These Are the Long-Dead Wagons You Think Deserve Resurrecting

“I know that Cadillac only wants to make SUV’s now, but come on, the CTS-V Wagon was glorious.

“Just imagine if you could order a new one today. In brown. With a manual.”

I feel like the CTS-V wagon has come up a lot this week. Suffice to say, it’s an excellent muscle car wagon that deserves a place on our streets once again.

Suggested by: trath

“Buick Roadmaster complete with optional woodgrain side panel decals.

“Resurrected with the V8 from the C7 corvette in base trim. The Z06 supercharged engine in some sort of Buick version of the Cadillac V series.

“And don’t forget the rear-facing trunk seats.”

More cars should come with wood panelling down the side. To me, it’s the quintessential feature of any American wagon worth its salt.

Suggested by: Brad Skinner (Facebook)

“Accord Wagon. Manual. Not dead, just missing.

“I don’t want some European turbo maintenance bill to chase while also paying for daycare. I want to load the kids/dog/home depot into one car while rowing my own.

“But no.... that is what the Ridgeline is targeting because the Ridgeline is a “real truck” for non-truck memes thinkers.... Right....”

I always liked the look of this old Honda wagon. The cargo space seemed almost too long, but somehow it all worked together nicely.

Suggested by: futuredoc

“The VW SportWagen! I’ve owned 3 and will keep the red one until the wheels fall off.”

VW has missed a trick by not offering a GTI wagon here in the U.S. Until it changes its tune, you’ll have to make do with an aging Sportwagen.

Suggested by: @pfucito (Twitter)

“This is a highly personal choice – but my first car the Toyota Corolla SR5 Sport Trac wagon. This thing was fantastic and fun. And incredibly reliable too. Why they went with another SUV in the Corolla Cross instead of releasing a modern version of this, I’ll never understand.

“OK – yes I will – the reasons are numerous and obvious (market demand, ease of engineer and design, etc. etc.). But damn would have it been awesome to have given us an AWD Corolla wagon again.”

Highly personal choices are always welcome here! Especially when it’s a hot, four-wheel-drive wagon from Toyota.

Suggested by: z2221344

“The Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser. The canopy roof is something that deserves another chance.”

Hard agree, if the wagon can’t make a comeback then the canopy roof should.

Suggested by: Carlin McGee (Facebook)

“Datsun 510 Wagon.

“Hear me out for a second: They aren’t huge, a gentle bit of tweaking of the suspension and the engine gets you a really fun ride, and it’s got enough space in the back to actually be useful ... and the lines are so simple, so basic as to actually be appealing for their simplicity.

“And this is before Datsun’s styling went goofy in the mid-70s. (anyone else shudder at the 610s?).”

I heard you, and think it’s a noble opinion to hold.

Suggested by: mgs

“Lexus IS 300 stick shift RWD wagon.”

Any stick shift, rear-wheel-drive wagon would be a welcome addition to the dealerships of America.

Suggested by: @San_person (Twitter)

“The Mazda Protege5.

“It’ll never happen since they’re dead-set on CUV/SUV form factors now, but this little thing was one of the most fun wagons I’ve ever driven. Also I just really like the styling on it — spacious without being too boxy, rounded without being too lumpy, good proportions, astonishingly good sightlines... the only place it didn’t shine was MPG, but making it a hybrid would fix that nicely.”

File this one away with all the other performance-minded wagons we’d like to see on the road once more.

Suggested by: SarDeliac

“The Saab 9-5 Aero wagon, ideally with AWD would be the ultimate ski car. Also given it looks like Volvo may discontinue the V90, I’d add that to the list.”

“The Saab 9-5 Aero wagon with AWD would be the ultimate car.” Fixed it for you.

Suggested by: Bill Romania (Facebook)

“The BMW 3 Series and 5 Series Wagons with manuals in America. Had one for the wife, got totaled, can’t really find a replacement. They finally come out with a M3 wagon and we can’t have it (it doesn’t have a manual though...).”

The M3 wagon that BMW recently announced does appear perfect from whatever way you look at it. Well, except the front. What can we do to get one shipped over here?

Suggested by: cwick311

“I always thought my Alfa 156 Sportwagon, cursed as it was by ever malfunctioning Selespeed gearbox, a worthy candidate for electrocution, to be followed by electrifcation.”

I forgot about the 156 wagon! I used to get a lift to school in one of these from a friend’s dad and it was cool AF. An electric reincarnation would be a stellar move from Alfa.

Suggested by: Jim Mitchell (Facebook)

“The early-2010s TSX wagon, but bring it back with the manual it should have been sold with in the first place. Absolutely one of the best-looking wagons of the modern era, with an excellent powertrain (just look how many K-swapped cars specifically seek out the K24A2 from a TSX) that was robbed of fun by being paired with a very subpar automatic.”

More calls for manual wagons from the Jalopnik community. Are you surprised that this is our collective dream car?

Suggested by: bigred91

“Subaru WRX STi wagon was an amazing car!”

The king of the hot wagon.

Suggested by: @rapiddescentsco (Twitter)

“An idea before it’s time. The AMC Eagle. Jeep could do this if they really wanted to, and it would be worlds better in modern form than the Compass or Renegade or Patriot. Today they could probably print money with something like this.”

There’s a fine line between wagon and crossover these days. Which side of that fence would a 21st century Eagle fall?

Suggested by: gtbeam

“The big rear wheel drive, body on frame ones that fit three rows or more like the Caprice. With a big V8 and a six-speed manual. I’d buy.”

Another chunk of lovely old Americana. Remember when this used to be a real country?

Suggested by: Jonathan Jorda (Facebook)

“Long dead wagon, you say?”

We don’t award anything for comment of the day. But if we did, this would be it.

Suggested by: bonacontention