How Wagons Went from Popular to Basically Just the Subaru Outback in America

As the essay-style report starts, we're introduced to a classic wagon, in this case a Rambler. It's a nice reminder of how popular these models were as family transportation, one of only a few body styles available at the time.

Eventually, they became seen as boring, ugly, boxy, their jobs being taken over by the minivan or crossover. But the numbers are much worse than you may thing. Last year, they made up just 1.4 percent of total sales in the United States. That's a drop in the ocean, and it could dry up even further.

And it's not a varied segment either because about 85% of that 1.4% or 1.2% of the total is represented by a particular Subaru model. Can you even call the Outback a wagon? Sure, it's got a wagon-like overall shape, but with a high roof, standard armor, and permanent AWD, it's more deserving of the SUV title.

The Outback's success - 178,854 sales in 2018 - can be traced back to loyalty, brand recognition, and undeniable ruggedness. So all the other wagons represent just 0.2% of the market, and it could shrink further now that Volkswagen has removed the Golf Sportwagen from the lineup.

With that taken into consideration, Audi's decision to bring the 2020 A6 allroad seems almost suicidal. The one we think they should have is the RS6 because it's more of a weird-looking sports car than a family hauler.

The report quickly goes through a number of other members of this exclusive club. There's the Buick Regal TourX, which has an unclear future, as well as the Volvo V60 and V90 with their Cross Country kits. Also, Mercedes can afford to sell the E63 simply because its small clientele can afford to pay obscene amounts of money.