Crossover sport utility vehicle are among the hot marketing vehicles on the market today , and for good intellect . They offer the drive height and capaciousness of a traditional SUV , and often have a better ride caliber and superiorfuel economy .
They ’re called crossovers because they ’re usually build up on auto ( or car - like ) platforms , nottruckplatforms – think of them as tall station patrol wagon or hatchback door . These attribute have turn out very popular with buyers . Crossovers account for almost a quarter of all vehicle sales in 2010 [ source : Koba ] .
But while crossing over have become sales drawing card fairly lately , the vehicle themselves are n’t an entirely novel melodic theme . There ’s no truly stern definition of a crossing , so many early two - bicycle andfour - bicycle - drivewagons and sport utility vehicle can fit into that category . ( For those who desire to get technical , nearly all crossover use unibody construction , while motortruck - ground SUV are build with body - on - frame construction . )
Arguably , the first crossover voter endure back to just after World War II when the company that would become Jeep , Willys - Overland Motors , released a fomite called the Jeepster . The Jeepster was a two - wheel - private road exchangeable coupe that was design to invoke to people who might be turned off by the utilitarian qualities of other Jeep fomite . The car - like vehicle did n’t sell all that well , and was discontinued after three years [ source : American Jeepster Club ] .
Another Jeep that could be conceive a crossover was the tough and popularJeep Wagoneer , which featured a place - wagon body atop a four - wheel - drive landrover frame . That elevator car was made for almost 30 years .
Skipping in the lead to the 1980s , we can discover a more lineal precursor to today ’s crossover SUVs in the AMC Eagle . suppose a typical LXXX station wagon with huge tyre and big ground headroom and you have the Eagle in a nutshell . But it also boasted all - wheel - drive , which permit the wagon to go anywhere and handle just about any weather [ source : AOL auto ] . However , the meter just was n’t correct for those kinds of vehicle – yet .
It was the 1990s that made SUVs truly democratic in America , with truck - based play utilities like the Ford Explorer became big sellers . elevator car - based vehicles like the Toyota RAV4 and the Honda CR - V ( both base on summary car ) pave the way for crossovers to become in demand . The Lexus RX300 , one of the first luxury crosswalk , prove to be a huge success as well .
As time move forward andgas priceswent skywards , the liberal , motortruck - based SUVs of the 1990s begin to fall out of party favour with emptor , many of whom had slight use for their supposed off - road abilities but liked their cargo space and twit tiptop . Now , it ’s good to say most SUVs in America are crossovers . Even the firebrand - new 2011 Ford Explorer , once a traditional sport utility mainstay , rides on the same platform as the Ford Taurus sedan .
For more information about crossover S.U.V. , follow the links on the next Thomas Nelson Page .
