Automotive enthusiasts?

@Flying Pancake  
People say the Escalade will do fine on dirt roads.  
But the LR pretty much goes everywhere.  
Now I wonder if the Infiniti QX80(Infiniti vehicles are BEAUT!) or the Lexus GX 460 car capable of similar feats as the LR.
 
@kleptomage  

 
Didn’t that also get discontinued with the EXT?  
It barely looks like a truck.  
More like a raised sedan with an exposed cargo space.
 
The EXT was probably one of the most pointless vehicles in modern automotive history.

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@SeraphimDawn
 
I feel like I didn’t phrase that clearly. I’m asking if there have been other Cadillac and/or Lincoln trucks ever since they were founded.
 
@Flying Pancake
 
Yes, like the Blackwood. I feel like that doesn’t look too bad but the bed reminds me, what if someone wore a plain black top and wore striped pants?

@SeraphimDawn  
Looking at their platform-mates, those two ought to be pretty decent off road.
 
Yep, the Avalanche was discontinued in 2013 too. I’ve never heard it described as looking like a sedan before, though. The first body style always looks sci-fi-ish to me (in the same way as the Aztek), and the second just looked like someone attacked a Tahoe with a Sawzall.
 
@kleptomage  

 
Because manly men who like manly trucks also want to have ridiculously luxurious vehicles? And/or because people who want ridiculously luxurious vehicles might sometime maybe carry something, so of course they need a full size truck? I don’t get them either. If I had over the top luxury car money, instead of making a luxury car out of a truck, I’d probably rather do the opposite:  

@BarryFromMars  
Maybe the rare 1976 Cadillac Mirage?  

 
Or the 1977 Lincoln Mark V pickup.  

 
But they look custom. I’m not exactly sure whether or not they are.

@SeraphimDawn  
Oh, cool, Caddy and Lincoln “El Caminos!” I don’t know, but if they’re not factory models, maybe they’re customs built on the commercial chassis used for hearses? Or maybe they’re just really nice flower cars?

@Flying Pancake  
They look like station wagons without a cover over their cargo.

@Flying Pancake  
If I had the money to buy a luxury truck, I would buy a nice car and a cheap used truck for the few occasions when I need to haul big cargo.
 
 
@SeraphimDawn  
I wonder how wide the beds of those utility coupes are. They look long enough to carry a couch.

@kleptomage  
Maybe a small one.  
Why aren’t utility coupes a thing anymore?  
Yet hatch coupes continue to exist, albeit disappearing.

@kleptomage  
Well, yeah, but that would just make too much sense.
 
Looks like the ‘76 DeVille has a track width of 63.3 inches, so between the wheel wells there’s probably, what, 51 inches? That ought to be plenty of room for a decent sized couch.

@SeraphimDawn  
I’m not sure but the failure of the Chevrolet SSR didn’t help their cause and that’s unfortunate because I might be interested in something like a modern El Camino.
 
@Flying Pancake  
Big enough for a sheet of plywood, then. That’s about all the space one needs.

@kleptomage  
Utility coupes could have been something useful and stylish for the urban and suburban folks.

@SeraphimDawn  
My guess is that two seat cars in general just aren’t practical for most people; look how few new single cab trucks are on the road anymore. If a ute/car-truck were to be successful again, it would probably have to be something like the Subaru Baja or the Hyundai Santa Cruz:  

 
 

 
That’s pretty much how Hyundai presented this. Now if they would just get around to building the darn thing…

@Flying Pancake  
That thing looks smoking!
 
If two seat cars aren’t popular. Why are roadsters still popular?

@SeraphimDawn  
Are they? I don’t see a whole lot of them, but I’d guess that roadsters survive because they’re almost always a second car. Keep a bigger car around for day to day needs and practicality is taken care of, so the roadster can just be the fun car.

@Flying Pancake  
They generally straddle in the luxury zone.
 
With the exception of such as Mazda Miata and Honda CR-Z.
 
I like the look of Pontiac Solstice.  

@Flying Pancake  
I’d prefer it were low and long instead of tall with a short bed but that’s what people want. If Hyundai makes this Santa Cruz they will have a hard fight with the Ford Ranger coming in 2019.

@kleptomage  
Any chance Subaru or Nissan will jump into the fray?

@SeraphimDawn  
Unlikely. Subaru is busy building a three row SUV and Nissan is… well, I don’t know what Nissan is doing these days but it’s not much. They need to update their existing vehicles before they can think about making brand new models.

@kleptomage  
Are you sure they aren’t also tinkering with their WRXs? The car that defines them.

@SeraphimDawn  
The Outback is the vehicle that defines Subaru. The WRX and WRX STI are niche models.

@SeraphimDawn  
Is the CR-Z considered a roadster? I always thought that roadsters had to be convertibles.
 
Either way, them being primarily luxury cars fits what I was saying (and explains why I don’t see them often): If you can afford a two seat luxury car, then that’s definitely not your only vehicle.
 
Now that you bring roadsters up, I’m trying to think of as many as I can off the top of my head. There’s the Miata, the “Fiata,” the Corvette, Porsche has at least one, probably a couple, I think BMW still makes a Z- something or other, plus the Mini roadster, and then Jaguar has one, right? (Their ‘60s roadsters were gorgeous cars.) And of course the supercar brands all have roadsters.
 
That’s actually more than I thought there were, neat.

@kleptomage  
Damn…  
I’d feel bad for Rarity if she is ever into cars.
 

 
That is basically how I feel with the direction the auto industry is going with all this crossover craze. Every freaking vehicle looks the same.  
CONSUMERS NEED TO GET THEIR F-ING GRIP TOGETHER DAMMIT!  
They’re DESTROYING what little variety and individual personalities left in it!
 
God help us once those automated electric boxes arrive!

@kleptomage  
I’d prefer classic proportions too, but on the plus side, the Santa Cruz isn’t actually as tall as it looks:  

 
And the bed extends for when you need extra cargo room:  

 
 
@SeraphimDawn  
They’re probably doing something with the WRX/STI, especailly considering that every review I’ve seen of them has described them using some variation of the word “outdated” and consistently complains about the lack of a hatchback. Supposedly the next generation is supposed to be out around 2018 or so; here’s hoping it’s a good one.

@SeraphimDawn
 
Even the dirt’s on the line with talk of finishes that never (or rarely) get dirty. I first saw something like this in a magazine (Popular Science, I think?) about ten or eleven years back but that was more of a “Suppose we can make bathtubs that don’t get dirty” idea and isn’t it somewhat of a reality in test-run cars now? There was talk about self-driving cars in the mid 1960s posted on the cover of Popular Science Magazine and now it’s a thing, albeit more of a “driving assist” thing now and I feel like it opens up as many problems as it solves. I saw one commercial with a girl singing and she nearly rear-ends someone but nope, driving assist stops the car for her. Not commenting other than that.
 
I feel like I’m writing a joke. “A BLOO BLOO BLOO we’re losing our dirt! Oh the days when sausage was only $1 for 4 links and we could get colds!”