Call them the aughts, the 2000s or the noughties, they're probably going to be remembered as an era of excess. Another ten years from now, when HD videos will appear to be shot with potatoes, we might even remember some of the biggest SUVs American companies ever made.
Right between 9/11 and the subprime housing bubble bursting, gas was sufficiently cheap and patriotism was ripe. We're not talking about buying lots of guns, flags, and Detroit-built trucks or maybe a Harley.
The Hummer belongs to that era, which they're trying to bring back, and so did the Ford Excursion. First introduced in 2000, this thing was big and proud, basically, a heavy-duty truck that had been converted to civilian use.
It also came with several super-sized engines, like a 6.8-liter V10, or the 7.3-liter and 6.0-liter turbodiesel V8s. So what if you got less than 10 miles to the gallon?
We're living those sort of times again. Tiger King strikes people as a cool guy and just last month you could buy an oil barrel, pay $1 and get some change back. Right now, it's about $20, but that's still cheaper than it's ever been.
This funky-looking rendering by wb.artist tries to imagine a Chevy rival to the Excursion. Called the Suburban HD, this is obviously based on the Silverado HD truck, but with a few styling tweaks and obvious SUV body conversion.
The normal Suburban is not exactly a compact, but this thing looks like it would dwarf it. Finding a parking spot will be difficult, but that's the price you have to pay for being a patriot.
I think the spirit of the mammoth SUV is perfectly explained in the old Simpsons joke song Canyonero: "12 yards long, 2 lanes wide, 65 tons of American pride! Canyonero! Canyonero! Top of the line in utility sports, Unexplained fires are a matter for the courts!"
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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