|
Surprise CoupeFour Doors and SUVs Getting Coupe Label
Filed under: Opinion, Sedans, SUV
Back when I was growing up (which wasn't all that long ago) automotive definitions were simple. There were coupes (which by definition meant 2 doors) sedans, wagons, and pickups. Sure, we had the early examples of what would later be known as SUVs, like the Blazer, Bronco, Cherokee and Suburban, but other than those few examples, there weren't enough of them out there to warrant their own classification, so they were kind of the stand-alone models that we pretty much just called by their proper names.
 I blame the Ford Explorer for the use and proliferation of the term "SUV." Once the Blue Oval's golden child took off, it seemed like everyone and their brother was trying to rush a copycat to market. After a while, it seemed people were more enamored of the visibility and versatility of them than the fact they were built on truck chassis, so unibody variants started popping up, some of them with even (gasp!) front-wheel drive, formerly the sole domain of economy and midsize cars.
Fast-forward to today, and now we have even more nebulous definitions, such as crossover, sport-tourer, sport-activity vehicle, and others. But the latest attempt at trying to shift definitions stretches any sense of credulity. And the worst offenders are none other than the Germans. What am I talking about, you ask? The term "coupe." I guess the Germans are no longer content to apply the term simply and rationally to two-door vehicles.
 Let's do a rundown of all the blatant violations lately. The Mercedes-Benz CLS, cavalierly designated a "coupe" to differentiate it from the more conventionally-styled E-class, on which it's based. The next case is the new BMW X6, which is really nothing more than a fastback X5, which itself tried to re-invent itself by the laughably-contrived descriptor "sport activity vehicle." If that's not enough, now there's a low-slung version of the VW Passat, the Passat CC, once again, a four-door that VW is insisting on calling a "coupe."
OK Hans and Franz, let's get something straight: Coupes are two-doors, sedans are four-doors, and SUVs have big wheels and sit high. Enough with the proliferation of increasingly meaningless descriptions for the sake of "seeming" new. Just try keeping your quality up and your prices down.
|
|