anti SUV ads
Out of context: Reply #32
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- mbr0
Yeah, the pot wons are bs.
But these are long overdue. SUVs are the epitome of salesmanship. It really began (or so I've read) in the late '80s when it started be become pretentious to want/desire the material things in this world, ie the BMW. Exotic car markets where tripling (see XJ220, F40 ,etc) before they hit the market. With the economic correction came political correctness and environmental awareness. Cleverly and conveniently, the big 3 decided to market the 'truck' as an environmentally sensitive vehicle. Not too hard to imagine the state ranger and other 'people of the environment' driving trucks. But not one would want just a 'truck, so they slap the luxury amenities of the beemer into an oversized truck. Viola! The SUV is born, and everyone, over time and ad campaigns, feel that they 'need' one. It doesn't take a genious to realize how successful the marketing was. The genious lies in the big 3. They already had the platforms, the engines, etc., and just slapped it together. No safety standards to worry about (it's a truck, afterall, and trucks are for 'utilitarian' work, not transporting people and families), no bumper heights to comply with (even the F40 had to do this), and no standards of performance (again, it's a truck, who cares how fast, how quickly it stops, the lateral g's, etc.).
Marketing and timing gave birth to the behemoth that is the SUV today. Thankfully it is dying (albeit a slow death) and being replaced by crossovers that actaully serve a purpose, meet standards, etc. Thank God.
So I am obviously pleased that there is a marketing push in the other way.