Here in America, we like our steaks juicy, our tax subsidies to go to sports stadiums and our SUVs and crossovers to look as if they could venture into the wilderness and dominate the landscape at a moment’s notice.
Maybe it’s anxiety from years of being cooped up inside during the height of the global pandemic. Or maybe it’s just more automakers desperate to follow the runaway sales success at Subaru. Either way, automakers are keen to tap into this profit-pumping 21st-century version of manifest destiny.
The trend was on display at the 2023 New York International Auto Show, where the show floor was dotted with crossovers and SUVs that look rugged, tough and ready to off-road — even if the vast majority of those vehicles never will.
Body cladding, increased ride heights, maybe some all-terrain gizmos and adventurous-sounding names (TrailSport! Wilderness! Peak Edition!) were all hallmarks of an otherwise very diminished auto show in the Big Apple. This was e...
