What are Crossover Cars?

Just another inane trend in automobile land. The egregious SUV that became the automotive staple on American roads in the '90s festered to become a damning ingredient in more ways than one. Those ugly Suburbans, Escalades and Navigators peppered our roads, complete with the insolent jerks operating them. GM, Ford and Chrysler let their car lines stagnate, virtually deteriorate from updating and new designs, in favor of devoting more time to their SUV's. GM and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy because they didn't have the goods to offer people who wanted decent passenger cars.

The market for big ticket SUV's waned considerably, and the big three were way too smug thinking that silly Americans would keep wanting their big, bigger and biggest tecnho/luxo encrusted SUV's. (Remember the joke that Lincoln introduced as a pick up truck, the Blackwood!) Well, the bubble burst. Sales on those things plummeted. The Hummer died and the Excursion faded into oblivion, too. And since GM, Ford and Chrysler ignored their car lines what happened next? Bankruptcy. Except for Ford, which was on the cusp on bankruptcy. GM has been scratching and clawing to right their wrongs. If it hadn't been for Buick's huge popularity in China, that division would be dead too. Chrysler is still a joke and still has a bad reputation for quality and ghetto-grade automobiles.

Ford's once laureled Expedition is barely a blip on the screen; ditto tthe Navigator. The next wave of trendy foolishness on the automobile scene is the unlovely crossover. Here you've got two combinations of all the ugliness of a minivan and a SUV, all in one imbalanced ungainly vehicle. Crossovers offer poor visibility, a not-so-spacious interior and so-so fuel economy. Station wagons are the best bet in terms of style and function. They're still built and very popular in Europe and Asia, but the portly average American wants to putter around in their silly crossovers and SUV's.

BMW and Honda must laugh it up as they think of how dumb most Americans are for wanting those hideous crossovers. BMW builds their ugliest cars ever the X1, X3 and that hatchback GT thing. And Honda's Crosstour. BMW and Honda know these things are ugly, but silly Americans are snapping these things up. What do you expect from an American culture that still believes in god and "reality" TV shows! Dumb!

@amphibious54- While I agree with you, I have seen a few cross over vehicles that just do not make much sense. There is a new crossover thing (for lack of a better word) from Honda and Acura that looks like a hatchback SUV crossed with a mid-size sports sedan. It is a bulky, fast vehicle with high ground clearance, but it is completely incapable of driving on terrain rougher than grass. It is as if the designers were trying to find a new niche without defining it.

BMW and Nissan have released similar vehicles that I find to be ugly and impractical. The industry is calling these new vehicles sports activity coupes (although they have four doors). I honestly just do not understand what type of driver they are trying to attract. They are overpowered, underweight and have a high center of gravity. They are definitely not something that sound fun to drive.

In my opinion, crossover SUVs are more practical for the average SUV driver. They blend size, safety, sportiness, and spaciousness into a package that is still profitable for car manufacturers. They are an option for taller drivers because you still have to step into them instead of squatting down into them. They are also not as suburban as a minivan; still being capable of maneuvering the occasional rocky road or toting the family on the weekend camping trip.