Too much SUV, not enough sense
Since 1991, the American road has belonged to the SUV.
It started with the Explorer, really. Maybe the Jurassic Park connection helped cement that obsession in the public mind. Point is, the ball dropped then, and SUVs have dominated ever since.
Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelstoff isn’t having it anymore.
He says we went too far. One market. One body style. Boring. He thinks the US obsession with tall, boxy vehicles is a dead end, or at least a temporary phase that’s already peaking.
We need lower cars. For aerodynamics, for range, just because they exist.
Physics doesn’t lie
SUVs are heavy. They drag against the air like a parachute made of regret.
Samuelsson argues that electric vehicles simply cannot afford that kind of drag. Lower frontal area means less resistance. Less resistance means you drive farther on one charge. It’s basic physics. The more you fight the air, the more you pay for it.
Wagons? They sit low. They slice through wind. They’re the logical evolution, yet they vanished.
Why did we leave them?
Nobody really knows, except that SUVs feel “useful.” They’re perceived as capable, rugged, safe. Wagon shoppers get called practical by people who want to be rugged but lack the suspension for it.
A generational flip?
Here is the kicker: Samuelsson predicts a generational shift.
The kids of today—raised in SUVs—don’t actually want what their parents bought. They want style. They want handling. They want something that isn’t just another plastic tank parked at the mall.
“I don’t think 10 years from now we will only have SUVs.”
That’s not a whisper. It’s a declaration from the head of a company famous for the 240 Turbo wagon and the V50.
He says Volvo is “looking into” more wagons. Specifically, the V60 line likely sees more action soon. Maybe in five years. Maybe less. But the signal is there.
Is the market ready?
Hard to say. Mercedes seems to think otherwise. But Volvo sees an opening. A space for cars that drive like cars but carry cargo like trucks.
If Samuelsson is right, the highway gets interesting again. If he’s wrong… well, we’re all stuck in tall vehicles until the batteries fail us completely.
