For automakers, larger SUV models means more profits because large SUVs are among the industry’s biggest moneymakers, rivaled only by full-size pickups, which are also getting bigger.
An Edmunds report revealed that instead of jumping on the SUV bandwagon, 42 percent of Cruze and Focus owners are choosing to stay in the passenger car segment.
While research indicates that SUVs may not be a major threat to occupants of smaller vehicles, pickups represent an outsized danger and weight imbalance may be the key factor.
BMW is recalling 33,214 of its 2009 to 2013 X5 xDrive 35d diesel SUVs because an engine idler pulley may break, which could lead to a sudden loss of power steering.
Recent crash tests of midsize SUVs by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety featured a range of problems, including structural collapse, an airbag non-deployment, hard hits to the dummy's head and an open door.
One of the nation’s most popular compact SUVs was rated “poor” in a round of tests of seven of the family vehicles to gauge their ability to protect passengers in a major crash.