The station wagon was supposed to be relegated to the dustbin of history.

The heyday of the faux wood-paneled family truckster coincided with a time in American life when the Brady Bunch wasn’t yet in reruns and the gas crisis — the first one, that is — hadn’t affected society’s penchant for large, body-on-frame automobiles.

With the introduction of the 2008 Outback, however, we’re told that this is now a “wagon-only” vehicle line. Subaru’s announcement seems a bit peculiar at first, but it’s really in keeping with its fiercely independent heritage and loyal, if not quirky, fan base.

Truth be told, the sedan version of this Subaru isn’t going away completely. The updated Legacy line is now solely about offering a juiced-up sports sedan for the demanding American market. With a first-ever six-cylinder engine on this side of the Pacific and a more luxurious cabin, Subaru is aiming at the lucrative segment now dominated by its rivals, Toyota and Honda.

Focusing on the family is something we hear a lot about these days from the presidential campaign trail. Subaru’s focus is on the family wagon, a model not without enduring appeal. In 1995, in fact, Subaru all but created the crossover SUV segment with the Outback wagon.

Its higher ground clearance and “command seating” positioning made drivers feel they weren’t settling for the predictability of a regular wagon. But then a funny thing happened: The Outback wagon became downright cool.

Subaru kept pushing the styling envelope with its wagon and made sure it offered turbo performance packages in line with its sportier models. Another key to its success was the upscale L.L. Bean Edition. The overlap between the wagon’s buyers and devotees of the preppie clothing catalog is considerable.

That Subaru continues to focus on the Outback is even more remarkable, considering the development of the Tribeca and Outback Sport, two vehicles in its model line that lean heavily into the SUV segment. Time and again, automakers tend to allow the wagon to fall by the wayside when attention shifts to sport utilities that command heftier profit margins. Yet the new Outback wagon has revised front and rear styling, new headlights and taillights, and an impressively redesigned instrument panel. Subaru Intelligent Drive is a new system on the Limited and L.L. Bean models that enables one of three distinct driving modes depending upon road conditions.

Intelligent mode reduces engine torque and boosts fuel efficiency. Sport mode focuses on additional power and acceleration, and sport sharp mode lends extra efficiency to the engine’s electronic throttle for what Subaru calls “lightning quick throttle response.”

The fit and finish of these wagons has always been a cut above the competition. We’re also thrilled to learn that Outback comes standard with front-seat side-impact air bags, side curtain air bags, and dual-stage deployment front air bags. Even the safety brake pedal system is designed to reduce lower-leg injuries in a front-facing collision.

Long ago, as its larger rivals were battling for supremacy for the North American and Japanese markets, Subaru decided that its success was rooted in building fewer models better than anyone else. To this day, the Asian and Pacific street racing scene is dominated by Subaru’s feisty coupes and sports sedans.

And the family station wagon, long ago left for dead by just about everyone else, has re-emerged as the new Outback, one of the most elegant and fun-to-drive automobiles on the road today.