Station Wagons have always been cool in my book. From the California surfer models of the 1950's, and through even the lackluster 1970's and 1980's, where neither power or style were strong points, I still found wagons always appealing to some degree. Even the Griswold family truckster, which took gawdiness to a whole new level, had an appeal. Even though it was a behemoth of a car, it screamed "I own the road, outta my way, me and the family are coming through."
Perhaps the most recent/best re-invention of the wagon proved to be short lived. The Dodge Magnum was without a doubt the coolest interpretation in decades. Dodges efforts proved to be short lived, as lackluster sales made for a short life cycle. Built from 2005-2008, the Magnum was one badass ride. The exterior was in my opinion perfect. The car had the look, the stance, and all the right stuff. Under the hood, you could get all the way up to the 425 hp SRT-8 model. Also availailable in the SXT and R/T model was an all wheel drive option, making this wagon a tank that could plow through even the harshest conditions. The one major complaint I had was the visibly cheap interior, especially the cloth interior. Even with the bland interior, the Magnum is a car that I could undoubtedly slide behind the wheel of and call my own.
Onto the main course, the new 2011 Cadillac CTS-V Station Wagon picked up where the Magnum left off, and then turned things up a few notches. The V option is what makes this car so iconic, as they transfused the blood of a ZR1 Corvette into the wagons veins, bumping the car up to 556 hp, and enough grunt to embarrass most every "sports car" on the road. Mustangs, Camaros, and Challengers, enjoy the Cadillac's tail lights, as that's about as close as you'll get. Only real downside is the price, at $62,000, it's at a luxury level that most of us can't afford.
0-60 in 4.3 seconds
1/4 mile in 12.6 seconds
top speed of about 190 mph
With numbers like those, I don't think anybody can argue that wagons aren't cool, and they are WAAAAAY cooler than a "Man Van."
2011 Cadillac V Wagon a dragster in disguise
2011 CTS-V Sport Wagon - Car and Driver review
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