What a counterproductive comment in a world where the average SUV is something a lot closer in qualities to a traditional car than a traditional SUV.
Ford's linup is a great example how you people harping on SUVs actively detract from the discussion. What you call the Flex, the Ecosport and the C-max doesn't really matter. They're obviously by virtue of their attributes much closer to a "car" than they are to a traditional truck-ish SUV.
Every OEM's lineup has examples of this (Honda Crosstour anyone?).
The OEMs could make these things very cheaply if they wanted, look at the Maverick, a brand new model debuting at 25k. But they don't, why?
Do you consider a Ford Flex to not be a SUV ? Thing's huge and most other example you provided are either clearly SUV or are bigger than they need to be to be a "normal" car.
The Flex is close to identical in form factor and size to a pre-oil crisis station wagon. Probably has less ground clearance too. It takes the honesty of a professional political to call it an SUV.
Are you comparing to the car market of 50 years past to justify a vehicle that is more akin to a tank than a modern regular car?
Like you say, the term itself is meaningless but it does encompass the current class of vehicles that are needlessly big, heavy, and so high of the ground that some tanks literally have better forward vision than those SUVs.
I don't really care what Americans drove 50 years ago, I care that most cars sold here (EU) are way oversized for practically no reason that the consumer cares about.
I'm comparing to pre-oil crisis land yachts because I don't want a bunch of nit picking jerks to complain that it's wider than the 1990ish county squire or caprice wagon I would have preferred to to compare it to on account of the comparable internal dimensions.
Ford's linup is a great example how you people harping on SUVs actively detract from the discussion. What you call the Flex, the Ecosport and the C-max doesn't really matter. They're obviously by virtue of their attributes much closer to a "car" than they are to a traditional truck-ish SUV.
Every OEM's lineup has examples of this (Honda Crosstour anyone?).
The OEMs could make these things very cheaply if they wanted, look at the Maverick, a brand new model debuting at 25k. But they don't, why?