American Consumers : Appeal of the Wagon

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Washington DC April 30, 2007; The AIADA newsletter reported that in the U.S., the wagon genre isn't booming, but it has constantly held between 3 percent and 4 percent of the new-car market. Those numbers exclude car-based SUVs, sometimes called "crossovers," which might be considered wagons by some consumers.

Today, Audi in particular remains committed to wagons. "Even though the wagon market is slower in the U.S. — not because of minivans anymore, but now due to SUVs and crossovers — there are still some people out there who want a European-style, high-performance wagon; they don't want an SUV or anything like it," said Wolfgang Hoffmann, director of product management at Audi.

BMW is also in on the U.S. wagon market — with its compact 3 Series Wagon, which competes directly with the Audi A4 Avant, and its larger 5 Series Wagon, scheduled to launch in May.

Fellow German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz's wagon focus is on the high end, with two choices, both in the midsize E-Class line: the E350 4Matic and the E63 AMG. "The E63 AMG Wagon is not only the quickest wagon in America, but also the stealthiest supercar in the world," says Bernie Glaser, general manager of product management, Mercedes-Benz USA.