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Montcalm wrote:By 2009 SUVs may be lowered to other car levels

At which point, they'd be better off discontinuing making SUVs for soccer moms and go back to building proper station wagons and minivans.

i've also heard that in 2 years Ford is going to introduce a hybrid gas/electric version of the Escape SUV. 4 wheel drive and 35 MPG. Hell, i'd buy one.

Another item in Howard Dean's favor: he promises to increase SUV mileage standards to be in line with the rest of the national road fleet.

Iceberg wrote:Another item in Howard Dean's favor: he promises to increase SUV mileage standards to be in line with the rest of the national road fleet.

gee, now that Toyota, Ford and GM are already rolling out hybrid SUV's and trucks, it seems a moot point, and the dem nd for them is growing tremendously. As usual, government beaurocrats are 2 steps behind. GASP! Could the private sector react to market demands and move faster than the govenment? What a concept!

Col. Crackpot wrote:

Iceberg wrote:Another item in Howard Dean's favor: he promises to increase SUV mileage standards to be in line with the rest of the national road fleet.

gee, now that Toyota, Ford and GM are already rolling out hybrid SUV's and trucks, it seems a moot point, and the dem nd for them is growing tremendously. As usual, government beaurocrats are 2 steps behind. GASP! Could the private sector react to market demands and move faster than the govenment? What a concept!

Well, when the government bureaucrats (nice misspelling there) currently in power are retards whose sole policy decision is "Do nothing until it's too late and blame the other side for our total inaction" (see 9/11, see also the looming budget crisis)...

Luckily for us offroaders, they haven't crippled pickup trucks yet.

Montcalm wrote:By 2009 SUVs may be lowered to other car levels

Hmmm.... do they also intend to reduce ground clearance??

I hope not, since while such a decision would make SUVs much safer, butthey need their ground clearance for the off-roading driving which they're intended for.


For those who are offended by this decision - Land Rover weren't listed among the participating automakers....

Simon H.Johansen wrote:

Montcalm wrote:By 2009 SUVs may be lowered to other car levels

Hmmm.... do they also intend to reduce ground clearance??

I hope not, since while such a decision would make SUVs much safer, butthey need their ground clearance for the off-roading driving which they're intended for.


For those who are offended by this decision - Land Rover weren't listed among the participating automakers....

Yeah sure, like you could really take a big Yukon or Suburban, or Expedition off the road without some serious modification. Take any one of those monster soccer mom utes off the roads and you'll have an over-massive SUV that bogs down to it's running boards in the muck.

GrandMasterTerwynn wrote:Yeah sure, like you could really take a big Yukon or Suburban, or Expedition off the road without some serious modification. Take any one of those monster soccer mom utes off the roads and you'll have an over-massive SUV that bogs down to it's running boards in the muck.

A Land Rover Defender, on the other hand....

Simon H.Johansen wrote:
Hmmm.... do they also intend to reduce ground clearance??

I hope not, since while such a decision would make SUVs much safer, butthey need their ground clearance for the off-roading driving which they're intended for.


For those who are offended by this decision - Land Rover weren't listed among the participating automakers....

As far as I can tell, the stupidity of insanely large, road-only SUV's is an american obsession only. In the same way European cars are smaller, in the E.U the SUV's maintain their jeep characteristics.

Colonel Olrik wrote: As far as I can tell, the stupidity of insanely large, road-only SUV's is an american obsession only. In the same way European cars are smaller, in the E.U the SUV's maintain their jeep characteristics.

Erm... what about the VW Touareg, BMW X5 and the Volvo XC90?? To me, they appear to be what off-roading enthusiasts derisively refer to as "soft-roaders".

Simon H.Johansen wrote:

Colonel Olrik wrote: As far as I can tell, the stupidity of insanely large, road-only SUV's is an american obsession only. In the same way European cars are smaller, in the E.U the SUV's maintain their jeep characteristics.

Erm... what about the VW Touareg, BMW X5 and the Volvo XC90?? To me, they appear to be what off-roading enthusiasts derisively refer to as "soft-roaders".

Yes, but all of them are more car-sized than van-sized. They're not monster vans with some Offroad capability, which seems to be the case of many american SUV's.

European luxury SUV car concept


American luxury SUV car concept

a few things:

Olrik, that is not a concept, that is a Cadillac Escalade EXT. Basicly a Suburban Chassis with Cadillac appointments.

Most SUV's in the US aren't that size. most are the size of the Toureg and under.

Col. Crackpot wrote:a few things:

Olrik, that is not a concept, that is a Cadillac Escalade EXT. Basicly a Suburban Chassis with Cadillac appointments.

I think he meant "European luxury SUV concept" as in "what the European idea of a luxury SUV is", not as in "concept car".