Station wagons have been around for many more years than the minivan.  As mentioned in MotorCast this week, Mike Brady owned a Plymouth wagon to haul around his fifty-one kids.  Safety concerns leave us sitting in today's wagon world with seat belts, automatic brakes, lane detection and technological advances like satellite navigation and automatic rear hatch lowering mechanisms.

Take a listen to MotorCast!

Bloomberg CTS-V GettyImages
Bloomberg CTS-V GettyImages
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The Cadillac CTS-V is the fastest production Cadillac ever made.  It has a Z06 Corvette engine, plus it's supercharged. But if you weren't an automotive enthusiast, you wouldn't expect a Cadillac station wagon to hit 62 MPH in less than 5 seconds.  This is the older model shown.  Talks are going on which are saying they are lifting the brand new C7 Corvette engine out of it's little 2 door shell, twin turbo charging it, and laying it in the front of the new CTS, known as the V.  Look out Challenger.  Not too many pictures out of that thing yet... it's still in beta testing.

Stan Honda GettyImages
Stan Honda GettyImages
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Another great high class and extremely expensive estate car is the E Class Mercedes.  It has a monster upfront, and instead of supercharging the V8 like the Caddy, they put a biturbo system in it, which is a fancy name for twin-turbo.  This one is longer than the CTS and it has more horsepower... 577 vs 556.  As with most American cars that stand up to our German, Italian, British and Japanese competition, they are cheaper.  The cheapest Lamborghini, for example, costs a $250,000, and you don't get 707 HP like you do in the new Challenger for $68,000.  But when it comes to Merc's, its style, reliability and heritage makes these things stand out.  And it sure is a pretty one.

Spencer Platt GettyImages
Spencer Platt GettyImages
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We also mentioned minivans in MotorCast this week.  They have been around since the 80's, and people have been buying them to transport their kids, as well as painting companies and radio stations across the globe utilizing them as cargo carriers.  But when it comes down to it, you probably don't want a minivan because there is always that thought in your head that someone is looking at you and pointing.  But I honestly think minivans are a blast to drive.  Even though they are deemed 'mini', they are enormous, allow you to sit up high to see the road properly, and offer a very comfortable ride.

Bloomberg GettyImages
Bloomberg GettyImages
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Talking tech in minivan's now... not really tech I suppose, it's more of a flashy expense that Honda put into the Odyssey a few months back.  It's an on-board vacuum cleaner.  As mentioned in MotorCast, it's perfect for those little spills of cereal or Cheez-It's all over the carpet.  BUT NOW!  There is a new kid on the block. It's the 17-year old Toyota Sienna.  I'm not positive, but that looks like President Obama wearing a hard hat on the Toyota sign there behind the van. Toyota must have seen what Honda was doing with the vacuum, kicked it up a notch, and put in the 'scream speaker'.  That's not exactly what they are calling it.  But basically what you do is push a button, whereas it arms a microphone lodged somewhere out of sight, and your voice is amplified through the rear speakers to tell your kids or drunk husband's friends to chill or get out.

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