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> Carmakers are ‘pushing’ SUVs because a large fraction of buyers want SUVs. It's the other way around. Making SUVs desirable has been an absolutely massive m

> Carmakers are ‘pushing’ SUVs because a large fraction of buyers want SUVs. It's the other way around. Making SUVs desirable has been an absolutely massive marketing project since the '90s, to take advantage of weaker regulations on "light trucks" and bigger per-unit profit on larger vehicles.

gruez 3y ago
>Making SUVs desirable has been an absolutely massive marketing project since the '90s examples of this? If SUVs have better sight lines from being higher, people want better sight lines, and car manufacturers put that on their advertisements, is that really carmakers "pushing" SUVs or people wanting SUVs?
- 0xcde4c3db 3y ago
  As far as I know, actual features are mostly mentioned as points of differentiation from other SUVs. The overall marketing slant has primarily been emotionally-driven stuff about being bigger, tougher, more independent/adventurous, etc. than people who drive conventional passenger cars (e.g. notice the general shift in tone and emphasis in the compilation at [1]). It was a big enough trend that The Simpsons lampooned it in 1998, complete with a jingle sung by Hank Williams Jr. [2]. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYnRHiWpmc0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYnRHiWpmc0 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI_Jl5WFQkA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI_Jl5WFQkA
- r00fus 3y ago
  I rented an SUV once (I have a minivan + econobox EV) and I have to say for that week I was an asshole driver. It had better visibility for cars, but less visibility for pedestrians.
HDThoreaun 3y ago
All cars are "light trucks" these days according to CAFE rules. Even sedans
bombcar 3y ago
SUVs are exploding in popularity in Europe, too, though they do tend to be smaller there.
fvdessen 3y ago
If you compare an european style SUV with a sedan / station wagon with similar interior volume, you will notice that the SUV is shorter, and thus easier to park, offers better visibility to the driver, feels roomier, and while less aerodynamic, is actually lighter, so there’s not much increased fuel consumption. Those are reasons why consumers might prefer those types of cars.
biomcgary 3y ago
The "weaker regulations" are primarily CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) regulations, which were intended to limit gasoline usage to prevent dependency on foreign imports after the oil shock in the 1970s. EVs don't use imported fossil fuels, so CAFE regulations don't make sense. We just need to keep increasing the fraction of locally produced, renewable energy supplying the grid.
- 0xcde4c3db 3y ago
  All true, but I'm not sure that relaxing or abolishing CAFE now really moves the needle. It seems like the damage was mostly done by 2010 or so, and now SUVs are just sort of the default kind of vehicle Americans are expected to buy.

gruez 3y ago

>Making SUVs desirable has been an absolutely massive marketing project since the '90s examples of this? If SUVs have better sight lines from being higher, people want better sight lines, and car manufacturers put that on their advertisements, is that really carmakers "pushing" SUVs or people wanting SUVs?

0xcde4c3db 3y ago
As far as I know, actual features are mostly mentioned as points of differentiation from other SUVs. The overall marketing slant has primarily been emotionally-driven stuff about being bigger, tougher, more independent/adventurous, etc. than people who drive conventional passenger cars (e.g. notice the general shift in tone and emphasis in the compilation at [1]). It was a big enough trend that The Simpsons lampooned it in 1998, complete with a jingle sung by Hank Williams Jr. [2]. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYnRHiWpmc0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYnRHiWpmc0 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI_Jl5WFQkA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PI_Jl5WFQkA
r00fus 3y ago
I rented an SUV once (I have a minivan + econobox EV) and I have to say for that week I was an asshole driver. It had better visibility for cars, but less visibility for pedestrians.

HDThoreaun 3y ago

All cars are "light trucks" these days according to CAFE rules. Even sedans

bombcar 3y ago

SUVs are exploding in popularity in Europe, too, though they do tend to be smaller there.

fvdessen 3y ago

If you compare an european style SUV with a sedan / station wagon with similar interior volume, you will notice that the SUV is shorter, and thus easier to park, offers better visibility to the driver, feels roomier, and while less aerodynamic, is actually lighter, so there’s not much increased fuel consumption. Those are reasons why consumers might prefer those types of cars.

biomcgary 3y ago

The "weaker regulations" are primarily CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) regulations, which were intended to limit gasoline usage to prevent dependency on foreign imports after the oil shock in the 1970s. EVs don't use imported fossil fuels, so CAFE regulations don't make sense. We just need to keep increasing the fraction of locally produced, renewable energy supplying the grid.

0xcde4c3db 3y ago
All true, but I'm not sure that relaxing or abolishing CAFE now really moves the needle. It seems like the damage was mostly done by 2010 or so, and now SUVs are just sort of the default kind of vehicle Americans are expected to buy.