You can still buy a Subaru Outback. The infotainment is horrendous (just give me knobs!), but otherwise it's supposed to be a dependable station wagon, at a reasonable price, without too many frills. The AWD does hurt gas mileage, but has advantages in snow and dirt, and basically means that it's as capable as an SUV in all but ground clearance.

I bought a V60, one of the few remaining station wagons for sale in the US. And it is great for those with 1 or 2 kids, but, like the author implies, doesn't really work for those with 3 car seats. The only thing that has grown faster than the size of our cars is the size of our car seats.