Segment buster or station wagon? ; High-luxury `sports tourers' reveal latest definition of crossover vehicle.(Brief Article)

With everyone from Chrysler to Mercedes-Benz to Volkswagen touting a version of a ``sports tourer,'' the new segment may be the most competitive since the minivan-if it exists at all, that is.

Say what? Didn't Chrysler, the king of so-called segment busters like the minivan and PT Cruiser, decree that its Pacifica is the definition of the emerging sports tourer category? With its high-end luxury, three rows of seating, easy step-in height and rear cargo door, isn't the Pacifica the epitome of a sports tourer? Or is it just a 1973 Ford Country Squire (below) modified for the new millennium?

Neither, say most automotive pundits, who think primarily what we're seeing is yet another expansion of the ever-growing sport/utility vehicle category. What started with the PT Cruiser and minivan/SUV crossovers like the Lexus RX 300 and Acura MDX is again expanding to encompass luxury sport wagons.

``We're sort of losing all idea of what segments are-the boundaries are very fluid,'' says automotive analyst David Cole, president of the Center for Automotive Research. With sports tourers, automakers are blending minivans, sedans and SUVs into yet another crossover iteration.

``Normally we think of crossovers as being between two segments, and this may be between three,'' says Cole.

General Motors' North America chairman Bob Lutz, who was part of the Chrysler team that created some of the aforementioned segment busters, also questions whether the new vehicles qualify for new segment status.

``They are not a new category, but just a blend of minivans and sport/utility vehicles,'' says Lutz. ``The market is now full of every type of possible crossovers and I would be surprised if anyone will say `Wow, this is exactly the type of vehicle I had been looking for' as it happened with the first minivans and the first ...