They were referring to the lineage of the prototypical "family" car of its generation. The station wagon once ruled the driveways of families but as the next g

They were referring to the lineage of the prototypical "family" car of its generation. The station wagon once ruled the driveways of families but as the next generation grew up viewing wagons as "something my boring/lame/uncool parents drove" they were primed to buy whatever alternative arose. The minivan was that alternative an inherited the throne, ruling over the family market for another generation. Then the SUV, a slightly more refined take on the traditional body-on-frame 4x4 burst onto the scene in the form of the Ford Explorer and Jeep Grand Cherokee. It's plainly obvious that the SUV was handed the "family" crown somewhere around 2000-2003 by comparing the sales charts of minivans and SUVs. The dowager queen called the station wagon was effectively dead by that time. Now we're reaching the point in time when the children of the 90's, those raised in the backseat of a Ford Explorer or Honda Pilot. SUVs have softened over time as they've gone unibody and ditched any pretense of off-roading prowess but they are still a distinct category, one that is about to be ousted by the rise of the "crossover". While it's easy to argue that crossovers are still SUVs, especially when companies like Ford have relabeled SUV stalwarts as "crossovers", there are distinct differences between the SUV and the modern crossover. The crossover takes the best qualities of the SUV, the high seating position and the 5 door hatchback bodystyle and merges it with the best traits of the compact sedan. The prototypical crossovers, the Mazda CX-5, Honda CR-V, and Ford Escape are about the same size as the Ford Explorer of the 90's and early 00's. However, they share more in common with the Mazda 3, Honda Civic, and Ford Focus than they do with any larger SUV. THey bring the wise use of interior space (a CX-5 feels roomier in the backseat than a damn Tahoe), 30mpg+ efficiency, and pure FWD layout (with hacked on AWD systems hardly do anything at all, see: CR-V) which represents a sea change from the SUV in terms of design and marketing intentions. The minivan was the first "new" form factor to overthrow a design that traces its way back to vehicles like your 1935 Chevrolet Suburban. While the Suburban may have held the same market niche for 64 years, even it changed significantly in the face of the growing demand for "family" focused SUVs with the release of the GMT800 generation.