The times have certainly changed for the sport utility market. While SUVs enjoyed tremendous sales success in recent years, the rising price of gasoline coupled with a weakened economy has driven down SUV sales more recently.

Short answer: no. Long answer: the SUV craze of the late 90's and early 21st century came into play from the perspective that they were safer and more practical.

"The day after 9/11, I began changing my habits for the better and ever since then I've looked for methods to improve fuel economy," Gerdes told LiveScience. "We all have our trigger points — mine was global security."

Autos – Classic Cars - Oldtimers 100 hi res 1800 x 1600 images