<VV> SUV configuration

[airvair]

JR,

Are you refering to the early '70's GM full-size wagons, where the
window went up into the roof and the tailgate slid under the rear floor?
That arrangement was widely refered to as the clamshell tailgate.

Or are you refering to the traditional tailgate model, where the glass
goes into the tailgate? Or maybe the traditional double-door models?

None of the above types are, IMHO, the ideal way of doing things.
Tailgates put a huge tailgate in the way of reaching in, while
double-doors have that annoying, vision-blocking pillar in the middle of
the rearview mirror. The clamshell design, while slick, just took up too
much practical space. Liftgates help, but put a huge door above you,
which is either too low for tall people or too high for short people.
Plus the wide swing-up radius can be a detriment at times.

I DO, however, like the dutch door type that the Astro (M) van
introduced a number of years ago. Double door lower, to get rid of the
tailgate, and a full-view window in a shortened liftgate arrangement.
Best compromise of all the types.

-Mark

J R Read_HML wrote:
> 
> Actually - I'd like to see a return to the clamshell opening at the rear -
> for large, long, or flat, cargo.  But since they (SUVs) now get sold as
> grocery getters, the "mom's" have won that round.
> 
> Later, JR
>