tonybelding

It's all about associations and mental images. When people hear "station wagon" they picture this:



I've heard that minivans are now suffering some of the same stigma. They've victims of their own strengths. . . They're immensely practical family vehicles, therefore they develop an association with mundane parenting duties, and potential buyers are afraid of looking like stodgy, tied-down parents. Even if that's what they are. Or maybe especially if that's what they are.

ChargeIt!

Tony makes a very good point. I mentioned elsewhere about the fantastic performance of the "4matic" (all wheel drive) on my Benz and its no-snow-chains-required performance in the Lake Tahoe region. Well guess what ... it is an E320 Wagon ! And you should have heard the comments from the (8th grader) son after I came home with it brand new ... "I am not about to be dropped off at school in THAT thing!" But of course they did ... despite months worth of reluctance ... also from the high-schooler that hated being picked up in it ("are you coming to get me in mom's car?"). It's a case of peer-pressure (the most dangerous issue in a teenager's life -- one which they need to be weaned off of).
As to joseph's comment: Yes I also test drove the "CTS sportswagon" ... a few years ago; I think its called the SRX. Very nice also, good road handling and performance. Did not look at it too closely, but at least it had made it into my top 10 back in 2004 or 2005).

Ok ... update ( I hadn't looked at joseph's link yet ). Back then there was the SRX that I test drove (Cadillac SRX - Wikipedia). Now it seems they are coming out with something different. I do like the styling on either one.

Cobos

I of course know that the US has a stigma associated with wagons, but I find it silly. And it is in stark contrast with our car sales.
Looking at the 5 biggest sellers in Norway for 2007 you get this:
Volkswagen Passat 7200 units
Volkswagen Golf 6100 units
Toyota Avensis 5600 units
Volvo V70 4200 units
Toyota Rav4 units.

Out of those the Passat is available in both wagon and sedan, but I guess they sell in about 8:1 ratio for wagon here. The Golf is a compact, but exists in a "extended" version as a wagon. Avensis is AFAIK only available in wagon, I don't think I've seen a Avensis sedan ever. The V70 is Volvos high-end wagon, and finally the Rav-4 is an example of our love of small SUVs.
So in Norway if you need space you buy a wagon.
Thought I'd add some pictures as well of those models to show you what a good selling wagon looks like. I've added the new Mondeo from Ford as well which is selling very well this year.

Attached Images

	VW_passat.jpg (25.8 KB, 4 views)
	Toyota_Avensis.jpg (48.4 KB, 5 views)
	Volvo_V70.jpg (35.6 KB, 4 views)
	Ford_mondeo.jpg (36.4 KB, 5 views)

doug

Hmmm... ya know I was pretty patient before. But with the official unveiling of the Volt today, I'm eager for some Whitestar/Model S/Sedan news.

The main reason I previously thought it was prudent for Tesla to wait was because of the issues with the Roadster. But now that DT 1.5 is working out and Tesla appears ready for their production ramp, that rationale for waiting is removed. Of course maybe Model S isn't ready yet, and that's fine. I can wait. Just that I don't think Tesla needs to wait on showing off the Model S because of the Roadster any more.

Though they don't directly compete, the other players in the green 4/5 door sedan space have shown their designs: Prius, Insight, and now the Volt. I think it's about time we got to see and get excited about what Tesla has to offer.

flabby

whitestar......whitestar.....whitestar.....whitest ar. My whitestar chant.

AGR

As anyone heard of, or seen prototypes of the car anywhere?

graham

Other than the Dodge Magnum mules from last Spring, no. They have not unveiled the design yet for the Model S, and until they do I would not expect to see anything except mules which looked like other cars.

They have said that they want to unveil the design sometime before the end of the year. The car may be completely designed already and they just haven't unveiled it - or they may be still tweaking the final looks.

Edit to add: Although they have shown sketches of the car to the European press...

tomsax

Darryl Siry said that story was totally false. The sketches were made up by someone guessing at what the Model S will look like.

Cobos

That's not true. Darryl has said the red sketches the english magazine published are all made up. There are several sources that says they've seen the sketches of the Whitestar. And Espen their scandinavian guy also has said he has seen sketches. So there are some sketches somewhere. How true they will be to the final design I suppose no one knows unless the designs are all done.

Cobos

Kevin Harney

I thought Daryl said that those were sketches that the magazine had made after they saw TM's sketches but they were not accurate. Am I mistaken ?