How the automobile industry turned us into SUV drivers (www.cbc.ca)

submitted 1 week ago by naturalgasbad@lemmy.ca to c/worldnews@lemmy.ml

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[-] grue@lemmy.world 10 points 1 week ago

I am sure there's a real distinction

Body-on-frame with a pickup truck chassis vs. unibody construction.

[-] XeroxCool@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

That was a popular distinction maybe 20 years ago, but the line is fuzzed and functionally, the term "crossover (CUV) is dead. But, like all terms automotive, it's just marketing." Crossover" seemed friendlier to women to get them to drive tall cars. Now everything is classed as a [size] suv. Some classic suv examples were always unibody like the jeep Cherokee. Edit: I see now your other comment touches on offroad capability. So does a 2wd "suv" (by your definition) then get declassified? Does a body-on-frame tall wagon with viscous coupling awd get declassified?

And no (takes a deep breath to survive an emotional down vote onslaught), there is no legal difference between 4x4, 4wd, or awd. A manufacturer can choose any term to apply to any type of 4-wheel locomotion. Every definitive trait has some counter example that still counts because people "feel" it's good enough.

[-] Nougat@fedia.io 3 points 1 week ago

"Crossover" was essentially "minivan without sliding doors."

4x4 generally means "you have a second gear selector to choose 2wd or 4wd Hi or 4wd Lo," whether that selector is a mechanical lever or a switch.

"Full time 4wd" and AWD mean that the car is always driving all four wheels, there is no selector to switch to 2wd, and usually with the primary being front wheel drive, with a teeny driveshaft sending a small percentage of the power (like 20% or 30%) to the rear wheels (though that may change based on traction control sensor inputs).

I apologize for the length of the previous sentence.