wagon | RNR Automotive Blog

1995 Volvo 960 Review

Just like manual transmissions, station wagons are a dying breed in the U.S. Unfortunately, they are being cannibalized by the market’s trend towards SUVs. The image and the lofty driving position that an SUV provides are proving to be irresistible to consumers. Even the Subaru Outback, long a poster vehicle for “outdoorsy” wagons is now being labeled as a “crossover SUV” on Subaru’s website, and the latest generation is as tall as a compact crossover. The emerging SUV market has caused station wagons’ (or in Europe speak: estates) relevance to decrease significantly. The Audi A4 wagon is now a puesdo-SUV thingy called Allroad in which they took a regular Avant (Audi language for wagon) and put cladding and raised the height as to reinforce the Allroad’s appeal as an SUV. Volvo, long associated with boxy station wagons, now features more SUVs than wagons in its lineup. Speaking of Volvo, one of the boxy station wagons it is known for is the 960. Part of the 900 series of flagship rear wheel drive cars in Volvo’s lineup, the 940 and 960 models were introduced in 1990 to replace the preceding 700 series. This is a bit confusing, but what I gathered from research is that the 940 and 960 are actually the same car. Apparently, the 940 denotes four cylinder engines, and the 960 denotes six cylinder engines. In 1994, the 960 received a freshening, and for the 1997 model year, the sedan and wagon were renamed S90 and V90. In 1998, the S90/V90 were replaced by the S80. Having the chance to review an actual proper station wagon, I knew I just had to review this 960. Continue reading →

2005 Dodge Magnum R/T Review

Dodge’s lineup in the last ten years included cars that bear no similarities with cars of the same name back in the ’70s. Examples include the Charger, Dart, and this Magnum. The Magnum back in the 1970s was a coupe that was produced primarily to compete in NASCAR, and its production run lasted only two years from 1978-1979. The Magnum were also rebadged Dodge Darts sold in Mexico and Brazil during the 1980s. In 2004, Chrysler (Dodge is owned by Chrysler) launched the 300 sedan. After the 300 debuted, Dodge followed up with a wagon version of the 300, the Magnum. This was a bold move considering America is biased towards minivans and SUVs as family vehicles, more so the latter. Growing up, the only wagons that I have seen in my life were Subarus and German makes. Personally, I think wagons are cool, and logically, they use less gas, are better to drive and they’re just cooler. Sadly, my tastes are in the minority as I also don’t wear Sperry’s or drink Starbucks or eat Nutella, so of course the general American population goes for SUVs. Even though the Magnum was derived from the 300, it was made to look like the Charger which came in 2005 as a 2006 model. This makes sense because the Charger was a twin of the 300. The Magnum came with an array of powertrain options mirroring that of the 300 and Charger’s including a V6, 340 horsepower R/T, and a 425 horsepower SRT version. This is my first time I have reviewed an actual wagon, and quite a wagon at that.

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Oct 08 2015

Automotive Reviews, Volvo