They were...and still are. One of the biggest contributing factors to the monikers WRX, Evo and GT-R becoming household names here in the US despite the fact that they weren't sold here through dealerships until a few years ago (sans the yet to be released GT-R of course) was video games, specifically Gran Turismo.

I said "everyone and their mom's knew that the WRX (not just any AWD hatch) would be a hit" as in once Subaru announced that they intended to sell the car stateside, "everyone and their mom knew it would be a hit." Once the announcement was made, the hype began to build and everyone was predicting a sales success which is the whole reason Mitsubishi scrambled to get the Evo ready to bring to the US. Mitsubishi knew that if the WRX was a hit, they couldn't afford to miss out on the hype surrounding these 4 door rally bred machines. If Mitsubishi didn't truly think that the WRX would have been a hit, they wouldn't have taken the time to get the Evo ready to bring to the States, it's as simple and plainly obvious as that.

No they don't. Not in the US anyway. If anything hatches have finally started to catch on in recent years, but wagons not so much with most US buyers preferring some sort of car based crossover (CUV). Why do you think Subaru replaced the Impreza wagon with a 5 door hatch? Why do you think Ford discontinued the Focus wagon? Why do you think the Malibu Maxx will no longer be offered? Why do you think Honda no longer offers the Accord wagon stateside? Why do you think the Mazda 6 Sedan and 5 door soldier on for 08 while the wagon is discontinued? Why do you think Audi only offers US buyers the RS4 Sedan and Cabrio but not the Avant?

Sorry buddy, wagons do NOT sell unless they have something radical to offer. In the case of the Magnum, it simply did not fit the typical wagon paradigm when you consider that it offered a pair of nasty V8s (the 5.7 or 6.1), a low roofline, gunslit windows and some pretty "in your face" styling. Take any model of car sold in the US that's offered in both sedan and wagon form and you'll see that the sedan/wagon split in the US is nothing like the split in Europe. My guess is that on average it's around an 80/20 - 90/10 split here in the states (with a few exceptions from marques like Subaru, Volvo and possibly Saab) depending on the make and model of car while in Europe it's much closer to 50/50. Also consider that many cars sold as sedans and wagons are also sold as Coupes, and your argument becomes even more weak. I'm sure in the US, BMW sells a hell of a lot more 3-Series Coupes and even Convertibles than it does wagons whereas overseas that number would probably be flip flopped.

 

Wouldn't the smaller coupe be something sporty to compete with BMW's 1 series? Put a price range $25-30K and it would be very similar to the competitive edge that Infiniti has now with the G35/37 against the moderately higher priced 3 series. Why would Infiniti go with a wagon? I don't see it.

 

Well considering the new WRX features a very bland styling now, that says the customer base is alot wider than you are stating. But rumor has it that they will keep the STI radical for the crowd you speak of.

YOu said it yourself. Mitsu wanted in on the hype of 4 door ralley machines. Not specifically the WRX. It's just that Subaru had the ***** to bring it here before anyone else. The Nissan GTi-R could have been here long ago. But again, Nissan didn't want to take that chance.
If the Video game crowd was so influential, then I suspect Nissan would have brought the Skyline over years ago. As you know, the skyline was a video game cult classic long ago.


Doesn't Subaru still have the Legacy wagon? Ford's focus is a dismal failure as a model so it's suprising they discontinued it. But your other examples are good. You should have included the IS300 wagon also.

The interesting thing is I believe most of the Magnum wagon sales are not V8 versions. I could be wrong.

I never said or implied that wagon sales would be sufficent enough to challenge sedan sales. But with SUVs becoming less and less popular, I can see wagons becoming more interesing. Why would a wagon model being available in coupe/sedan/4 door make my argument weak? On the other hand, why wouldn't infiniti use the G35 platform for a wagon? If that's the case then it WOULD be available in all three versions yes?

In short, I think Infiniti should consider a wagon and start at least looking into intial developement. So it will be ready when the time comes. And not have to scramble and put out some lame quickie version. After all Nissan is not new to the wagon game. They used the Skyline platform for the Staega. They can use the FM platform for a wagon. Or an intesting 4 door hatch?

 

A smaller G, with a 4-banger would be nice, but I wouldnt want Infiniti to fall in the same hole Acura did with their RSX. Acura discontinued the RSX because it gave them the riceboy image they were trying to get rid of, and acquire an upscale more luxurious image. Of course, I wouldnt see that happening with Infiniti, because if they stick true to their name and reputation, this smaller and nimbler 4-banger will be RWD, and not FWD such as the RSX. Anyhow, I dont think it could possibly compete with the 135i, the 128i yes, but the 135i simply slaughters that market. Im really curious as to what Nissan has planned for the next 3 years. The G37 is an amazing ride, but im not in a hurry to jump ship and trade in. Ill patiently wait till my lease is up in mid 09, and hopefully Nissan decides to release a G37R, at around 50-55K, I will without a doubt hop into one of those...

 

Hello and welcome to yesterday. Subaru has blatantly stated that they're trying to expand the Impreza customer base with the '08 model to folks other than the Gran Turismo crowd, hence the bland styling. This is especially true in Europe where buyers won't even be offered the WRX model. Performance oriented customers will have to wait for and spend more on the STI. Talk about alienating your loyal customer base.

Not specifically the WRX? Ok, what other rally bred 4 doors were being sold at the time duh? Subaru had the guts to make the jump, but you better believe that Mitsubishi had a close eye on WRX sales figures so that they'd be ready to give the green light at a moments notice. As I said, if they didn't think the WRX stood a chance in the US market, they wouldn't have taken the time to get the Evo ready for sale in the US.

As for the GTi-R, what the hell are you babbling about? The GTi-R IIRC was discontinued by the mid 90s. Why would Nissan risk bringing over the GTi-R in the early 90s when Japanese sports car sales took a dive during that time? The FD, Mark IV Supra, Z32, 3KGT, MR2 etc... all took a dive during this time and were all discontinued shortly thereafter sans the 3KGT whch lived for a few more years. Sports/sporty cars were the last thing on the minds of the Big 6 at that time. If the GTi-R had been around around the same time the bug eyed WRX came stateside, then I'd agree with you. However the car was long gone by the time there was a market for hot sedans/hatches here in the states once again. Markets change buddy. When the GTi-R was still around, the car would have probably been a flop had it been brought stateside. However by 01/02 the performance car market was starting to pick up again. Hence the introduction of the WRX to the US, the rebirth of the Z, the introduction of the Evo to the US etc...

No they don't actually. As of 08 the Legacy wagon has been discontinued leaving the Outback and Forester as Subaru's only wagon offerings. You're right about the IS300 though. Guess wagons don't sell as well as you thought huh?

As for the Focus, how is it "surprising they discontinued it when it was a failure?" Umm, shouldn't it be expected that they'd discontinue a model that's a failure? Your statement makes no sense to me.

Obviously the V8 versions are NOT the volume sellers, but like the V6 Mustang, the V6 Magnum sells because of the vehicles image. What goes through the mind of a typical V6 Magnum buyer is "I wanna look cool like those V8 Magnum owners without having to pay for the bigger motor or foot the gas bill because:

a. performance isn't worth the price of gas to me
b. I can't afford the larger motor"

It's called Lexus IS250 syndrome.

Simply put, Infiniti probably wouldn't be able to sell enough Wagons to justify the R&D to develop one for the US market. The wagon market in the US is technically a niche market at this point in time. Infiniti must decide if they want to play this niche. If they were able to hit the market with something radical like Dodge did with the Magnum, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet Infiniti is more concerned with taking advantage of the boom in the small CUV market than potentially wasting money on a vehicle that fits into a segment which may not pick up momentum for a few more years at least. Addtionally, it'd be pretty stupid to shoot yourself in the foot by introducing a V36 Wagon so soon after introducing the EX.

And before you say it, BMW sells enough cars that it can justify selling the 3-Series Touring alongside the X3 here in the states. Infiniti...does not. But even then BMW must trim it's 3-Series Touring model offerings here in the US because they don't sell nearly as many of them here as they do overseas. Think about it, would BMW really have introduced the X3 in the first place a few years ago if the 3er Touring was doing so well in the US market? Figured this one was obvious enough but apparently not.

In short, Infiniti will not be building a wagon anytime soon. End of story.

 

I want to see an FX that is a bit longer and has a 3rd row seat.

 

I would lay odds we will see a GT-R based sports car for Infiniti, it will probably use both the platform and engine of the GT-R but will use a different body to give it a unique look (like they did with the G35 coupe/350z). It will probably be more upscale inside and I wouldn't discount a hardtop convertible.

 

Just saw something interesting:
http://www.speedsportlife.com/photop...y.php?cat=1172



Of course it's not 100% proof a wagon is justifed. But it does illustrate that Audi thinks a wagon is viable. Especially in a high end market like this one represents.

 

That's the upcoming C6 gen RS6 Avant, not the RS4. And I'm willing to bet that like the C5 gen RS6 and the B7 gen RS4, only the Saloon will be coming to the US, not the Avant which is a shame. Audi has never brought any of their RS Avants to the US. The original Porsche built RS2 and the B5 gen RS4 were ONLY available in Avant form and hence were not sold in the US because Audi felt American's would shy away from big hp wagons. Also, the C5 gen RS6 and the B7 gen RS4 only made it to the US in Saloon (and recently Cabrio for the RS4) form despite the fact that both were sold in Avant form over in Europe.

On a side note, if you want to see an RS6 Avant in action, go rent the movie Layer Cake.

Audi has been building big hp wagons for a long time now, but even with the unveiling of the new C6 gen RS6 Avant, I'm willing to bet that the car will not be sold here and we'll only get the 4 door Saloon. It makes sense when you think about it. The current S6 is available as a sedan and a wagon in Europe, yet we only get the sedan here in the states. Likewise, BMW offers their M5 in Touring form over in Europe, yet there are no plans to bring it to the US. The only evidence to the contrary is MB who has elected to sell the E63 AMG Estate here in the US. Although we are talking about the company that thought they could sell a 500hp R-Class when they can't even move the V6 versions out of showrooms.