I've mentioned before how sport-utility vehicles elbowed out traditional station wagons to become the vehicle type most preferred by bustling families. SUVs offer the same haul-it-all utility once available from wagons alone. What's more, sport-utilities are generally beefier than wagons, with higher cabins. Their greater bulk creates a greater sense of on-the-road security for anxious moms.
The station wagons that remain available today often serve as expanded, handy haulers for those of us who still prefer nimble maneuverability over the imposing weight of an SUV..
In Andover, those contemporary vehicle roles show up among drivers who visit Woodworth Cadillac to shop for the Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon.
The four-door, five-passenger wagon is an extended-back variant of the luxury brand's faceted, sleekly angular CTS sedan. Both the sedan and wagon are set up for spirited driving, with generous accommodations for both front- and rear-seat riders.
With list prices starting at $39,090, the Sport Wagon contains all the premium amenities that help make the sedan the second most popular model available from Cadillac. But while the trunk of the CTS sedan provides 13.6 cubic feet of volume, the Sport Wagon's open back nearly doubles that, with 25.0 cubic feet. That's room for a lot of gym bags, ankle weights and water bottles.
"It's not your traditional wagon," explained Al DeLuca, manager of Woodworth Cadillac. "A CTS wagon buyer is usually not someone with children. It's usually a couple that likes to antiquing. Or they like to go camping, or hiking," he said. "This wagon is for the person who likes the CTS sedan, they like the ride and the handling of the sedan, but they can't fit their stuff into the back of the sedan. Now they have that little bit of extra room in the back to do the things they like to do"
"The mother with kids who does soccer and all those things will usually buy the Escalade" which is Cadillac's large sport-utility vehicle, said DeLuca. "It has lots of extra room."
Cadillac even makes the point with the name it attaches to the station wagon version of its CTS. Notice that the car company calls the model its CTS Sport Wagon. The title emphasizes that the vehicle supports active lifestyles.
At Woodworth Cadillac, more than three quarters of CTS wagon buyers choose the all-wheel-drive option over the standard, rear-drive version on the car. Four-wheel traction adds $1,900 to the price, but pays dividends in snowy weather. The small percentage of rear-drive models sold in Andover typically go to drivers who winter in Florida, said the dealership's manager.
In addition to Cadillac vehicles, Woodworth sells the Chevrolet and Buick brands. The business is part of the Bill DeLuca family of dealerships, which also includes three Haverhill locations that sell Chevrolet and Cadillac, Buick and GMC, and Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles.
The Sport Wagon represents about 10 percent of the CTS models sold at Woodworth, Al DeLuca said. Up to now, the CTS four-door sedan has made up the balance. But last week, Cadillac dealers began premiering the new, 2011 CTS Coupe, a two-door that extends the family into the expressive, sports coupe territory that luxury imports from Germany's Audi and BMW dominate.
While the CTS Sport Wagon is more expansive than the sedan, the coupe is a reduced version. It is shorter, with a lower roof, but a wider stance. Intended more for personal expression than back-seat utility, the CTS Coupe is styled to look aggressive, sleek and athletic, according to Cadillac promotional descriptions.
The 2011 Coupe comes only with the larger, more powerful V6 engine that Cadillac packages in its CTS models — the 3.6-liter engine produces 3.4 horsepower. Both the CTS Sedan and Sport Wagon also sell with a 3.0-liter V6 that puts out 270 horsepower. All models come with a six-speed automatic transmission.
Additionally, Cadillac sells high-performance, CTS-V versions within the vehicle line. Equipped with a 556-horsepower, 6.2-liter supercharged V8 engine and a six-speed manual transmission, the V models list more than $25,000 higher than standard CTS models.
DeLuca credits the CTS for widening the appeal of the Cadillac brand to a new generation of drivers, including women.
"As Cadillac moved away from the big and brawny, the CTS has been the car that has taken off," he said. "Both men and women like this car. If I put a woman in it, she likes the ride, she likes the feel and the look. What brings men to the CTS is the feeling of a sports car."
The Sport Wagon extends the model family's reach even further, bringing in people who bring along a lot of gear.
• • •
Jeffrey Zygmont has written about automobiles since 1982. Based in Salem, N.H., he writes books and articles about innovation, technology and culture. He can be contacted through the Web site www.jeffreyzygmont.com
