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The story
A thread titled “What’s so great about SUVs?” popped up on 5ch’s Nandemo Jikkyo board. Posters pointed out that the number of new sedan models keeps shrinking year after year, that Lamborghini’s best-selling model in company history is the Urus SUV, and that Porsche’s sales are propped up by the Cayenne and Macan. Some also noted that sports car fans are increasingly skewed toward middle-aged and older men. Opinions split on design too — one camp finds streamlined, aerodynamic styling tacky, while another prefers boxy models like the Land Cruiser and Jimny — and the thread also argued over whether SUVs are just status symbols, or whether they come with a rigid hierarchy of their own.
What people said
Would the Emperor ever be caught in a Harrier?
If it's the Emperor, it's gotta be an Integra.
He'd be riding in the Century SUV, surely.
it's all geezers in their 50s and up.
An SUV isn't a sports car though.
Just get a Crown, then.
I hate this follow-the-herd mentality.
Well, of course companies sell what's popular.
So you're saying every other car has zero redeeming qualities?
Let's at least distinguish between a real off-roader (crawler) and an SUV when we talk about this.
That's just because you're broke lol
Lately 3-row SUVs have been quietly catching on as minivan substitutes too
that's the trend in the US and Europe.
About the only upcoming models worth hoping for are the Corolla and the Skyline.
Porsche's basically being kept afloat by the Cayenne and Macan too.
That streamlined, aerodynamic look is unbearably tacky.
And cars trying to look all "luxury" are super tacky too.
Aren't SUVs streamlined too, though?
So is the Jaguar 01 your idea of ideal, then?
Really? Used 86s are pretty cheap though.
Hard to believe given how big it looks from the outside.
That's because the Harrier has a short wheelbase.
The GA-K platform is terrible for interior room.
That's exactly why Mazda's SUVs, the Harrier, and the old Land Cruiser Prado are all tacky.
Streamlined styling is unnecessary, and that self-conscious, look-at-me vibe oozing out is way too tacky.
You know that try-hard feeling?
The Land Cruiser 70, the 250, the FJ, the Jimny, the G-Wagen (Gelandewagen) — those are cool.
Boxy with round headlights is what girls like best.
Still, most people think streamlined styling looks cool.
That design on the Nissan Juke is one of a kind.
I really want the new EV Juke to launch in Japan.
If it does, I'm seriously buying one.
It's only natural they're trending right now.
I'd say SUVs actually have a pretty rigid hierarchy of their own.
What would you even call that category of car?
That's a compact minivan.
Not an SUV.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
The global expansion of SUV market share has accelerated rapidly since the 2010s, and in Japan too, the dominant vehicle category is shifting from sedans to SUVs and crossovers. It’s widely known that brands historically built on sports cars — Lamborghini with the Urus, Porsche with the Cayenne and Macan — now rely on SUVs as the core of their sales. The thread’s opinions split mainly along the lines of design preference, whether SUVs function as status symbols or carry their own hierarchy, and whether sedans could ever stage a comeback. Some posters also noted that the term “SUV” originally referred to vehicles built for off-road capability, while most SUVs sold today are monocoque-bodied “crossovers” that differ from a true SUV in the strict sense. This gap between the label and the reality isn’t widely known among the general public, and it surfaced in the thread itself in comments about the market being “full of look-alike SUVs.”
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “What’s So Great About SUVs?”.
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