I never said any such thing. I said consumers overall have shifted away from buying BOF SUVs and have shown they prefer unibody crossovers, and manufacturers have responded to that by shifting their product offerings away from BOF towards unibody. Thats all I've said.

I don't have an issue with BOF trucks, I just have no need for one, nor do most consumers. If you like BOF vehicles and thats what you want to buy, have at it. Just don't assume that the market is wrong for moving away from BOF SUVs simply because you like them.

RRs certainly have a reputation for being unreliable but they are very competent and respected offroad capable vehicles, and Land Rovers are used in offroad capacities all over the world.

 

Yup. I will follow you.

 

Alrighty then.

So, really whats left out there thats a BOF SUV?

There are the GM SUVs, Tahoe/Suburban/Escalade/Yukon etc, Expedition/Navigator, the Sequoia, the 4Runner, the GX and LX. Nissan Armada/Infiniti QX80, Jeep Wrangler...Is that it? Am I missing any?

The only non full-sized BOF SUVs left are the Wrangler, 4Runner & GX....am I right? The Bronco will be in there soon also...

 

G Wagen, Jimny, UAZ.

 

Forgot about the G wagon, Whats a UAZ? I assume you mean the Suzuki Jimny? Do they sell them here?

 

Jimny isnt sold here anymore, it used to be sold as Suzuki Sidekick.

UAZ is a Russian brand, they also have Lada Niva.

 

An awesome video comparing the three BOF SUVs that I actually like.

 

Exactly. BOF has its own charm which a unibody just cant match IMO. Even though i would rarely use it off road I would still buy a 4runner over anything in the same price range .There is more to a BOF SUV than just off road capability like the seating position, the overall ruggedness etc etc. There is significant market for folks who appreciate these attributes and going by how well vehicles like the 4runner & Wrangler sell i don't see that changing in the near future.

 

Im talking about vehicles in the US.

If there’s that much demand, why haven’t other carmakers brought out BOF vehicles to compete with those vehicles? Why have carmakers turned historically BOF models unibody?

 

Happy you can recognize that Have you ever owned on the body on frame model from Lexus or Toyota?

 

i posted the list from the article in the first post.

 

No. Apples and oranges......at least not in the U.S. market. Here, the GMC Jimmy was the clone of the Chevy S-10 Blazer...a smaller, truck-based SUV. The (also BOF) Suzuki Sidekick was sold here as the compact Chevy/Geo Tracker.....Geo simply being a marketing-name that was later abolished. Later, the Sidekick's name for the 2-door version was changed to Vitara...and a 4-door Grand Vitara was added.

 

I am not talking about GMC Jimmy, but Suzuki Jimny, look it up.

 

Because they would invest dollars in segments where they have the best chance of succeeding. The level of buyer engagement in the BOF segment is much higher than the typical SUV segment which makes it tougher to penetrate. The sheer level of aftermarket support, off-roading community, etc. make people very brand loyal. To build a reputation like the Wrangler or 4Runner would take years. Why do that when you can sell regular SUVs to the majority of the buyers out there.

I am a fan of old school BOF vehicles & glad Toyota is still making vehicles like the 4Runner. I haven’t had the opportunity to own one myself yet, hopefully that will change soon 😀

 

another factor...

body on frame vehicles are much more deadly in crashes not only for the BOF vehicle occupants, but also for others.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24821629

makes sense because the frame isn't designed to deform on crash, so the vehicle is essentially a battering ram. plus unibody vehicles are designed to crumple front and rear, absorbing a LOT of an impact's forces, helping to lessen injuries and death in accidents.