Automakers have invested a lot of money into this formerly niche space.
The COVID pandemic brought out these"animal spirits" in U.S. drivers, one industry expert said.Overlanding and off-roading are no longer hobbies of extreme thrill seekers with more Americans traversing local trails and taking their pricey sport utility vehicles and trucks with them.
Of course, there was a healthy market for these rugged SUVs before the pandemic. Proselytizers of the off-roading culture formed clubs and meetups to take their Jeep Wranglers, Toyota Land Cruisers and modified 4Runners on remote trails and deserted backwoods. Yet the pandemic inspired drivers to get out of their comfort zones and expand their horizons, literally.
Quiroga pointed to the Ford Ranger Raptor, a favorite truck of his that he called "a lot of fun" to drive. The Ranger Raptor's "beefy" foundation reinforces the front frame rails, front shock towers, rear shock brackets and suspension mounting points so it "can handle more punishing off-road conditions," according Ford. It also costs nearly 50% more than the base model, the Ranger XL, Quiroga said.
A spokesperson for Lexus said the Japanese automaker has seen high demand for both the Overtrail and Overtrail+ trims of the Lexus GX SUV, which debuted this year. The Tacoma Trailhunter grade includes new Old Man Emu 4×4 Suspension by ARB that is tuned for optimum levels of off-road control and load carrying capability.Off-roading is certainly not limited to combustion engine vehicles. Rivian, the upstart electric vehicle maker from California, highlights the off-roading chops of its vehicles in its marketing campaigns, showing consumers to new to EVs that there are zero boundaries with a zero emissions SUV or truck.
"The vehicle tells you what you to need to know about your off-road experience," he said. "There are new drives modes like snow and sand and we also added the camp mode to help level your vehicle if the campsite is not perfectly flat."The electric Hummer SUV and pickup were tested at some of the most challenging environments in the world, according to Sean Millwood of GMC marketing.
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