constantly mental masturbate about the IS 300 Sportcross, I'd like to talk about what grinds my gears:

Why would you put a MPG gauge that goes to 80 mpg in a car EPA rated at 16/22 ? I can't let go of this. What do the designers think of their customers?

The BMW ones seem pretty dumb too, although I don't remember if they go all the way to 80.

</vent>

Pretty sure that 80 is meant to mirror the number arrangement on the speedo, since the 80 mph mark is at about the same angle.

# ¿ Oct 7, 2013 21:33

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Obviously it should have been a clock.

# ¿ Oct 8, 2013 00:38

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Rhyno posted:

There's some rumor milling going around that say that any new Mazdaspeeds will be diesels. I'd be down for a 6 Wagon turbo diesel.

That actually sounds horrible.

# ¿ Jan 20, 2014 07:20

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

TrinityOfDeath posted:

A little off topic, but it relates to the "why don't they bring the car over here?"

I found it in a comment on Jalopnik, on an article on the Honda Civic Type-R that America probably won't get. The comment read something like "Honda is willing to take a risk making the Element, Accord Crosstour, and all the wierd...things...Acura makes, but when it comes to the type-R, the message from Honda is, who would buy it?"

Sometimes car manufacturers do weird things. Bean counters and all that.

It's because enthusiasts make up a miniscule and shrinking portion of the car market. Young enthusiasts who buy cheap sports cars are an even smaller and more shrinking portion and they rarely buy new cars in the first place, especially with the horrible job market and growing competition from stuff like tech for hobby/conspicuous consumption. Versus trying to sell to upmarket families with kids, which honestly covers the target audience for all the stuff you listed and represents a whole lot more car-buying money.

A Civic Si is already nearly $25k base. Consider the tiny volumes, costs for federalizing a new bodystyle, import and exchange losses, etc., on a Type R and you're probably looking at a near $30k Civic competing directly against stuff like the Toyobaru (an actual RWD sports car), WRX, etc.

I guess there's still people why buy the Golf R despite it being $35k but regardless I can see why they're wary about bringing over stuff like the Type R.

OXBALLS DOT COM fucked around with this message at 17:48 on Mar 4, 2014

# ¿ Mar 4, 2014 17:40

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

EnergizerFellow posted:

I agree that US wagon buyers are almost exclusively enthusiast buyers and it's shocking how few manufacturers seem to get this. The example I always cite for this is the Volkswagen SportWagen. Not only is the wagon ~1/3 of all Jetta/Golf sales, but 50%+ of those wagons are not only diesels, but manual transmission diesels.

Amusingly enough, another one who seems to get it is GM. With exception of the Buick Regal GS AWD and still-MIA Regal wagon, GM seems to offer a manual in what you'd really want it to be available in. If GM offered a Buick Regal GS AWD wagon w/ manual option I bet the sales would be surprisingly good.

It's because the current lineup of GMs was planned out and designed under an actual car enthusiast who understands that market. Look for that to go away when we start seeing stuff that was planned by the current (or maybe now outgoing) administration led by someone who knew/knows nothing about cars.

# ¿ Mar 4, 2014 17:50

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Don't allroads come with air suspension? I guess they have to take that out or can they raise it up

# ¿ Jul 25, 2015 04:49

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

leica posted:

Well I'm in Florida so rust isn't an issue for me. I'll probably end up just getting a Prius anyway because it's all city driving and a 6 wagon will have poo poo mileage.

Does the Prius V qualify for this thread?

# ¿ Aug 17, 2015 04:03

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

You should really some cardboard down or osmething

# ¿ Oct 25, 2015 21:55

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

blk posted:

Wife thinks they're ugly :-/

E: Maybe I could convince her otherwise if I could find a toned down grille replacement. Too much chrome on the 3.6.

Get the V wagon, problem solved

# ¿ Dec 9, 2015 23:10

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Tremek posted:

Prepare to have your mind totally blown:

2014 is an overlap year between the 2nd gen -V cars (reliable) and the far more prevalent 3rd gen CTS (sedan only in 3rd gen) in base and V-Sport trim, which have had a few more teething issues.

Bottom line consensus, far beyond just TrueDelta, is the 2nd gen CTS is actually quite reliable. Not quite sure how GM managed that but they're holding up remarkably well. I think the v6 wagons run 2010 through 2014.

GM has usually made reliable powertrains, it's just that every other part falls apart first so it feels like a piece of poo poo but never actually dies. The Lutz-era Cadillacs benefit from having executive backing which reduced the retarded beancounter nickel-and-diming on interior parts that ruins your typical GM.

# ¿ Dec 10, 2015 02:19

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Tremek posted:

It looks like the 1st gen CTS is heavily weighted in those results. Between the first two generations of CTS, they may as well be cars made by different (and in the case of the 2nd gen, better) manufacturers.

I've seen figures that say that the 2nd gen CTS is actually weirdly reliable in NA RWD form.

# ¿ May 3, 2016 15:52

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Volvo is still around. Also Subaru.

# ¿ May 4, 2016 03:04

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# ¿ May 16, 2024 10:53

OXBALLS DOT COM: Sep 11, 2005; by FactsAreUseless; Young Orc

Tremek posted:

My -V is an auto. It's fine, only spergs freak out about manuals these days.

V versus a Volvo Polestar (which is virtually unobtanium): $40k for a V wagon is very possible, and it's 556hp stock, and is probably still under some form of warranty. A Polestar is what, $60k+, and down 200hp? I know what I would drive.

Budget comedy option: buy a Legacy GT wagon and some modzzz. Or for new cars buy a Forester XT and lower it

OXBALLS DOT COM fucked around with this message at 19:37 on May 4, 2016

# ¿ May 4, 2016 19:33

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