grbeck Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 30 minutes ago, jcartwright99 said: Can people stop saying that the whole CUV/SUV crazy is going to stop overnight! It's not stopping anytime soon and if it does, it will be a very gradual shift. The Explorer (sorry Cherokee) made SUV's a popular mainstream vehicle. They came out in 1990. Think about that for a second. What were you doing 30 years ago? 30 freaking years! Sure I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that 1990 was almost 30 years ago. (And that Luke Perry was old enough to die of a stroke!) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 (edited) The 1980 AMC Eagle was more or less the first Crossover, before it was known as that. The 1984 Jeep Cherokee was more or less the first proper CUV as we know it today-it was a unibody "SUV" The 1991 Explorer made the BOF 4 door SUV popular and really set into motion what the market is today. Edited March 5, 2019 by silvrsvt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 1 hour ago, silvrsvt said: I dunno the Acadia was the flavor of the month CUV wise a few months back in my area (CNJ). I couldn’t swing a dead cat and not hit one. For what it's worth, GMC Acadia sales were down 21 percent in 2018 compared to the prior year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 (edited) 7 minutes ago, grbeck said: For what it's worth, GMC Acadia sales were down 21 percent in 2018 compared to the prior year. Crap, I'm getting it confused with the smaller Terrain...not the Acadia. Edited March 5, 2019 by silvrsvt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 15 minutes ago, silvrsvt said: Crap, I'm getting it confused with the smaller Terrain...not the Acadia. I think Terrain sales picked up after the redesign at least partially because the new Equinox is such a half-baked effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcartwright99 Posted March 5, 2019 Author Share Posted March 5, 2019 57 minutes ago, silvrsvt said: The 1980 AMC Eagle was more or less the first Crossover, before it was known as that. The 1984 Jeep Cherokee was more or less the first proper CUV as we know it today-it was a unibody "SUV" The 1991 Explorer made the BOF 4 door SUV popular and really set into motion what the market is today. I'm not sure where I read this recently (maybe here?), but someone mentioned the AMC Eagle being the historical white space vehicle of today. Think about that shape and what Ford is trying to do. Car, slightly lifted, with AWD with not a full square hatch for additional storage space. AMC Eagle, a car ahead of it's time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Lover Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 4 minutes ago, jcartwright99 said: I'm not sure where I read this recently (maybe here?), but someone mentioned the AMC Eagle being the historical white space vehicle of today. Think about that shape and what Ford is trying to do. Car, slightly lifted, with AWD with not a full square hatch for additional storage space. AMC Eagle, a car ahead of it's time! Perhaps a predictor for the success in the marketplace for yet to come white space vehicles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 The Eagle was ahead of its time, but when it debuted, it also reeked of desperation. AMC had blown its development money on the 1974 Matador coupe and 1975 1/2 AMC Pacer, both of which ultimately flopped. AMC couldn't afford to develop the equivalent of the downsized Cutlass/Regal/Malibu/LeMans, let alone a clean-sheet, front-wheel-drive family sedan. The 1980 Eagles were the result. And now we're apparently coming full circle, right back to the fall of 1979... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 The AMC Eagle was identified as the proto-CUV years back. If anything a CUV is more like cars from the 1930-40s era before 1950s when lower/wider was the mantra for car design-it went as far as it could go and removed some practicality out of the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 3 minutes ago, grbeck said: The Eagle was ahead of its time, but when it debuted, it also reeked of desperation. AMC had blown its development money on the 1974 Matador coupe and 1975 1/2 AMC Pacer, both of which ultimately flopped. AMC couldn't afford to develop the equivalent of the downsized Cutlass/Regal/Malibu/LeMans, let alone a clean-sheet, front-wheel-drive family sedan. The 1980 Eagles were the result. And now we're apparently coming full circle, right back to the fall of 1979... I find it mindboggling at how slowly cars where developed pre 1995 or so. It seemed like it took 7-10 years for a product go from concept to production. I remember watching Autoweek on PBS and following Saturn's gestation period-from 1982 til 1989 or so when the first Saturn came out when I was a kid then teenager. If car companies really want to do it, they can come out with a new product in 36-48 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 38 minutes ago, silvrsvt said: I find it mindboggling at how slowly cars where developed pre 1995 or so. It seemed like it took 7-10 years for a product go from concept to production. I remember watching Autoweek on PBS and following Saturn's gestation period-from 1982 til 1989 or so when the first Saturn came out when I was a kid then teenager. If car companies really want to do it, they can come out with a new product in 36-48 months. A car company can move quickly - if it wants to. Although, in the case of GM in the 1980s, remember that Roger Smith's infamous 1984 corporate reorganization threw GM's entire development process into chaos for a few years. Saturn and the critical W-body program were hit particularly hard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 5 hours ago, akirby said: Because they've seen the internal plans and business cases that haven't yet been made public. I get the impression that PDL types while he's thinking without completing the process. Hackett has kept the board fully informed and who knows, a lot of his plans may have originally been directves from Bill Ford and the rest of the board. PDl has yet to grasp the significance of that process. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rperez817 Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 10 minutes ago, jpd80 said: I get the impression that PDL types while he's thinking without completing the process. Hackett has kept the board fully informed and who knows, a lot of his plans may have originally been directves from Bill Ford and the rest of the board. PDl has yet to grasp the significance of that process. Well said jpd80 sir. Autoextremist is not an insider. He doesn't have knowledge of Ford's internal processes, or the true nature of what Hackett is doing to get Ford "fit" again. That's why IMO he made the mistake of thinking that growth is the "lifeblood" of Ford's business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 35 minutes ago, rperez817 said: That's why IMO he made the mistake of thinking that growth is the "lifeblood" of Ford's business. And not grasping that there are other ways to make money on transportation that aren't traditional automotive mfr stuff - like transportation as a service which encompasses connected cars, AVs and other technology. And why is the desire to move to higher margin products such a radical thing? That's exactly what Luxury mfrs have been doing for decades, and Ford has already proven they can sell $50K, $75K, $100K vehicles with Ford badges. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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