Thursday, January 26, 2012

German Station Wagons

In the US the station wagon is pretty much a thing of the past. With the introduction of mini-vans and SUV’s there’s very little demand for the station wagon. But, here in Germany, and across Europe, the station wagon is still very popular. I think all major automobile manufactures make a station wagon that’s sold here in Europe; Mercedes, BMW, VW, Audi, Saab, Volvo, Peugeot, Renault, Citron. Even Asian car makers build a station wagon that they sell here in Europe but not in the US; Mazda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai. Two of the most popular station wagons in Europe are sold buy American owned manufacturers Ford and Opel (owned by General Motors) even though they sell no such vehicle in the States.

Opel

European station wagons are not like the behemoth land cruisers that once roamed the highways of America. Like most cars in Germany, these station wagons get up and go. It’s very common to be cruising along the autobahn at a 100 mph and have a station wagon of some sort blow right by you.   On top of that, a high percentage of these station wagons are diesel; room, speed and economy.

VW

Audi

Volvo

BMW

Mercedes

Yes, there's a whole different mindset about a lot of things here in Germany and Europe and the station wagon is one of them.  It's here to stay.

3 comments:

  1. They all are a similar color. I never liked the station wagon, but the Germas make it look good. I like the Audi one.

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  3. Germans call station wagons "variants," I understand.

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