The Sport Utility Paradigm

Pardon me do you have any grey poupon?

I wrote this a while ago, but still seems relevant as people start to spend money on their loved ones where do they put it? what is purchased is a good sign of the gap between those still rebounding always in peril economically and people investing in ostentatious means remains wide. Read the article, but there is still a drive for status symbols on the high end(return of fur, bright colored and high end "casual" shirts) and utility on the low end(levi's ad campaign, productivity aps, emigration to detroit).

After WWII the jeep exploded as homage to the dedication of the troops and can do attitude of America. The jeep evolved till the 70’s at witch time they had the Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee that were unchanged for 30+ years, nothing lasts that long in cars. These were cars tested in the extreme off road courses of southern California, built to take you anywhere. The era of Jeep has faded and morphed in to the luxury of capability. You could drive up a 14ner or pick up the kids from soccer. Did the utility of the Jeep die or did we grow out of it? Hit shows like survivor man and man vs. wild are tell-tales of the rebirth of capability. Whether luxury or utility, it’s about the ease of getting things done. The stories and tricks in survivor man may be fascinating, but when was the last time anyone was trapped on a desert island. Filling a sand pit with hot rocks and food is useful tool to anyone living on the coast with a taste for cooking. Do people dream of doing or actually want the things they purchase to take them somewhere? Or is the story to tell here is the balance of overly complex with the ease of capability. Camping the desert would have been a death sentence without military training in the 50’s, now it’s a weekend trip. Printing a book was the job of an entire company of professionals from layout to printing, now its done in someone’s den.

PS. lots of fun photohunting for this. sometimes its nice to have a little decadence, otherwise the basics will do. Time travel,