Monday, 13 September 2021

Wag-gone

I missed this Autocar piece last week.

But Car+Driver didn't - they did this piece on it today.

It is the rather depressing news that Mercedes-Benz’s chief operating officer, Markus Schäfer is predicting the end of the estate car.

And the main reason is the rise of the cross-over SUV:

Ugh.

I've owned two estates - one was even a Mercedes - I loved them both.

He also reckons cabrios could be on the way out.

The reason for this is two-fold:
  • the Chinese aren't into them.
  • electric ones would look naff because of battery location
Although he does say that vegan interiors won't completely replace leather.

Car+Driver point out for their American readership that by "estates" - we are talking about "wagons" - let's not bring "shooting-brakes" into this.

They also got Mercedes-Benz USA to give their take on the news:

"Station wagons, although occupying a specific niche, remain an important offering to one of our most loyal customer segments"

Their readership see it the same way as me and Mercedes-Benz USA:
Although one of those votes cast was me.

It's a shame that the vast majority of the World's car buyers aren't car fans.

#SaveTheWagons

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