Where exactly does the “sport” come in?
Because you can take them camping?
I’d give a lot of credit to the Sierra Club for popularizing the term, when, 6 or 7 years ago, they launched a major broadside in anti-SUV campaign, calling them something like the “Joe Camel of the automobile industry.”
We did discuss this two and a half years ago, in this thread. I mentioned the 1936 Chevy Suburban Carryall.
And the Dodge Powerwagon, from who knows when
In the 1970s (1960s?) people started taking their Jeeps offroad just for the thrill of doing it. It was called “offroading”. That’s where the “sport” comes in. Of course, people were doing it well before the '60s/'70-s, but it became very popular in those decades.
RM Mentock: I stand corrected.
How is it pronounced-- “ess-you-vee” or “suhv”?
To cleops:
It is pronounced “ess-you-vee” by every American I’ve ever spoken to.
Ditto in the UK.
Not me. I’ve heard it both ways. In general, I think, suhv is used by those who do not think so highly of them. I’ll have to think about that.
The owner’s manual of my '84 Jeep Grand Wagoneer (the old, big version) calls it an “MPV”: Multipurpose Vehicle. So it’s apparently later than mid-'80s. Perhaps it originated at the begginning of the SUV craze in the early '90s when the manufacturers had to think of a more attractive term for 'em?
Damn! Beaten by Osiris!
I remember seeing the movie that summer and knowing exactly what Chunk was talking about when he called the Jeep an ORV.
Where I live, SUVs and pickups easily outnumber regular passenger vehicles. And nobody except car salesmen call them SUVs. Everyone else calls them trucks.