Arguing about “which crossover came first” in a separate post, I remembered another incredibly influential vehicle of this century - the PT Cruiser.

The post about the Aztek said it was the first real American crossover of the 21st century, while acknowledging that other came from foreign makes first. I merely argued that the Escape may have beat it by a few months and was far more successful.

The OP mentioned the first American crossover - that’s my only argument (and even admitted that, technically, the Eagle was first). We never got the Rancho in the States. It also only sold 57,000 units, while the Aztek still managed to sell over 100K. I’m well aware that other “crossovers” - RAV4, Forester/Outback,…

Depending on your definition of “crossover”, the Aztek might not have been first.

I can’t find an official “first one sold” date, but the Ford Escape was launched in 2000 as well, and maybe a few months before the Aztek started (one source lists the production date as April of that year.)

Depending on your definition of “crossover”, the Aztek might not have been first.

I can’t find an official “first one sold” date, but the Ford Escape was launched in 2000 as well, and maybe a few months before the Aztek started (one source lists the production date as April of that year.) 

For everyone bitching about the SS grille (I also don’t love it), there’s the RS trim:

I loved these as a kid because they look like a Hot Wheel concept, but as I got older and learned more about them and their history, they lost their luster to me. Typical Malaise Era qualities, all style and no substance, especially when compared to the C2 and C4. I feel almost the same way about the C6, which…

I would love to replace my 2014 Grand Caravan with a new Pacifica hybrid. Yes, they’re quite a bit more expensive, but quite a bit more efficient and better equipped.

The C3 Corvette. The poster car of 1970s macho sleaze, a rolling stereotype of exposed chest hair framed by gold chains (or old white guys wearing equally-white polyester pants dragging baked-potato blondes along to the country club). Ancient chassis, smog-choked, rubber-bumpered, shoddily built American excess. The…

I sometimes notice when a show has product placement - all the cars the main characters drive are Audis or Dodges or whatever, but it rarely bothers me. Unless, however, they really force you notice the featured brands. Weirdly long “look at me” takes that promanently show features or branding, or the characters…

The aftermarket will surely cook up some kind of “display use” or “off-road use only” version of this, and will surely give something else for cops to get excited about besides blue underbody LEDs and non-standard fog lights.

There’s a few people locally where I’ve seen two of the same car in the driveway, I assume for both partners or kid/parent. In just this past week I’ve saw a pair of late-model Equinoxes which, ok, you do you, but also a pair of Jeep Gladiators, and well that’s just gross.

Had to make room for a Wrangler 392.

“Reasons You Didn’t By The Car That Got Away”

Me:

That sounds like an awful lot like how my tastes evolved. I can always lean on nostalgia (so classic rock, ‘90s country, grunge) if the mood calls for it. But for anything new it takes, as you say, talent or something different to get my attention. Sure, if the thing that is “different” is good enough, it becomes…

I used to be a Country kid, and I can still get behind 80s/90s stuff like Strait, Garth, etc. But country from the last 20 years just leaves me cold. I swung the other way through grunge, then metal around the early aughts, then back through regular rock, then Christian rock/pop for a stint after I found Jesus, then…

For sure, most newer vehicles are miles ahead (no pun intended) for reliability compared to anything designed in the ‘90s. 100K miles on a ‘97 Taurus is very different than 100K on a 2017 model, besides the two vehicles being very different. Also, old vehicles with low miles tend to either be city-driven or sat for…

Vulvans didn’t have the HG problems, 3.8L Essex engines did. The 3.0L was a rather reliable cast iron lump, although some did have had gasket issues due to poor maintenance - you could see that 2nd-3rd owner vehicles with this engine probably weren't all that cared for like the Duratecs were. The bigger issue was the…

Twice the miles, but newer southern car with no rust and same amenities. For $3,500K