Now pundits are saying that the age of the SUV is gone, fini, finished. The latest piece of evidence is Volvo’s announcement that it is killing its XC90 SUV. Volvo had previously announced plans to “revamp” the vehicle for 2010. But the powers that be have now decided to forego the thing altogether because the company doesnt' have a hybrid powertrain to work with it.

According to Global Insight (via CNN Money), a consulting firm concerned with automotive issues and based in Waltham, Massachusetts, there are a number of auto makers who have dropped their SUV models. The list includes General Motors, which is dropping the Chevrolet TrailBlazer and GMC Envoy in 2010; and Lexus, which is cutting from its fleet the FX470 during the 2009 model year.

What’s taken over for the SUVs are the crossovers. They weigh less, offer better fuel economy, and are less intimidating.

The decline and ultimately demise of the SUV is surprisingly an expensive undertaking. For example, switching from old style SUVs, which were based on truck designs, means that companies are going to have to drop their truck engineering for more cost constrained car mechanicals. And, as is always the case, the expanded costs for the manufacturer will be passed on to us, the consumers. Pile that expense on to the cost of doing things to the vehicle that will make them more fuel efficient, and we will begin to see an addition of as much as $5,000 to the price of a vehicle.

It wasn’t that long ago when the SUV first drove into our lives and was an immediate success. That was 15 years ago and the vehicle set all sorts of records in profits for the Detroit Three. Now they are assigned to the trash bin of history, so to speak, because of a need for better fuel economy and past problems concerning safety like shredded tires and rollovers.

All of these changes means that new platforms will be used to continue various nameplates like the Ford Explorer, the Chrysler Aspen and the Dodge Durango. The Explorer will soon have a passenger car platform now used by the Ford Taurus with the transition taking place in about 2011. The Aspen and Durango will share the unibody platform used by the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Helping to rush the death of the SUV is the fact that its replacement, the crossover, is favored by consumers because it rides and handles more like a passenger car and it is a lot more lighter with better aerodynamics thus helping in fuel economy.

So, it’s 'Rest In Peace' for the SUV. We're reminded of a portion of a James Brown show when his manager comes out on stage and throws a robe over the tired out, emotionally drained Brown and starts to help him off the stage only to have Brown shed the robe and rush back to the microphone to finish the song. The SUV may be getting that robe, but will it soon shed it to reach back for the public’s popularity? In other words, will we be seeing a resurrection of yet another thought doomed piece of Americana?