LandRange

Here in Norway, Wagons sell better than sedans! But of course SUV`s are getting more and more popular!

pocholin

I am an American citizen, so I am not trying to pun on Americans but...Americans are growing a lot, not only in height but in width as well, so they need large vehicles. I have an American friend that has to maneuver himself into the front seat of my 5 series wagon!!! How large must you be?!?!?! He drives a Nissan Murano (SUV), he mentioned that he has troubles getting into many sedans. This is a reason why SUVs continue to grow popular in the US...instead of Americans slimming down.

JayArras

There are overweight people all over the world. Nah, that's not the reason for the surge in popularity of SUVs in the U.S. The reason is that it's just a gradual progression toward the American obsession with large vehicles. In the 50's and 60's, wagons were very popular. In the 70's and 80's, people migrated to minivans because they were more versatile and could haul more people. Then SUVs and pickup trucks took off in the 90's until gas prices soared, and there was a retrenchment. Nowadays, you have crossover SUVs and lower gas prices in the U.S. People seem to always have more "stuff" that they want to haul around, so lots of American families today have either an SUV of some sort or a pickup in addition to a car. Wagons have fallen out of favor across all brands in the U.S., sad to say.

Lotus99

While I agree with the fact that the weight and size of Americans isn't the only reason for the shift to SUV's, the US is the fattest country in the world, by objective standards, so it is bound to have an impact on the purchasing habits of its consumers:

The 10 Fattest Countries In The World - Business Insider

pocholin

I think your explanation is spot on...just add the overweight fact to it

JayArras

Maybe, but your original comment was a response about SUV's. I would venture to guess that most "large people" who feel they need a larger vehicle would first migrate to a full-size sedan, which is a lot more comfortable and gets better gas mileage, before they'd buy an SUV.

pocholin

I agree, some people do move to a larger sedan. But key word in my original comment is "a", "This is a reason why SUVs continue to grow popular in the US".

Other reasons are large families, status symbol, lots of marketing campaigns, soccer moms and their family status symbol, those that live in Texas! LOL.

I lived 18 years in Texas, those guys criticize small sedans, and even small SUVs, because they are too small, "what could happen if you get hit by a large SUV or 18 wheeler?" In the US, we are used to larger than normal vehicles than the rest of the world. In Italy, a Ford Focus is considered full size while, in the US, it is considered a small size. In Mexico, a Nissan Sentra is a midsize while it is considered small here in the US. Which brings us back to the original topic, no more 5 series wagons in the US because BMW is selling the egg-like sedans called GT, with slightly larger capacity than the sedan, but much smaller than the wagon behind the sits), and SUVs are still popular :-(