19-03-2025
Station Wagon Owners Really Love Their Cars. Too Bad
When Jeff Adler sold his tomato-red 1985 Mercedes-Benz station wagon in 2009, it had 314,000 miles on the odometer. 'I just loved it. I felt great driving it,' says the New York real estate agent. The 300TD wagon reminded him of childhood visits to car shows in Manhattan with his mother. He liked the feel of the wide steering wheel, the style of its elegant long body and the lower-priced diesel it sipped instead of guzzled. 'I felt like I was making a statement,' he says. 'I got nothing but joy from driving that car, pure joy.'
One might expect this kind of ardor for the muscle cars of one's youth or the sleek coupe their era's James Bond drove. But station wagon aficionados feel as much passion for the once-humble, utilitarian conveyance. The devoted are not just English professors and NPR hosts. Ask around at any cocktail party or barbecue, and you'll find at least one wagon buff who's long owned and adored theirs.
