Mercedes and Lexus are probably names that you are unlikely to associate with a utility vehicle. Buyers today are a pampered lot and the apart from power & ruggedness, the current models of "brute-utes" offer extremely generous helpings of luxury. However today's ultra-classy and ultra-comfortable Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) has a rather interesting history, dating back to the Second World War.

The concept originated in the 1930s from the US Army's need of an all-terrain, rugged vehicle that could withstand the rigors of war. Some of the requirements specified of the vehicle were - four-wheel drive, minimum standards for engine power, cross country performance & grade climbing ability, minimum ground clearance of 6-1/4 inches, a payload capacity of 600 pounds, and a weight limitation of 1300 pounds.

The first batch of 70 four-wheel drive light military cars was built by the Bantam Car Company of Pennsylvania, USA. The cars were called GPs (General Purpose Vehicles) and came to be known worldwide as Jeeps. The contract for manufacturing the vehicles, however, was awarded to Willys Overland. By the end of the war 635,000 vehicles were built and the "Jeep" name was officially registered by Willys. Willys built the first civilian jeep (CJ) in 1945, and while the company itself did not survive, the Jeep did, and new and improved models of the CJ were introduced right through the 80s.

In 1970s a number of companies including GM, Ford and Toyota introduced smaller versions of 4WD pickups which offered a lot more features than the Jeep. The primary drivers of growth in SUV sales have been the decline in the cost of gasoline to consumers and increasing global competition. Global competition has forced auto manufacturers to better understand consumer needs and build innovative products, such as SUVs, to satisfy those needs.

Since the early 1980s, the category of vehicles referred to as light trucks and vans (LTVs) has grown dramatically in USA. LTVs consist of trucks of 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or less; pickups, vans, minivans, truck-based station wagons, and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). Between 1980 and 1996, the number of vehicles in the U.S. fleet grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2 percent. LTV sales grew at a 7.8 percent (CAGR) rate and represented 34 percent of the fleet and 44 percent of new vehicle sales in 1996. During this same time period, the mix of vehicles comprising LTVs has changed, primarily due to the popularity of minivans and SUVs.

The Land Cruiser, Wrangler, Cherokee, Wagoneer, ForeRunner and a host of other American, European and Japanese utility vehicles were all designed to keep you going even when the road ended. The vehicles were used for family hauling, vacation travel, and for its towing capacity, but ruggedness still remained the historic essence of sport-utility vehicles and continued to be their fundamental appeal. Today SUVs are being used equally on city roads for daily travel, and while the power and toughness of the vehicle still remain key purchasing criteria, normal passenger-car features like ride quality, comfort, roominess and convenience are increasingly being used to differentiate brands.