Chapter 2- Some Sport, No Utility: The modern SUV
The X6 was marketed as a sports activity coupé (SAC) by BMW, referencing its sloping rear roof design, and boy o boy did it work. 13 years later, practically every major auto manufacturer has a coupe SUV in some form or segment. But again, if you think about it, the X6 wasn’t the first to try something like this. Many people today admit that the Aztek was a pioneer in the crossover segment before it was even a thing, a product of meticulous R&D by GM’s top brass to create the vehicle of the future and coincidently was also one of the biggest financial blunders for the company despite its exceptional scores in Consumer Satisfaction Index. The sloping roofline combined with its bold attempt to cross the segment barrier is probably what inspired BMW to come up with the X6, I guess we’ll never really know.
The roots of marrying SUV levels of ground clearance with a sleek, car-like body can be traced back to the AMC Eagle from 1980 which got a proper 4×4 drivetrain and enough ground clearance to put most modern crossovers and SUVs to shame but the idea was way ahead of its time and the Eagle was a sales disaster with a 2-year production run, making this a rare machine and perhaps a future collectible.
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