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Because of the other thread about the 350, it came to mind that both a decorated veteran (former senator from VA), and our friend who is a airforce pilot both drive Volvo wagons. Dunno if that makes them cool, but they do drive wagons....
Last edited by Johnhav430; 07-31-17 at 08:51 AM.
Reason: af
Volvo is testing this somewhat. The V90 Cross Country (with the crossover-esque cues and ride height) is stocked and kept available at dealers. The standard V90 is special order only. Will American consumers who are much more about instant gratification willing to wait for a V90? So far, the answer seems to be no. The customer coming to look for the V90, is much more willing to take the Cross Country portions of the vehicle, rather than wait.
Going by this definition, I would argue that the Outback is a station wagon while the tall Forester is a CUV.
Yes, the Outback is definitely a wagon. The Forester could be a wagon or CUV, depending on how you look at it. Given its platform and body, I see it more as a wagon, but there definitely is a case for a CUV arguement, and I certainly respect that view.
As I mentioned earlier, I'm thinking about getting one of these to replace my IS-F. AMG and 64+ cubic feet of storage space is an amazing proposition on a car chassis.
cuz honestly they're pretty frumpy looking.
we have different tastes though.
I think a good reason wagons never sold well in america was that they were usually damn ugly like a hearse and didn't look cool enough.
People wanted space? wagons had that. But people skipped over them for Navigators and Exploders.
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Kind of hard to do that in the 60's, 79's and 80.s
Volvo is testing this somewhat. The V90 Cross Country (with the crossover-esque cues and ride height) is stocked and kept available at dealers. The standard V90 is special order only. Will American consumers who are much more about instant gratification willing to wait for a V90? So far, the answer seems to be no. The customer coming to look for the V90, is much more willing to take the Cross Country portions of the vehicle, rather than wait.
The reason the standard V90 wagon is special order only and not sitting on dealer lots is because the wagon does not sell. Its cross-dressing, butchy twin sister, the V90 Cross Country, however, does sell. If the wagon were allowed to sit on the lot, it would likely sit for months doing nothing but collect dust.
This, essentially, is the reason that Infiniti decided to offer the butchy sister QX30 "crossover" in North America but not sell the almost identical Q30 "hatchback".
North Americans will not buy station wagons or hatchbacks, yet will buy their cross-dressing sisters. Yet, station wagons, up until the introduction of the minivan in the mid-1980s, sold very well. Road trips across American in the old family station wagon are the stuff of legends (if you are old enough to remember that).
Use to own this beautiful wagon, just like this one, 1980 Dodge Aspen
vinyl seats, we had 3 car seats across the back and one in the middle on the bench seat
We once owned the Plymouth variant, the 1976 Volare Wagon with the 318 cu in V8. I learned to drive in that car. We once loaded 10 -- 4 adults and 6 kids -- into our Volare, only worried that we would overload the car; we did not.
When the second oil crisis hit, we switched to a Honda Civic Wagon. What a change!
The reason the standard V90 wagon is special order only and not sitting on dealer lots is because the wagon does not sell. Its cross-dressing, butchy twin sister, the V90 Cross Country, however, does sell. If the wagon were allowed to sit on the lot, it would likely sit for months doing nothing but collect dust.
This, essentially, is the reason that Infiniti decided to offer the butchy sister QX30 "crossover" in North America but not sell the almost identical Q30 "hatchback".
North Americans will not buy station wagons or hatchbacks, yet will buy their cross-dressing sisters. Yet, station wagons, up until the introduction of the minivan in the mid-1980s, sold very well. Road trips across American in the old family station wagon are the stuff of legends (if you are old enough to remember that).
Lol. Well I don't know about the "butch" and "cross dressing" but it's certainly a colorful description of the trend that happened. Reminds me of what happened in pop culture. We went from the National Lampoon's famous Clark Griswold Family Queen wagon right to the Simpsons Canyonero. And now we have people using trucks as commuter scooters. They buy em by the pound.
As an aside, I worked at a Subaru/Volvo dealership once for a short time. I got to drive the first 1998 Outbacks and also the V90 AWD wagon. Very nice vehicles. Fast and agile.
We once owned the Plymouth variant, the 1976 Volare Wagon with the 318 cu in V8. I learned to drive in that car. We once loaded 10 -- 4 adults and 6 kids -- into our Volare, only worried that we would overload the car; we did not.
Since you are an engineer, you know, then, how poorly the Volare/Aspens were built....particularly the early '76-77 versions. My late mother bought a new '77, and had the entire differential/rear-axle assembly replaced the very first week because of a loud howling noise when one backed off the gas pedal. Almost all of them prematurely burned up their electronic ballast-resistors and left their drivers suddenly-stranded. A POS of a car....especially compared to the reliable Plymouth Valiant/Dodge Dart that it replaced. Lee Iacocca himself admitted that they were rushed to market too early, without proper development.
Anyhow, I hope you and your family had reasonable luck with yours ...too many people didn't, except wth the durable Slant-Six engine and Torqueflite automatic.
07-31-17, 08:16 AM
