Mother, Or Father of SUVs

[NoviVespa]

This was brought up in AutoWeek magazine. Is the early 1950s Jeep Wagoneer the original SUV?

https://www.google.com/search?q=Jeep+Wagoneer&q=source%3Alife&tbm=isch#q=1951+Jeep+Wagoneer&tbm=isch&imgdii=_

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[MIS#1fan]

The Chevrolet Suburban came out in 1935 and is the longest continuous use automobile nameplate in production in the world. I think the Wagoneer is way cooler though!

[rrrr]

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Good post, Novi.

Chevy introduced the Suburban in 1935, and International Harvester started making the Travelall in 1953.

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1948 Suburban:



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1953 Travelall:

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However, I think Jeep invented the idea of a luxury SUV in 1965 with the Super Wagoneer and the 1973 Wagoneer Limited.

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By 1979 the Limited was clearly the nicest vehicle of its class.

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Speaking of the early days of SUVs...

I bought a new 3/4 ton Suburban in 1975. It had four wheel drive and the Silverado package, and I added every option available except an automatic transmission. It cost $7,700.00.

I intended to use the vehicle for hang gliding trips, and decided the TH400 automatic wasn't up to the task of hauling eight people, ten or twelve hang gliders, and all of our gear up FWD trails above 12,000' elevation. That added up to over a ton of payload, and we used to go from Albuquerque to Aspen Mountain, Telluride, Silverton in Colorado and cross country trips like Torrey Pines and the Wasatch range in Utah.

The 3/4 ton SUV was pretty much exclusive to GM until Ford started making the Excursion in 2000. I have a 2001 Excursion that has just 64,000 miles on it. I use it to tow our boat and for long trips with the family. It is an awesome traveling vehicle, except for the 11 MPG fuel "economy".

Gonna hang on to it, nothing made now can replace its mission.