Editing SUV (section)

=== 1980s to 1990s ===
{{multiple image
| direction = vertical
| width= 220
| image1 = 1985 Jeep Cherokee (14930366019) (cropped).jpg
| caption1 = 1985 [[Jeep Cherokee (XJ)#1984–1996|Jeep Cherokee (XJ)]]
| image2 = 95-98 Ford Explorer.jpg
| caption2 = 1994–2001 [[Ford Explorer]]
}}

The compact-sized 1984 [[Jeep Cherokee (XJ)]] is often credited as the first SUV in the modern understanding of the term.{{sfn|Bradsher|2002|page=40}} The use of unibody construction was unique at the time for a four-wheel drive and also reduced the weight of the new Cherokee. It also appealed to urban families due to having a more compact size (compared to the full-size Wagoneer and previous generation Cherokee SJ models) as well as a plush interior resembling a station wagon.{{sfn|Bradsher|2002|page=40}} As the new Cherokee became a major sales success, the term "sport utility vehicle" began to be used in the national press for the first time.{{sfn|Bradsher|2002|page=40}} "The advent and immediate success of AMC/Jeep's compact four-door Cherokee turned the truck industry upside down."<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=YjgfZkNUakkC&q=The+advent+and+immediate+success+of+AMC/Jeep's+compact+four-door+Cherokee+turned+the+truck+industry+upside+down |page=18|title=Toyota truck & Land Cruiser owner's bible |first=Moses |last=Ludel |year=1995 |publisher=Robert Bentley |isbn=978-0-8376-0159-5|access-date=2011-06-24}}</ref>

The U.S. [[corporate average fuel economy]] (CAFE) standard was introduced in 1975 to reduce fuel usage, but included relaxed regulations for "light trucks" to avoid businesses paying extra taxes for work vehicles. This created a loophole that manufacturers increasingly exploited since the [[1980s oil glut]] (which started an era of cheap gasoline), whereby SUVs were designed to be classified as light trucks despite their primary use as passenger vehicles to receive tax concessions and less stringent fuel economy requirements.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.tsc.berkeley.edu/newsletter/Summer05-SUVs/history.html |title=From the Battlefield to the Soccer Field|publisher=Traffic Safety Center Online Newsletter|volume=2|issue=4|date=Summer 2005|access-date=2013-01-08|url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120310182737/http://www.tsc.berkeley.edu/newsletter/Summer05-SUVs/history.html |archive-date=2012-03-10}}</ref> This enabled manufacturers to sell more profitable, larger, more polluting vehicles, instead of the smaller, less polluting, less profitable cars, that the CAFE regulations intended.

For example, the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency]] agreed to classify the new Jeep Cherokee as a light truck following lobbying from its manufacturer; the Cherokee was then marketed by the company as a passenger vehicle.{{sfn|Bradsher|2002}} This increased the SUV boom as other manufacturers introduced their own SUVs in response to the compact Cherokee taking sales from their regular cars.{{sfn|Bradsher|2002|page=41}}

In 1994 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency began classifying vehicles by "market class". For SUVs in 1994 they included three Jeep models, the Cherokee, Grand Cherokee and Wrangler. Two Ford models were the Bronco and the Explorer. Six General Motors models including the GMC Jimmy, the Yukon, and the Suburban 1500; the Chevrolet Suburban 1500, and the Blazer (1500 and S10); the Geo Tracker (Convertible or Van); and finally the Oldsmobile Bravada. Eleven Japanese models classified as SUVs were the Toyota 4Runner and Land Cruiser; the Honda Passport; the Nissan Pathfinder; the Mazda Navajo; the Mitsubishi Montero; the Isuzu Amigo, Rodeo, and Trooper; and the Suzuki Samurai and Sidekick. From Europe the three Land Rover models, the Range Rover, the Defender and the Discovery were classified as SUVs.

By late 1996 ''[[Consumers Digest]]'' magazine was calling the trend an "SUV craze",<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jIlOAQAAIAAJ&q=SUV+craze |title=SUV Craze |magazine=Consumers Digest |year=1996}}</ref> and by 1999 the U.S. sales of SUVs and light trucks for the first time exceeded sales of regular passenger cars.{{R|CCSThrg|p=2}}

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