I am a rabid fan of European-style sport sedan based station wagons/estates, which offer an unbeatable mix of practicality, safety, fuel efficiency, and driving pleasure. My wife's 2001 VW Passat wagon easily holds two bikes and two people inside, and the low roofline makes it very easy to load a bolt-on roof rack, expanding the capacity to 4-5 people inside and 3 bikes up top. I am pleased that Honda (Acura TSX Sportwagon) and Toyota (Prius V wagon) have seen the light, but disappointed that Volvo will stop importing wagons to the US, and that there is no plan for a wagon version of the new made-in-USA Passat sedan, which is getting a little too big for my tastes, anyway. I hope to get another 10 years out of the Passat, but if I had to replace it today, I would have very few options -- Acura TSX wagon ($$), Audi A4 Avant ($$$), VW Jetta Sportwagen. Your Europeans and Asians don't know how lucky you are.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069