When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
A frame shouldn't rule out being a crossover. The Jeep Wagoneer is regarded as a cross over, and it has a full frame, and had one when it was introduced back in 1963.
That is not right. Both the original and current Wagoneers are classified as SUVs, not crossovers. The original SJ, initially released in 1963, is widely regarded as the originator of the “Luxury SUV” segment, much like how the Lexus RX kicked off the “Luxury Crossover” segment when it was introduced 35 years later.
SUV=truck-based, full frame, almost always body-on-frame*
Crossover=car-based, unibody, no traditional ladder frame
The term “Crossover” was literally invented to describe tall car-based vehicles that resemble SUVs but aren’t.
*The XJ Jeep Cherokee is not a crossover despite being unibody. This is because it has a full ladder frame integrated into the unibody—a very unique design at the time—therefore making it an SUV.
That is not right. Both the original and current Wagoneers are classified as SUVs, not crossovers.
SUV=truck-based, full frame, almost always body-on-frame*
...
The term “Crossover” was literally invented to describe tall car-based vehicles that resemble SUVs but aren’t.
I think we need a new thread on this.
I'm trying to remember the early crossovers.
The AMC Eagles were the only four-wheel drive passenger cars produced in the United States at the time.[4] All models featured "passenger-car comfort, plus 4WD security for all-weather security."[5] Marketing materials of the time refer to the Eagle as a "vehicle," "automobile," "car," or “sport machine.”[6] Although the description was not in use at the time, the AMC Eagle is widely recognized as the first crossover vehicle.[7][8][9]
A frame shouldn't rule out being a crossover. The Jeep Wagoneer is regarded as a cross over, and it has a full frame, and had one when it was introduced back in 1963.
Most people use the term SUV and crossover interchangably. It can get quite confusing trying to differentiate the two. Example, Nissan Pathfinder if I remember correctly has been both body on frame and unibody. So is it a crossover or SUV? Depends on the year?
*The XJ Jeep Cherokee is not a crossover despite being unibody. This is because it has a full ladder frame integrated into the unibody—a very unique design at the time—therefore making it an SUV.
That type of design is still quite unusual today. The Honda Ridgeline is the only vehicle I know of that uses it.
Like it or not, the Eagle was some 15 years ahead of its time. Its pioneering efforts in 1980/81 bore fruit when the 1995 Outback debuted and became the first true mass-selling vehicle of this type. Some Audi Quattro wagons, of course, had sold in the American market before that, but not in Outback numbers.
09-02-24, 10:47 AM
