VW pounds another nail in the coffin of the station wagon

When it gets ready to pack in 2019 model year, Volkswagen says it will drop both the Golf SportWagen and the Golf Alltrack models from its series.

The move announced Wednesday comes as a huge blow to station wagons, a body style that was ubiquitous in the years when Baby Boomers were still in breeches, but all of which is gone in today's SUV crazed market.

"SUVs have definitely assumed the races of station wagons and minibuses we remember from our childhood," said Scott Keogh, president and CEO of the Volkswagen of America. "

The list of wagons has grown steadily thinner in recent decades, with only one now being offered by Detroit-based manufacturers who produced them of millions back in the 1950s, 1960s and into the 1970s. Buick has a station wagon that doesn't even call a wagon, hoping it can generate more enthusiasm by copying the Regal TourX.

Volvo, a brand long attached to wagons, has taken the same approach with some of its models. If you want the V60 announced last year, you need to specifically order the compact carriage, which has been more successful by taking some models, raising the height, adding SUV style clothing and copy them by names like the V90 Cross Country. [1 9659002] The luxury market was one of the last bastions for coach fans, but even there, the market is fading out. BMW decided not to include the new wagon version of its updated 3 series to USA this year, and Jaguar is expected to decline Dress her XF Sportbrake, which got little speed in using the British phrase for the wagon.

Volkswagen was thinking of staying in the segment, but sales figures just couldn't support a solid business case.

For the whole of 2018, the German machine sold a total amount of only 14,124 Golf SportWagens, a 47% decline. Demand tumbled another 36% for the first seven months of this year, averaging out to just under 750 of the carriages a month. Alltrack faced a similar decline.

By comparison, US sales of Volkswagen's SUVs increased 12% through the end of July despite the phasing out of the original Touareg model. And it plans to add three more SUVs by 2021, including the Atlas Cross Sport, five-seater, all-electric ID. Crozz and a subcompact not yet named.

"Consumers want a new vehicle, and for the US market, automakers are adding wagons away," said Stephanie Brinley, principle auto analyst with IHS Markit.

There are still some opportunities for coach fans, including the Buick Regal TourX, the Volvo V90 and currently the Jaguar XF Sportbrake. Mercedes-Benz offers several versions of the E-Class, including the high-performance AMG E63 S Wagon. Porsche has a car version of Panamera, Sport Turismo and Mini offers Cooper Clubman / S.

But no manufacturer remains more committed to the body style than Subaru, with three different models: Outback, Crosstrek and Impreza.

With the vultures circling around in Jaguar, observers wonder which of these current deals may be next to fall next to the road. Analyst Brinley doesn't see much life left in the segment, but she doesn't think car manufacturers are ready to give up completely.

They have tried to come up with several appealing names, such as TourX and Sportbrake. But they also have tinkering with hybrid designs that are meant to blend the best of cart and tools. So far, it has not worked very well, models like Accord CrossTour, Acura ZDX, BMW 5 Series GT and Toyota Venza failed to click on consumers.

"They haven't found the right answer to the fill-in-gap question," she said, "but they'll probably keep trying."