Although this might be getting into an area outside the scope of the thread, it sounds to me like these guys have some psychological problems simply in how they adjust to life. IMO, one should not need (or use) a vehicle to try and inflate one's image of oneself. That's not facing reality.

 

Looks like a wanna be Jeep, which I guess is OK, they could have at least added a bit more power which I think the current model needs, the 120V/100W power outlet in the cargo area is a nice add on, wish my 16 RAV4 had it and 14 CR-V, which I completely didn't think I would need anymore but it was actually pretty useful on my old Mazda MPV and Nissan Pathfinder.

 

thanks for pre-empting.

that ... looks ... terrible.

 

Those were real BOF SUVs, you also forgot the Ford Bronco II which morphed into the Explorer and the first 2 generations of those were built off the Ranger platform - now it's just a giant Taurus wagon.It doesn't have the same credentials as the old XJ Cherokees or the first 2-3 iterations of the 4Runner, but there's guys who take the 1990s era Explorers off road, all the Ranger stuff bolts up to them. It was certainly better than the S10 Blazer.

I say the trend of CUVs/small SUVS are more for space and maybe not worrying about chains if you up to the mountains to ski. I would rather get a Subaru Forester or Outback instead of a RAV4/CR-V/et al. Nowadays, I'm finding more Chevy Traxs used in Lyft/Uber service than as rentals for places like Reno/Tahoe.

 

This is very much the case. The European influence took off when our own US companies couldn't design anything worthwhile, so they turned to their European arm to get some decent vehicles going. In doing so, we got the metrosexual Euro styling as a default. Then that style created it's own new visual trend here, which ultimately filtered over to these SUV-crossover things. If I could sum up the entire story, I'd conclude we have much more feminine vehicles on our road today thanks to our Big Three failing for decades and turning to their European counterparts for help. Now we are stuck with their influence probably for good.

 

One word = UGLY. That booty on the right = OH YEAH.

 

Although you did not define the term "feminine" in the sense of how you are using the term in an automotive manner, if you are referring to the tendency of some vehicles to appeal to women, there's a reason for that (though I generally don't believe in automotive stereotypes). With today's society and its large numbers of single parents, working women, high divorce rates, and girls and women putting off marriage and/or remaining single until much later in life, females are, in fact, now helping to make more and more of the car-buying decisions in the family, and, of course, in many cases, are buying or leasing vehicles themselves. That is a fact, not just a stereotype.....and auto companies know that. Hence, the huge emphasis on CUVs, which (even apart from stereotypes) have strongly appealed to females for years.