Revenge of the Chelsea tractor
The SUV has finally come of age, winning the ideological battle waged against it
IT WAS a war baby. The origins of the sports-utility vehicle (SUV), as we know it today, lie in a cross-country reconnaissance vehicle commissioned by the United States Army in 1940, the winning tender for which was the legendary Willys Jeep. Since then, the rugged all-wheel-drive off-road vehicle has come a long way. It has grown in size and climbed to the top of the social ladder. But it is still at war. Nowadays, the battle isn't in Europe, Burma, Vietnam or Korea. It is fought in car showrooms and on the mean streets of the world's cities and towns.
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