Disappeared body types - landaulet, roadster ... and estate?
Body fashions come and go.
Who still builds a Landaulet or a genuine roadster with windshields and an emergency top today?
These body versions are a thing of the past! Will this also happen to the estate car?
The practical all-purpose vehicle became increasingly popular in the 1960s, and the Americans had recognized the advantages of a large rear door and plenty of storage space even earlier.
Things really took off with the invention of the "lifestyle" estate car, in which Mercedes-Benz played a major role with the Estate model, but soon Audi and BMW also recognized the new preferences of their customers. There were even really sporty estate cars and many models sold significantly more of these load artists than saloon variants.
This should now come to an end, at least if Peugeot has its way. The new 508, which will be presented at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, will now only be available as a saloon. This is despite the fact that its predecessor had a high proportion of estate cars. For these buyers there are now the various SUVs, one can read. And finally, the 508 is also variable and has a tailgate. But of course you can't get the chest of drawers into the shallower trunk, but who needs to transport a chest of drawers?
Incidentally, women in particular seem to increasingly prefer the SUV to the previously popular estate car, which is probably not least due to the high seating position and the feeling of being less vulnerable. Alfa Romeo also seems to see it this way and is pursuing a similar strategy to Peugeot with the Giulia/Stelvio.
So the question remains as to whether the estate car will follow the Laundaulet and the Roadster and some other body shapes into the eternal hunting grounds, or whether it will revert to what it once was, namely the practical utility vehicle for the craftsman, for whom variability and space utilization are more important than "lifestyle" and pseudo off-road capability.
