Car FYI

During the late 1990s, the recognition of the popularity for sport utility/crossover vehicles sparked a gold rush in the auto industry. The vehicle type’s adventurous off-roading physique, decent mechanical equipment and a design that maximizes interior space for abundant passenger comfort and cargo room evolved from being appreciated by a loyal niche to appealing to a mainstream. This growth also coincided with the luxury car category being disrupted by a vehicle known as the Hummer that became a new status icon during the turn of the century. The Hummer’s allure around the turn of the millennium encouraged brands such as Lincoln, Cadillac, BMW and Porsche to make their first forays into what would become a vibrant luxury sport utility sector. Along with these existing brands entering the luxury sport utility marketplace, one company envisioned using the category in reviving the name of an old American automotive icon. In the early 1960s, the Studebaker Corporation was struggling ...

Photo Credit: Ford Motor Company Recently demonstrated by the announcement of the limited edition Mustang Mach 1 , Ford Motor Company enjoys drawing on the vast reservoir of their past looking towards their future. For the 2021 model year, the automaker re-imagines the Bronco name for an exciting new sport utility vehicle. In 1965, Ford  was a hive of activity in motorsports as well as on the road. Fully invested in capitalizing on the instant success of their Mustang, Ford continued to find their affordable sports car was a sales darling in its first full year of production. Customers of larger vehicles were presented with an all-new Ford Galaxie as well as a reworked Country Squire wagon. Diverting from on-road to off-road, the auto company was putting the finishing touches on the release of their first compact sport utility vehicle (SUV). The Ford Bronco debuted in 1965 for the 1966 model year as something unlike anything the blue oval badge had been worn on up to this point....

Photo Credit: James Lipton for Dodge/Fiat Chrysler Automobiles When Dodge introduced the Hellcat moniker as an enhancement to the SRT version of the Challenger in 2015, the insane horsepower that erupted through the coupe’s exhaust was seen as astonishing. Shortly after the Challenger introduced the high performance variant, the Dodge Charger SRT Hellcat made use of the same 707-horsepower, supercharged HEMI V-8 engine that made the Challenger SRT Hellcat a beast. In an announcement of their 2021 product line, Dodge’s parent Fiat Chrysler Automobiles unveiled a third member of the ferocious Hellcat family based on their Durango sport utility vehicle. The 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat establishes a new performance peak for the three-row passenger vehicle lineup for the American brand. A creation that was once difficult to conceive, the appearance of the Durango SRT 392 in 2017 for the 2018 model year paved the way for this even more aggressive take on the sport utility vehicle. ...

Photo Credit: Jaguar Land Rover Today, the Land Rover brand exists in a landscape it could not have predicted back when they constructed a Centre Steer prototype meant as a rugged postwar utility vehicle. Land Rover originally developed products directed towards more practical customers envisioning their vehicles on a farm or in other off-roading environments. Of course, today’s automotive customer is now attracted to the marque’s four-wheel drive vehicles as versatile and tough while also supported by premium equipment. The metamorphosis towards a more luxurious focused Land Rover product line largely gave way to its strictly purposeful presence in recent decades with exception of one model. From 1983 to 2016, the Defender nameplate stood alone in Land Rover as a less spoiled sport utility vehicle embodying the traditions of the brand’s original models first sold in the late 1940s. The Land Rover Defender maintained a charmingly bulky shape that included a proven off-roading c...

Photo Credit: Chevrolet in Canada This year, we are seeing several new examples where the ‘sport’ portion in the term sport utility vehicle is being presented with increased grandeur. Among the super-exotic, the Bentley Bentayga has become one of the most powerful sport utility vehicles on the market generating 600 horsepower and 664 pound-feet of torque from a twin-turbocharged W-12 engine. In February, Dodge introduced a new tire-smoking Durango wearing SRT badging and producing 475-horsepower from a HEMI V-8. Besides engine performance, the latest crop of sport utility and crossover vehicles have continued to integrate agile styling as well as sharper on-road handling. Showing up to the new sport utility performance wearing its traditional bowtie, Chevrolet prepares their Rally Sport badging for a special ride on the Tahoe and Suburban. Photo Credit: Steve Fecht for Chevrolet Classified as the Rally Sport Truck or RST, the new performance appearance level is ...

Photo Credit: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US The rise of the sport utility/crossover vehicle vehicle over the past two decades has been driven primarily by one aspect; versatility. Elevated viewpoint for the driver, high ground clearance for better all-weather driving and optimized cabin space are practical characteristics for sport utility vehicles. Also, there are some less practical reasons why individuals choose these particular vehicles is to achieve a unique sense of performance. With many large, three-row crossover vehicles relying on powerful V-6 powerplants, the Dodge Durango is a remaining source for scarcer V-8 engine power. The 5.7-liter HEMI V-8 has served as the soul for the Dodge sport utility vehicle since the 2004 model year. A grunt from an eight-cylinder engine underneath the Durango's hood will be a little more forceful heading into 2018 as SRT hands have tuned-up the 7-passenger vehicle. Photo Credit: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles US For the first tim...

Photo Credit: Maserati  Spending over a century gaining a reputation for building finely-crafted sport coupes, roadsters and sedans, Italian brand Maserati is set to give rise to a new era for the 2017 model year. Giving hints at a production luxury crossover utility since 2003, Maserati formally declared their entrance into the competitive market by debuting the Levante at this year’s Geneva International Motor Show. Badged with the Italian word translating to English as “rising’, the Levante tall stature embodies principles already explored through the Quattroporte and the Ghibli (this crossover vehicle shares its platform with both sedans). Maserati’s luxury design as well as the brand’s performance properties such as a low center of gravity, 50/50 weight distribution and the company’s Skyhook adaptive suspension. Expected to arrive in Canada for this September, two versions of the new Maserati Levante can already be ordered from Maserati dealerships. According to the ...