Body-On-Frame SUVs Gone By 2025: Toyota USA President
Are body-on-frame SUVs long for this world? Not according to Toyota USA President Jim Lentz who made the bold prediction that “By 2025, I think one can assume that most of the frame-based vehicles will be gone.”
with U.N peacekeepers in world markets, but Lentz feels that car based SUVs can handle the towing requirements that have traditionally been an advantage for truck-based SUVs, without the weight or efficiency drawbacks.
Lentz isn’t alone, with Nissan and Ford shifting their Pathfinder and Explorer models to unibody construction. Sales of the Explorer have doubled since the redesign, even with an outcry from the automotive press. Chevrolet won’t be bringing their truck-based Trailblazer to North America either, since the Traverse and Equinox have been judged to do the job adequately. Cars like the Range Rover Evoque will likely be the rule, rather than the exception, for premium SUVs going forward. On the other hand, vehicles like the Chevrolet Suburban, which are spun off of full-size truck platforms (and are extremely profitable because of that), will probably stick around for a long time.
More by Derek Kreindler
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Good one, though most won't get the reference.
more and more it looks like my 80 series land cruiser will be my last vehicle.
The BOF vs. unibody CUV debate is retarded. BOF Does Not Matter. What matters is if the vehicle has the low gear or not. And apparently even that is not all that important for the mass market. Also, Lenz is only saying that because Tundra is such a dismal failure in the marketplace. Otherwise he'd be praising the architecture made in San Antonio.
So, if I tow (and I do) I should get an HD Suburban with leather after 2025. Because all the crossovers drag their butts like a dog with worms when you try to pull anything over 6000 pounds.