In the US there are different safety and fuel economy standards for different classes of vehicles. The traditional SUV is built on a light truck frame and is classified as a light truck, so it does not need to meet the same safety and fuel economy standards that would be required of a sedan. It gets a bit fuzzier when you start to talk about 'crossover' vehicles, which are usually SUV-style vehicles built on sedan frames. The short version is that light truck standards assume things like pickup trucks used on farms or construction sites and not soccer moms hauling three kids and groceries.
evgen|4 years ago