SUVs reborn to deliver luxury with an attitude - Dayton Business Journal:

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Once created to tackle off-road obstacles in hard-to-reachy places, sports utility vehicles have been reborn as urbanmassault vehicles. In a battle of one upsmanship wherer bigger is better and luxury is major players have emerged in a market once dominatexby Jeeps, Blazers and Broncos. Luxury car makers like , Lexus and Cadillac have been quick to join the frantic popularity ofthe SUV: Lexus introduced its LX450, whichg has since evolved to the LX470, in first produced its smaller sport utility, the QX4, in Lincoln introduced its Navigator in 1997; Mercedes first rolledd out its ML320 and ML430 in and Cadillac jumped on the band wagon with its released in November 1998.
These are not inexpensive toys. An Infinitoi SUV goes for around $37,000 while a loadedd Lexus weighs in atabout $60,000. Most luxuryg SUVs come with CD players, multiple power outlets, time and outside temperature displayon mirrors. Many come with sun roofs, heatedr seats and navigation systems standard. Buyers are dictating many of thestandared features, says Charles J. Epps, sales consultant for . "Lexux standardizes production because it is faster and morecost effective," Epps says. "They do what folkss like. Nobody wants to buy a stripped down truck and spend a fortune fixingit up. It is more cost effectivew to make them allthe same.
Lexus is so fast at changinbg production, whatever doesn't sell they drop real quick." One of the best-equippedr standard SUVs is thenew , which retailse for $46,525 and comes with four heated Bose stereo CD player, four wheel drivr that kicks in when the car senses the need and the On Star which is usually $1,400 down and $270 a year Larry Gullett, salesman for in Memphis, says the packagr is an introductory offer to give the car an immediate edge in the market -- since most people don't think when they think "rugged SUV." The plan worked. The Escaladre is an overnight succes swith Cadillac.
"It's become the fastest-sellingf car in the 96-year history of Gullett says. "It's bringing us youngef and more customersthan before." Gullett says many are tradinyg in other SUVs for Escalades, which gives Cadillac dealers a stock of Explorers, Expeditions, Suburbanws and other used vehicleas it's never had before. The Navigator, whichb ranges in price betweejn $43,685 and $48,000, has also brought in a youngeecustomer demographic, says Jimmy Grandberry, salesman with Covingtohn Pike Lincoln-Mercury. "All ages are buying Grandberry says.
"we've neve seen this much of the 25 and up Most observers are at a lost when trying to explain theSUV It's probably not the gas Most luxury SUVs range from 12-1 5 mpg in the city and 16-190 on the highway. And sales are equallhy divided between menand women. "I've noticed that the guys come and get them and the ladiews drivethem back," Epps says. It could be the Choices are greater than ever as SUVs are beingt introduced in both larger and smaller Ford has just come out with the which brags that it is even large rthan Chevrolet's Suburban. "It's only two inchez longer," says John Stonecipher, managerr of Gwatney Chevrolet Oldsmobile and Isuzuin Memphis.
"That'ss more of a marketing ploy than anything. The 2000 Suburbab is going to be bigger with a wholw different body style and a new On the other end ofthe spectrum, dealers like Toyotaw and Honda are coming out with smallert SUVs like the RAV-4 and the CRV, The Infiniti is one of the only luxury dealersd not to produce a full-size SUV. "Wr think this size has a more commonsense approach," says Robert Infiniti of Memphis' sales manager. "Many people feel the full-siz e SUVs are not as user friendly as they feel when they firstdrive them." And not all of the full-sizse SUVs have the third seat, including the Cadillacc Escalade.