Not long ago, SAIC-GM- Chevrolet released news that it will release a new small car with affordable prices during the Guangzhou Auto Show in November - Lefeng RV. The official launch date has been initially determined on December 18. At present, the appearance and interior pictures of Lefeng RV have also been leaked through official channels, which not only makes young consumers who are dazzling have a refreshing feeling, but also evokes memories of Syoo SRV among the 1970s and 1980s.
However, although the external dimensions of Lefeng RV (length/width/height is 4205/1722/1525mm) are very close to those of popular small station wagons in Europe, the factory staff solemnly stated that Lefeng RV is not a subsequent model of Saio SRV. I heard that SAIC-GM is even planning to use 120mm (about 1.5 times that of an ordinary car) to talk about the ground clearance, and put it on the new concept of "SUV". Anyway, they don't want Lefeng RV to have too much connection with everyone's familiar station wagons.
What is the reason why Chevrolet is quite concerned about the concept of a station wagon? What exactly is a station wagon? What are its pros and cons? Where did it come from and where will it go? After reading this series of question marks, you will have an answer in your mind.
looks like a station wagon
I have to complain about the person who invented this word, it’s so casual! Chinese characters are already profound and profound. The three words "station wagon" can easily remind people of the huge camper van in Western movies, or at least a folding bed? However, whether it is the Station Wagon commonly used in North America, Oceania and Africa, or the Estate car popular in other English-speaking countries, these English names have nothing to do with traveling! Station refers to Train station, which is also a train station; Wagon originally refers to a four-wheeled carriage, but later evolved into a general term for cars; Estate is the abbreviation of Country estate, which is equivalent to a country property or villa. It is obvious that the basic purpose of this kind of car in its early days was to pick up and drop off stations and commuter cars to and from the countryside, and being able to carry a lot of people and luggage is their biggest strength.
From a professional perspective, the station wagon actually refers to a kind of hatchback , but it is longer and has a larger trunk capacity than the common hatchbacks. From a mechanical perspective, a station wagon is a derivative branch of a sedan. Most station wagons have corresponding hatchback or sedan products. The B-pillar was exactly the same as the prototype car before, and the shape after the B-pillar should be rigid and straight, which is commonly known as the "big butt".
Considering that today's hatchbacks are getting bigger and bigger, you might as well remember the following: There is a third window on the side of the station wagon's body, and most of them are relatively regular in shape (the hatchback is a small triangle window). At the same time, the tailgate has little inclination, and some are even nearly perpendicular to the ground.
Those station wagons that were once made in China
It’s a pity that station wagons have never really become popular in China. During the past 20 years of rapid development of the automobile industry, hundreds of domestic passenger cars have been launched and sold, but after counting, there are only a few station wagons, and most of them have been forgotten by people.
Why did joint venture car companies insist on introducing station wagons into domestic products? Because they were old and difficult to verify, but what foreign senior executives probably thought was: "You China is a developing country after all, and it was difficult to save money to buy a car. The more practical it is, the better! We are experienced people, that's right." The Peugeot 505 SW8 and Santana travel versions are the products under that guiding idea.
But unfortunately, the private car market almost did not exist in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and the leaders of enterprises and institutions that finally got the "controlled" car purchase indicators are naturally unhappy to buy a "car that is not like a car." Even in the late 1990s, the Santana travel version still had to rely on SAIC's "trip sale" policy to sell - every time a dealer brought 8-10 regular Santanas, he had to bring in a travel version (once called the Desert Boat), otherwise he would not get any one.
The Saio S-RV and Palio weekends were launched in 2001 and 2003, which were said to have caught up with the good times. It was the peak of the first round of private car purchases in China. The first batch of car owners are really of high quality, and most of them were white-collar workers in first-tier cities back then. But the problem lies here, because other consumers, except them, still do not agree with it. Considering the rapid growth of sedans at that time, these two station wagons are definitely a business that can make money and make a lot of money.
In the following years, some car companies have devoted themselves to this blue ocean market without hesitation, such as Buick Kaiyue Travel Edition, FAW China Junjie Travel Edition (it was actually designed by Georgiaro !), Mazda 6 Travel Edition, and Haima Travel Cars that purchased Mazda eliminated vehicle models and only leaked out of Hainan markets in a small number. But the result is obvious, and they have no exception to hurt the hearts of car companies.
The station wagon is the legendary first half of his life
0 Chinese people are not familiar with it, which does not mean that they have never been popular. The truth is the opposite. The station wagon has been born for nearly a hundred years and was once very popular. It is still popular with many consumers in Western countries. Understanding its development history may make you look at this kind of car, and it is not known that you join the ranks of station wagon enthusiasts on a whim. To take a step back, even if you don’t take action, adding some topics to the dinner table is not a bad thing.
got back to the topic. Most of the early cars had open bodies, better ones with folding ceilings, and cheaper ones were so open, such as the simple Ford Model T-car more than a hundred years ago. Later, wealthy businessmen gradually changed their cars from carriages to cars representing advanced technology, and the manufacturing process of high-end carriages was naturally introduced into the field of automobiles, which was originally full of glimpse.
But the above mentioned car is a special car for people. The Station wagon, which was originally used to pick up stations, was classified as a commercial vehicle in its early days and used a truck chassis, but it was an additional passenger compartment. Therefore, for cost savings, the hardwood cabin frame is completely exposed without proper coverage and paint. As for the roof, it is covered with a less expensive waterproof canvas.
Interestingly, car manufacturers at that time focused on chassis production and did not care about "low-end carpenter work". Therefore, the car compartments of this kind of car were modified by other factories after leaving the factory. It was not until 1923 that Star (Star) brand under Durant Automobile Company (founded in 1921 and closed down in 1931) began to provide original wooden carriages, and other automobile companies also developed their ideas and opened up their wealth. Within less than ten years, Ford became the dominant player in this field, and Ford's victory was also a coincidence - Mr. Henry Ford happened to own a large area of his own forest farm that produces hardwood.
By the mid-1930s, station wagons gradually became fashionable among the high-end groups in North America, and their value also soared, even surpassing conventional cars. Believe it or not, in 1941, the Chrysler TownCountry (formerly translated as "urban and rural") station wagon became the most expensive model under the brand.
has been talking about this, do you feel enlightened when you grow up watching American TV series? That's right, the model named after TownCountry is still produced by Chrysler, but it has long been replaced with a commercial vehicle. Until 1988, it had been thriving as a station wagon, and until the 1980s, the top-end model was still providing body side stickers with imitation wood structure patterns. Yes, you read that right, yes! stick! Paper! This feeling is probably a bit like a retro phone that was popular in China in the early years. It looks very similar to an old object and feels it always, but in fact the dial is button-type and cannot be rotated at all. Of course, we have not experienced that automobile development process and are not qualified to joke about other people's feelings.
But to be honest, wooden carriages have some inevitable defects, which are more often painted and anti-corrosion. The bolts must also be tightened according to the season to cope with the thermal expansion and contraction of the wood. In addition, with the general increase in driving speed, problems in sealing and sound insulation have also become prominent.So back in 1935, Chevrolet tried to use more expensive but worry-free metal parts on the 8-seater station wagon Suburban (yes, this is another evergreen in the car).
However, it was not until the end of World War II that the metal body gradually formed a climate with the improvement of processing technology and the reduction of costs. By the mid-1950s, wooden carriage wagons basically disappeared in North America, and in relatively nostalgic (not so good economic development), it was slower. For example, the Morris Garage Automobile Company in the UK (MG, which was later acquired by SAIC), it was not until the late 1960s that the Minor traveller in the wooden carriage (which can be said to be MINIClubman's distant cousin) was discontinued.
Americans who are new and tired of the old
In the North American market, the 1950s to 1970s can be said to be the golden era of station wagon development. Due to the sharing of technical platforms with conventional cars, there are also a wide variety of optional station wagons on the market. Not only did they peak in production, but they also experienced various changes in the body form. In addition to the conventional four-door version, the two-door version also followed. Later, some manufacturers introduced the Coupe concept into the station wagon and launched the so-called Hardtop version, which is a new model with four doors but no B-pillars, such as General Motors' 1956 Rambler Cross-Country. Due to the B-pillar design, it has brought problems such as high wind noise and body torsional rigidity, resulting in excessive production costs and withdrawn from the historical stage within a few years.
Americans were far more obsessed with station wagons than that. In the 1960s, "Big For Beauty" was the mainstream trend in the US automobile consumer market. Car companies rushed to launch full-size station wagons in the 1960s to cater to the car needs of large families. How big are they? The latest Mercedes-Benz S-Class luxury sedan launched last year has a length and width of about 5.2 meters and 1.9 meters, and this size is just a small matter for the American station wagon of that year. Inside the car, the front row adopts the same long through-type seats as the rear row, forming a 3+3-seat layout (the design of the carriage avoids the problem of insufficient leg space for passengers in the middle of the front row). In addition, the trunk is usually equipped with a third row of through-type seats, which can accommodate two or three passengers. Considering the inconvenient entry and exit, limited net height, the third row of seats gradually evolved into a backward layout or even an opposite layout. Even so, though, it is usually only suitable for underage passengers.
1973 oil crisis is undoubtedly a nightmare for the huge and bulky traditional American sedans. The station wagons generally equipped with amazing displacement and old technology are naturally deeply affected by it. Japanese station wagons represented by Toyota and European station wagons represented by Volvo began to erode the North American market.
To make matters worse, Lee Iacocca, a legendary figure in the automotive industry who was fired by Ford in 1978, transferred to Chrysler, re-emerging the concept of Minivan that was previously rejected by Henry Ford II, and launched a mass-produced version known as "Magic-wagon" in the fall of 1983. The triplets were Chrysler TownCountry (why it is it again!), Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager.
Nowadays, everyone knows that this type of car is called MPV. By the way, the word MPV was invented by Europeans. The earliest MPV model in Europe was the Renault Espace, which was launched in 1984, several months later than Chrysler. Back to the topic, this kind of car is called Minivan obviously because it is much smaller than a regular commercial van and can be easily parked into a standard private garage.
Chrysler executives like this concept very much because the US CAFE standard (Corporate Average Fuel Economy Enterprise Average Fuel Economy) was issued in 1975 to place more stringent requirements on the fuel consumption of all products under the same car company. The new thing Minivan is classified as a light commercial vehicle rather than a passenger vehicle, and the standards are relatively loose. Obviously, if the station wagon production capacity is converted into Minivan, Chrysler will be able to avoid the overwhelming fuel consumption problem and temporarily save a lot of technical upgrade costs.
At the same time, consumers also like this concept.Compared with the station wagon, the Minivan's length has been reduced and it seems more flexible, but the increase in height has brought a wider interior space, making it much easier to enter and exit the third row. In addition, because the front of the car is relatively compact, it can only accommodate 6-cylinder engines below 4.0 liters, and fuel consumption is "a blessing in disguise". The advantage over traditional vans is that the Minivan evolved from the Chrysler K-type sedan platform, adopts a more easily driven front-wheel drive method, and the car floor is no longer ridiculously high (no need to leave room for the rear drive shaft). The driving feels very close to the sedan and does not need to go through a difficult-to-adapt "transition period".
Soon, Chrysler's triplets gained unexpected consumer recognition and became a hot spot in the market, making GM and Ford's two rivals extremely passive. It was only a few years later that they rushed to launch similar products to challenge. Meanwhile, the traditional wagon market has shrunk rapidly, and the Chevrolet Caprice Buick Roadmaster, which was discontinued in 1996, is the best singer of the American full-size wagon. According to this turning point, Americans also call the "post-70s" and "post-60s" "the generation that grew up in Station wagon", while the "post-80s" is the "generation that grew up in Minivan".
In addition, when it comes to the fall of favor of station wagons in North America, the SUV trend that emerged in North America in the 1990s is also inseparable from it, and it can be described as adding insult to injury. But that actually doesn't lose much for car manufacturers, because SUVs are more expensive and profitable, and they can directly apply the station wagon trademarks that consumers are familiar with on new SUV models, such as the Chevrolet Suburban mentioned above, which is now the most commonly used black full-size SUV in American dramas.
Europeans who do not abandon or give up
Unlike Americans who are distracted, Europeans always seem to be less enthusiastic about new things, and the same is true for the choice of cars. Even though Renault released the earliest MPV/Minivan models almost at the same time as Chrysler, local consumers' reactions were relatively restrained. Objectively speaking, they do have sufficient reasons. For example, the 7-seater car is still a behemoth for European streets and is too inconvenient to drive; the high body brings a high center of gravity, and it is impossible to deal with the winding paths everywhere in Europe, and even on straight roads, there is no advantage. On the German Autobahn Expressway, which is not limited in speed, can only stay on the far right lane slowly.
So while Americans turn to MPV/Minivan, Europeans are still persistent in their true love for the station wagon. It can be said that except for small cars that really have no room to play, basically all sedan models sold in the European market have corresponding station wagon derivatives, otherwise car companies would be embarrassed to say hello to their competitors. Taking the Volkswagen brand that Chinese people are familiar with as an example, the compact golf, the medium-sized Passat , and its station wagon version have considerable sales. Even the Mercedes-Benz E-Class , which is the benchmark for executive-class sedans, has a large number of fixed users.
But for driving enthusiasts, a home-style station wagon is really too boring. In the 1990s, the turning point finally appeared - automakers realized that the large number of high-performance car fans cultivated by the hatchback small steel cannons (golf GTIs, etc.) that were popular in the 1980s were gradually getting married and had to turn their attention to station wagons that could fit children's strollers, bicycles, furniture and even gardening tools, but when driving alone, they still wanted to enjoy the long-lost speed and passion. However, the desire to improve vehicle performance can only be achieved through the adapter. However, those who have played with the modification know that it is made by time and energy, and middle-aged people who bear the heavy responsibility of career and family cannot afford to worry about it. Fortunately, there are also a large number of car owners in the car company who conveyed this demand to colleagues in the market department, and accidentally created a new market segment known for its introvertedness - sports wagons.
The first one to make moves was Volvo, whose style was relatively rigid at that time. Of course, this is reasonable - in an era, Volvo's station wagons were very popular in the global market, and station wagons once accounted for 1/3 or even more of its total production.In February 1993, the 850 Travel Edition was officially launched. Six months later, the 850 Turbo version equipped with a 2.3-liter inline 5-cylinder turbocharged engine was added, with a maximum power of 166 kilowatts (225 horsepower). In 1995, Volvo took advantage of the victory and launched the 850 T-5R special edition in cooperation with Porsche . The maximum power and torque of its B5234T3 engine increased to 181 kilowatts (243 horsepower) and 340 Nm, while the acceleration from 0-100 km/h takes only 7.4 seconds and the maximum speed is 245 km/h. This limited-edition high-performance station wagon made Volvo both profit and reputation, and the T-5R quickly evolved into the R series, officially becoming Volvo's high-performance branch.
At the same time, Audi also made similar bold attempts, and the partner actually happened to be Porsche. Between March 1994 and July 1995, Audi released a high-performance station wagon called the RS2 in a limited edition based on the 80 Avant. The car is equipped with a 2.2-liter inline 5-cylinder supercharged engine with a maximum power of 232 kilowatts (311 horsepower). With the quattro full-time four-wheel drive system, its 4.8-second "breaking 100" result and a top speed of 262 km/h even made many super sports cars at that time unable to get out of the market. According to incomplete statistics, the total production of RS2 is only about 2,200 vehicles. I believe you are familiar with what happened later - RS has become Audi's golden signboard, and has been fighting with BMW M and Mercedes-Benz AMG for many years.
crossover, the stopgap SUV is absent
Entering the 1990s, North America has ushered in the SUV boom, while Europe has not had much enthusiasm for tall and large SUVs due to narrow roads and high oil prices in Europe, and car companies do not dare to rashly invest in large sums of funds to develop brand new models. Second-tier luxury brands represented by Volvo and Audi (why are they both again!) (don't smash me, at that time, Mercedes-Benz and BMW did not admit that Audi was their opponents) started to think about the station wagon.
For Volvo, the United States is a very important overseas market, and its own SUV project has been launched for a long time, but before it is officially launched, it is necessary to find ways to avoid the loss of local middle-class customers. So, Volvo decided to add wild elements to the all-wheel drive V70 station wagon (the successor of the 850), such as a taller chassis, a large bumper with black anti-scratch strips, a stronger roof rack, etc., named the V70 XC, which was launched on the market in 1998.
Note, XC only appeared as the suffix of the car name at that time. It was not until the XC90, which competed with Mercedes-Benz ML and BMW X5 in 2002 that XC was officially promoted to the representative of the new SUV series. The so-called XC is the abbreviation of Cross Country, which literally means traveling through the countryside, and in the field of sports, it usually refers specifically to cross-country races.
Perhaps because Audi had a small share in North America at that time, it seemed to be more conservative in the SUV project. The evidence is that Volkswagen and Porsche launched the Touareg and Cayenne based on the PL71 platform in 2002, while the Q7 was launched three years later. As for Audi's expedient approach, Chinese people are actually not unfamiliar with it. It is the Allroad quattro, also known as "Prairie Wolf". It is a crossover based on the A6 Travel Edition (C5 platform), with a conspicuous black unpainted bumper, the chassis is upgraded to an adjustable height air suspension, and the main power system is an amazingly powered 2.7-liter twin-turbo V6 engine, equipped with a quattro full-time four-wheel drive system, and the manual transmission version can even be equipped with a transfer case with low-speed four-wheel drive. With the Q7 going on sale in 2005, Audi did not hesitate to throw it into the cold palace. It was not until recent years that A4 and A6 have gradually restored the Allroad version, fighting side by side with Q7, Q5 and Q3 to achieve seamless coverage of the SUV product line.
Does the station wagon have a future in China?
If you deny it completely, those few groups who love station wagons will definitely jump out and curse. For them, a station wagon represents a deeper understanding of car culture. It is undoubtedly a more tasteful way to get a model with extremely low domestic ownership. It is simply a magic tool to improve your style! To be honest, if I had extra car purchase indicators, I would have probably become one of them long ago.But the problem is that, except for the small circle of hardcore car enthusiasts, no one seems to take station wagons seriously. At most, just ask: "Why does your car look a bit weird?"
In the eyes of foreign friends who come to China to work or travel, your image is also not related to "trends", because they have been used to this kind of car since childhood, and the owners are usually home-style uncles who have been smoothed by life. They should be good-looking, but they are not in the same parallel universe as the word "charming".
has already said before that car companies have made more than once attempts to the station wagon market segment, but the results can be described as tragic. The reason why consumers don’t buy it is not only the early “face” factor, but also the distraction of SUVs that have been booming in the past decade.
Unlike Western countries, our country's private automobile consumption market has formed very late, but it has developed rapidly, so it is naturally easy to be attracted by the latest trends. As for some relatively traditional things, they were skipped inadvertently. Think about it, compared with SUVs, the station wagon does not have a four-wheel drive system or a higher chassis ground clearance, the cabin space is not spacious enough, and there will be no third row of seats. It is simply contrary to the traditional consumption concept of "one step in place"! As for the shortcomings of SUVs in the eyes of Europeans, such as poor handling performance, poor high-speed driving, and poorly stable cars, and too big to find parking spaces, most Chinese users still have no time to understand. In fact, this is understandable. When you are used to sitting on a soft and fluffy sofa, will you still buy traditional Chinese hardwood chairs?
If you are still interested in station wagons...
OK, since you can see this patiently, at least it means that you are interested in station wagons. And to be honest, if you don’t want to drive a vulgar car on the street and don’t want to drive a sports car to sway, then a station wagon that is rare and expensive may really become your destination.
However, in today's market, there are really only a handful of station wagons. Domestic models have long been delisted with regret, and imported models have also experienced many reshuffles. The once-famous Subaru Legacy travel version, Peugeot 308SW, and Opel Yingsuoya have long stopped importing due to sales reasons. At present, there are only a few brands that do not aim to make money and are still insisting on it. The following are all the station wagons currently available for sale in China that the editor has found, so don’t worry about the cost-effectiveness.
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