Editing Crossover SUV (section)

== History ==
{{main article|Sport utility vehicle#History|l1 = History of sport utility vehicle}}

{{Multiple image
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| image1            = 1982 AMC Eagle 4-door wagon two-tone 03.jpg
| caption1          = 1979–1987 [[AMC Eagle]]
| image2            = 1995 Toyota RAV4 (SXA11R) Cruiser wagon (2015-07-14) 01.jpg
| caption2          = 1995 [[Toyota RAV4]]
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Introduced in 1979, prior to the terms "SUV" or "crossover" being coined, the [[AMC Eagle]] is retroactively considered to be the first dedicated crossover automobile.<ref name="howstuffworks.com">{{cite web |title=Who coined the term 'crossover vehicle?' |url= https://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-models/crossover-cars/term-crossover-vehicle.htm |website=howstuffworks.com |access-date=8 December 2018 |date=13 July 2011 |archive-date=22 April 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190422072117/https://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-models/crossover-cars/term-crossover-vehicle.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.autotrader.com/car-news/amc-eagle-no-seriously-this-was-the-first-crossover-suv-265257 |title=AMC Eagle: No, Seriously, This Was the First Crossover SUV |first=Aaron |last=Gold |date=May 2017 |work=Auto Trader |access-date=5 July 2017 |archive-date=21 May 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170521111933/http://www.autotrader.com/car-news/amc-eagle-no-seriously-this-was-the-first-crossover-suv-265257 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Sherman |first=Don |title=All-Wheel-Drive Revisited: AMC's 1980 Eagle pioneered the cross-over SUV |journal=Automotive Industries |date=1 February 2001 |url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-69103689.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130501140243/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-69103689.html |url-status= dead |archive-date=1 May 2013 |access-date=19 May 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.automotivehalloffame.org/honoree/roy-lunn/ |title=Roy Lunn – Inducted 2016 |work=Automobile Hall of Fame |access-date=5 July 2017 |archive-date=13 August 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170813055433/http://www.automotivehalloffame.org/honoree/roy-lunn/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The mass-market Eagle model line was based on a [[unibody]] passenger car platform, with fully-automatic four-wheel drive and a raised ride height.<ref>{{cite magazine |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=MAEAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA90 |last=Jacobs |first=Ed |title=Passenger-car comfort, plus 4wd security for all-weather security |magazine=Popular Science |date=September 1979 |volume=215 |issue=3 |pages=90–91 |access-date=19 May 2017 |archive-date=19 February 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220219141100/https://books.google.com/books?id=MAEAAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA90 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.mustangandfords.com/news/1608-roy-lunn-inducted-into-automotive-hall-of-fame/ |title=Roy Lunn Inducted into Automotive Hall of Fame |first=Mark |last=Houlahan |work=Mustang Monthly |date=3 August 2016 |access-date=5 July 2017 |archive-date=13 August 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170813060157/http://www.mustangandfords.com/news/1608-roy-lunn-inducted-into-automotive-hall-of-fame/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Norbye |first=Jan P. |title=Half-Hour History of Four-Wheel-Drive Autos |url= https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2009/12/13/sia-flashback-half-hour-history-of-four-wheel-drive-autos/#&gid=1&pid=1 |magazine=Special Interest Autos |date=October 1980 |access-date=6 December 2018 |archive-date=6 December 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181206235013/https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2009/12/13/sia-flashback-half-hour-history-of-four-wheel-drive-autos/#&gid=1&pid=1 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Carney |first=Dan |title=AMC Eagle, the unlikely trail-blazer |url= http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20130925-the-unlikely-awd-trail-blazer |publisher=BBC |quote=1980 AMC Eagle, the first full-time all-wheel-drive passenger car to reach mass production. |access-date=6 December 2018 |archive-date=28 October 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181028174631/http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20130925-the-unlikely-awd-trail-blazer |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Flory |first=J. Kelly Jr. |title=American Cars, 1973–1980: Every Model, Year by Year |date=2012 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=9780786443529 |page=775 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=PV1uzCfmJDgC&pg=PA775 |access-date=6 December 2018 |archive-date=19 February 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220219141101/https://books.google.com/books?id=PV1uzCfmJDgC&pg=PA775 |url-status=live }}</ref> Furthermore, a writer for ''[[Motor Trend]]'' characterized the 1963 [[Studebaker Wagonaire]] as the "first crossover" because the innovative station wagon with a sliding roof "mashed up various vehicle types."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hunting |first1=Benjamin |title=The 1960–63 Studebaker Lark Wagonaire Was the First Crossover |url= https://www.motortrend.com/features/studebaker-lark-wagonaire-first-crossover/ |publisher=Motor Trend |date=17 January 2019 |access-date=30 July 2021 |archive-date=30 July 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210730194012/https://www.motortrend.com/features/studebaker-lark-wagonaire-first-crossover/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It was available only with a conventional [[Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout|rear-wheel drive]].

Others cite the [[front-wheel drive]] 1977 [[Matra Rancho]] as a slightly earlier forerunner to the modern crossover.<ref>{{cite web |title=Matra Rancho: the original crossover |date=6 March 2015 |work=The Telegraph |url= https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/classic/matra-rancho-the-original-crossover/ |access-date=19 May 2017 |archive-date=15 April 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170415064249/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/classic/matra-rancho-the-original-crossover/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Marketed as a "lifestyle" vehicle, it was not available with four-wheel drive.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Sam D. |title=Meet The Matra-Simca Rancho, The Original Crossover That Was Ahead Of Its Time |url= https://www.carscoops.com/2021/05/meet-the-matra-simca-rancho-the-original-crossover-that-was-ahead-of-its-time/ |publisher=Carscoops |access-date=18 July 2021 |date=30 May 2021 |archive-date=30 May 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210530134946/https://www.carscoops.com/2021/05/meet-the-matra-simca-rancho-the-original-crossover-that-was-ahead-of-its-time/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1981, [[American Motors Corporation]] (AMC) introduced four-wheel drive subcompact models built on the two-door [[AMC Spirit]], the "Eagle SX/4" and "Eagle Kammback".<ref name="Ernst">{{cite web|last=Ernst|first=Kurt|date=10 March 2014|title=Lost Cars of the 1980s – 1981–1982 AMC Eagle Series 50 Kammback |url= https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2014/03/10/lost-cars-of-the-1980s-1981-1982-amc-eagle-series-50-kammback/ |access-date=12 June 2021|work=Hemmings Classic Car |archive-date=14 August 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180814235741/https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2014/03/10/lost-cars-of-the-1980s-1981-1982-amc-eagle-series-50-kammback/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Glantz |first1=Russell |date=13 March 2019 |title=Two Door 4×4: 1983 AMC Eagle SX/4|url= https://barnfinds.com/two-door-4x4-1983-amc-eagle-sx-4/|access-date=12 June 2021 |work=Barn Finds |archive-date=13 June 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210613034246/https://barnfinds.com/two-door-4x4-1983-amc-eagle-sx-4/ |url-status=live}}</ref> These low-priced models joined the compact [[AMC Eagle]] line and they foreshadowed the market segment of comfortable cars with utility and foul-weather capabilities.<ref name="Ernst" /><ref>{{cite web|last1=Gardner |first1=Randy |date=3 April 2021 |title=AMC Eagle: Ten Fascinating Features on America's First Crossover |url= https://www.hotcars.com/amc-eagle-ten-fascinating-features-on-americas-first-crossover/ |access-date=12 June 2021 |work=HotCars|archive-date=13 June 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210613034249/https://www.hotcars.com/amc-eagle-ten-fascinating-features-on-americas-first-crossover/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

The first-generation Toyota RAV4, released in 1994, has been credited as the model that expanded the concept of a modern crossover.<ref name="conquered" /> The RAV4 was based on a modified platform used by the [[Toyota Corolla]] and [[Toyota Carina]].<ref name="autos.aol.com" /> At its release, Toyota in Japan used the term "4x4 vehicle" to describe the model,<ref>{{cite press release |title=Toyota Introduces the RAV4―a New-Concept 4X4 |url= https://global.toyota/en/detail/7862794 |date=10 May 1994 |access-date=17 October 2022 |website=global.toyota }}</ref> while Toyota in the US called the vehicle a "new concept SUV".<ref>{{cite magazine |date=1996-01-01 |title=1996 Toyota RAV4 |url= https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/1996-toyota-rav-4-2/ |access-date=2022-06-06 |magazine=MotorTrend}}</ref> By the early 2000s, Toyota was leading the market in its development of car-based trucks in North America with the release of other crossover models such as the [[Toyota Highlander|Highlander]] and the [[Lexus RX]].<ref name=":4" /> 

In North America, crossovers increased in popularity during the 2000s, when [[Fuel economy in automobiles#United States|fuel efficiency standards]] for light trucks, which had been stuck at {{convert|20.7|mpgus|L/100km km/L|1|abbr=out}} since 1996, moved upwards by 2005. With increasing fuel prices, traditional SUVs began to lose market share to crossovers.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Madrigal |first=Alexis C. |title=Why So Many Cars Suddenly Look Like This |url= https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/how-the-crossover-conquered-americas-automobile-market/374061/ |magazine=The Atlantic |date=2014-07-10 |access-date=2021-08-28 |archive-date=4 September 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170904110201/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/07/how-the-crossover-conquered-americas-automobile-market/374061/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In the United States {{as of|2006|lc=on}}, crossover models comprised more than 50% of the overall SUV market.<ref name="USA Today 3 May 2006" />{{update-inline|date=March 2023}} Crossovers have become increasingly popular in Europe also since the early 2010s.{{update-inline|date=March 2023}}

In the first quarter of 2023 the [[Tesla Model Y]] crossover became the best-selling vehicle in the world.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Weatherbed |first=Jess |date=2023-05-26 |title=The Tesla Model Y is now the world’s bestselling car |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/26/23738581/tesla-model-y-ev-record-world-bestselling-car-electric |access-date=2023-07-20 |website=The Verge |language=en-US}}</ref>