4 Jun
2023
4 Jun
'23
12:47 a.m.
On Jun 3, 2023, at 7:12 PM, Alexander Schreiber via
cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
So the Mercedes T model was (at least in Germany, the manufacturers country)
never called a "station wagon" because that category name doesn't exist
there. The closest analogue to it in German parlance would be the "Kombi"
class of vehicles. Based upon the more numerous sedan models, but shaped
like a station wagon with a large rear door, a level trunk (usually)
and with the option of considerably expanding cargo space by folding
down the rear seats to provide a flat surface.
And - since demand for that kind of vehicle never went away - there are
still quite a few "Kombi" variants of common sedans. As for why "nobody
makes station wagons anymore, but something like it and calls it a
different name" - I get the impression that station wagons in the US got
a bad rap as "big and wasteful" vehicles. Which is hilarious when you
think about the SUV epidemic that happened (and seems to be getting
worse still) many years later and very much redefined "big and wasteful"
(aside from "silly and dangerous to use due to high center of gravity").
Kind regards,
Alex.
--
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and
looks like work." -- Thomas A. Edison
Here in the US, it wasn’t so much that they were considered ‘big and wasteful’, it's
that a station wagon has a connotation of being frumpy, something your parents or
grandparents would have driven. Basically, “not cool”. Ironically, it’s the older
generations that now prefer SUVs due to ease of getting in and out, and higher road
visibility.
The wife and I just purchased a 2018 Buick station wagon. Only offered here for 3 years,
it’s really an Opel. Sales were abysmal. Nobody knows what it was, nobody has seen one
before, and on a recent 1000+ mile to the Dayton Hamvention, I never saw another one
coming, nor going. Funnily, most thought it was a Volvo or Mercedes of some sort. We love
it.
My tape measure says it’ll handle an 083 sorter on its back, and 30+ MPG means a lot of
vintage gear will be getting rescued in the near future. -C