A vehicle that is made to do everything is created. The irony is that it will be used for almost nothing, and cost so much that one would fear escaping the wilds of one's driveway. Is this just another extravagent American accessory? Or was there a need for these vehicles?

 

I bought a 1992 Isuzu Rodeo brand new for $14k. Back in those days, there weren't many choices other than sedan or pickup truck. What minivans that existed were ugly and SUV's got about the same mileage as trucks and minivans. About 5 years later minivan fuel economy had gotten better and SUV prices had shot through the roof, but it was too late, the SUV was here for good.

 

^^^
yep people didnt want to drive the many van and i think people felt comfortable knowing they had offroad cabality even if they werent ever going to use it

 

Now those are valid points, and I totally agree. If I were to drive my non exsistant kids around I would deffinately not choose the mini van. Thankyou for the info. :D

 

The switch was made to SUVs because people wanted large heavy vehicles to replace the rear wheel drive vehicles that vanished in the mid 80's. The government pretty much made the manufacturers switch over to them and the stupid buying public fell for the switch. Now the market is so saturated with them they don't know what to do with em. This is why the xB's are such a hot item right now and also why dodge is starting all over with the rearwheel drive platforms.

 

Lack of fullsize RWD station wagons...there is your answer.

 

Exactly, it's all just an effort in reinventing and trying to disguise the station wagon

 

I got my first 4X4 in 1973, and since that time have had six Land Cruisers, two Jeep Cherokees, and a Ford Explorer. My reason for having them wasn't because they were 'in fashion' but because I needed vehicles that would go anywhere in nearly any weather while carrying a load (for my job) and also enjoyed hiking/camping in the Cascade Mountains.

I got my first Land Cruiser when my Volvo 164E sedan couldn't get me to work for emergency coverage during a snowstorm. The next morning I bought the 4X4 and never looked back.

When one lives in hilly country 'up north' one has a different view of vehicle needs than flatlanders do.

(We have hills here that don't even have names 'cause they are too insignificant, yet are taller than 'mountains' on the East coast.)

In fact, here's the view from the back of my apartment (You might guess from the fact that there are a whole bunch of trees BELOW me in the pic that I live on a hill. You'd be right.):

http://tijil.org/gallery/v/rainier01.jpg.html

 

jeep help start the trend back in the hey days

 

as you notice alot of the newer doemstic cars are RWD, and big, look at dodges cars...the magnum, and the charger. they are comming back. Im glad i got rid of my denali last year...

 

the 300c and charger aren't that big.. and they still get awesome mileage considering how much power they have!

i can't wait till i have my srt8 charger.

 

I dorve a 92 chevy blazer for the longest that thing was a trooper!

 

NO, it was a S-10 Blazer The Trooper is made by Isuzu

 

Like many trends, it has several roots. One was with the "hard core" 4x4, the military jeep. Another root was the Chevy Suburban and International Travelall, large, truck chassis "wagons" that could tow large trailers. The demise of the big wagon led to a lot of SUV sales as people had no other choice if you wanted to tow that Airstream. Then the whole soccer mom thing started, and the Escalade and H2 became the latest fashion accessory.

George

 

(We have hills here that don't even have names 'cause they are too insignificant, yet are taller than 'mountains' on the East coast.)

Hey now, don't scoff at our tiny little mountains out here. They are just much older than your mountains out west and have shrunk a lil bit..lol

Plus, our little mountains (ie, Mount Washington at "only" 6288 ft) are home to some of the most severe weather in our country. During one years time, you can expect:

100+ days with winds greater than hurricane force
100+ inches of precipitation (water equivalent)
an everage daily wind speed of 35mph with gusts reaching 231.


They are small by comparison, but pack quite a whallop out here on the "east coast".

 

I blame soccer moms

 

I just remember during the gas crisis of the late 70's watching people push their worthless Suburbans out to the road, out of gas, with a cardboard "for sale, make offer" sign on the windshield. I still feel that way about em.

 

You make an excellent point. Modern autos are pretty darned fragile. Bump a tall curb or a snowdrift with an xB and you're looking at hundreds of dollars in damage to the low-hanging plastic. Even a "cute ute" CRV or Rav4 are better suited for the real "mean streets" that we all drive. If the aftermarket would come out with shorter skirts for the front and rear of the xB I would be first in line, but they're all too busy putting LEDs in the ashtrays to make something practical.

A lot of folks seem to like 4WD or AWD for the snow, but I'll take an aircooled VW bug any day. Get all four wheels spinning/sliding with 4WD/AWD and it's really difficult to get anything hooked back up with the ground as you slide into the ditch. With the bug you just steered into the slide and the front end hooked back up like magic! You don't need AWD with 70% of the weight over the drive wheels!

The other driving force toward SUVs is the "My wife is safer in a big car" mentality. The problem is that this philosophy demands that she be in the biggest car to be safest, so everyone had to get still bigger SUVs to ensure safety. Next thing you know...



Yeah, she'll be safe in that puppy, at least until something bigger comes along.

 

Here are the answer(s):

SUV City

 

I had an Explorer before I got my xB.

I treated it like a truck, and knew it had plenty of utility, and some sport.

I raced it, I drove it like it was a Ferrari, I hit stuff, jumped medians, went on trails, and basicly beat the hell out of it.

I would love to have another one just to have some offroad fun in.