There are many gaps in the article.

They talk about SUVs the size of the Ford Expedition, which certainly sold well, but smaller SUVs like the Ford Explorer, Chevy Blazer and Jeep Cherokee that are more similar to the crossovers our roads are jammed with today sold even bigger number and continued to grow in popularity.

I think the number of reason is cheap fuel compared to Europe, marketing, infrastructure and norms. We don’t have old cities with narrow streets like Europe does. Our suburban homes have space for a large car. Our cars were always big.