As I look at the market for new vehicles, I’m rather nonplussed. Have always despised SUVs and cannot quite place why. Maybe it’s because of the height and inefficiency (gas or electric, energy is still energy and the laws of physics do not change). Maybe it’s their ubiquity. Maybe it’s the prospect of paying more for everything from tires to fuel for a vehicle I don’t particularly care for in the first place.
This is in no way to disparage those who like SUVs it that’s your cup of tea, and more power to ya. That said: My buddy (RIP as of January of this year), a double amputee with kidney disease, would not have been able to easily get into a SUV so I could take him to dialysis three times a week. He had no problems getting into the station wagon with zero help. The ride service would have cost him $1100USD per month. The wagon saved him a ton of cash.
Battery technology — cheerlead all you want — just isn’t there. It’s neither sustainable nor cost effective to produce or recycle lithium ion batteries. There are well-documented safety issues . Sodium ion looks like the future, but they have a ways to go to catch up to lithium in recharge cycle lifetime and power. If my math is right, sodium is 1,180 times more abundant in the earth’s crust than lithium. Once that comes online, I may change my stance on EVs and hybrids. For current technology, though, it is socially irresponsible.
Volvo seems to have bet on both SUV and EV — both, in my humble opinion, losers for the short- and mid- term. (As an aside, are we aiming for efficiency or tall vehicles? those seem mutually contradictory). BMW, by contrast, has taken a far more conservative (and wiser) approach investing in more fuel-efficient ICE engines and not betting the farm on electric, but they don’t offer a wagon any more. MB does, for now at least. Would love to buy American but Lincoln is apparently ALL SUV and Cadillac doesn’t offer a wagon. Then there is Audi, and I’m not really that impressed with Subaru Outback — too common, don’t like the way they look.
Not really asking for advice here — my preferences are apparently a bit odd judging by the market. Just wondering if I’m alone in my fondness for the venerable wagon. I will likely buy one more new car in my lifetime.