1. Industry History and Current Overview Since the invention of Ford's Model T, the modern automobile industry has been making automobiles affordable to everyone in the United States. The era of automobile design exploded as people began to demand more customization from their cars (the Model T was only available in black). ). This began the shift from a manufacturing-driven automobile to a more design-driven automobile. The sport utility vehicle (SUV) emerged in the 1990s based on the negative image of the minivan, which was developed throughout the 1980s on a bland, purely functional platform. . In 1996, Ford Motor Company began building the Expedition, its new full-size SUV, in Michigan. The Expedition was essentially the F-150 pickup truck (the best-selling pickup truck) with an extra set of doors and two extra rows of seats. Ford marketed the SUV at a price of thirty-six thousand dollars. The average cost of building these trucks was no more than twenty-four thousand dollars, and in the automobile industry, that represents a high profit margin. By the late 1990s, the SUV market became the most profitable in the automobile industry. The evolution towards vehicles with more aggressive styling and greater comfort has brought unexpected consequences and risks. Risks include decreased “maneuverability,” obstructed vision, and concerns about safety. Current trends in vehicle design focus on solving these problems to achieve attractive designs that showcase the best qualities of cars and trucks, as seen in all of the Land Rover's new designs. 2004 will be remembered as a pivotal year in the automotive industry. It was a year in which high gasoline prices sparked a sea change among American consumers that would eventually create significant demand for fuel-efficient vehicles. Gasoline prices of over $2.00 per gallon began to eat into family budgets, and many middle-class consumers who own gas-guzzling SUVs and pickup trucks began to wish they had vehicles that were much less expensive. expensive to use. The demand for hybrid cars (i.e. the Toyota Prius) was so high that many customers had to wait six months or more to get their car. Other automakers, including Ford and GM, saw the opportunity and brought their own brands of hybrid vehicles to the market. Ford has launched its first hybrid: a small SUV. Other fuel-efficient vehicles, such as BMW's MINI Cooper, have also benefited from growing demand. Meanwhile, sales of heavy-duty SUVs have lagged miserably, and automakers such as Chevy, Hummer and Cadillac have offered unprecedented incentives and rebates to dealers in an effort to move these vehicles, Land. Rover Range Rover has grown thanks to newly designed efficient models, as shown in the statistics below..