Yahoo Autos BMW explains the rise of SUVs and the decline of two-seaters
SUVs and crossovers have gradually replaced sedans, station wagons, minivans, coupes and sometimes even convertibles in driveways across the United States, and carmakers big and small are reworking their line-ups accordingly. This trend isn't recent, it's at least a couple of decades old, and it traces its roots to a wide array of circumstances that go far beyond the "drivers like sitting high" argument that often comes up in this debate. Autoblog sat down with Adrian van Hooydonk, the head of BMW's design department, to get his take on the shift.
"It's not easy to understand, because when you come here, to the Villa d'Este Concours d'Elegance, many of the cars displayed are two-seaters. Back then, it was perfectly normal to create an incredibly complex product with only two seats. In the not-so-distant past that was still alright. Perhaps, if you analyze each person's life, there is this period when they want just that. Then, for most people, life progresses into something where they need four doors and the ability to carry a lot of stuff," van Hooydonk told Autoblog.
This hasn't changed: folks still tend to settle down and have kids, dogs and, generally speaking, more stuff to haul around. What has changed in the past few decades, in van Hooydonk's opinion, is what motorists look for in a car when they reach this stage in their life.
