Land Rover created the awareness that Utility could be upscale. This end of the market is blooming. Sports utility vehicles comprise about 1/3 of total vehicle sales, and the percentages rise each year. Few used to be full size SUVs; although success of luxury badged LX450s, Expeditions and Navigators are making the beasts more prominent.

The big advantage of the large SUVs is their power, as most of the compacts used to come only with four or six cylinder engines. At least two-thirds of SUV manufacturers offer models that top $35,000, so it is obvious that these emphasize style and comfort, and utility is a secondary capability.

Recent entries in the sport utility conjecture include such diverse companies as Infiniti, Lexus, Acura, and Mercedes. Lincoln-Mercury claims they lost 30,000 sales last year before adding the Mountaineer.

Infiniti has come on board with their QX4 upscale sports utility. It shares major details with the Pathfinder. Lexus offers a LX470 version of the re-designed Land Cruiser for their faithful, and it sold more units than any other top of the line model its first year. The Isuzu Trooper can now be had with an Acura SLX badge. Mercedes entered the market in a big way with not only a SUV, but a US plant for the first time.

Even Audi, Porsche and BMW are on the brink, and will likely emphasize performance as well as utility.

It is going to be a real fight for a few customers. Rover and GM had a head start with the variety of English luxo off-road products and the Tahoe/Yukon twins plus the Suburban. Range Rover established the high end of the off-road market, and is not taking the challenge lightly.

The on-again, off-again Dodge Ram version of the GM Suburban was thought to be dead, and they placated dealers with the Dakota based Durango, but rumors still abound.

Ford and Lincoln-Mercury have had runaway success with full size, four-door Expeditions and Navigators. There are many spy shots of a larger vehicle, apparently based on the SuperDuty trucks that is even larger than the GM Suburban.

More entries are starting to compete at the upper limits, but the top of the mountain is very narrow. GMC is intent on positioning their products further upscale, and in offering packages that distinguish them from Chevrolet. They have their eye on the $45,000 plus segment with specially outfitted Denali versions of the Yukon, but the quantities will be small. Look for the limited Neiman Marcus GMC/Sony Suburban offered for Christmas last year to set the theme and hint at styling for the future.

Cadillac and Jaguar initially opted out of the market after floating design studies to gauge interest. Now their dealers are clamoring for more variety, since many of their traditional buyers defected to other brand's utes.

GMC's Vice President, Roy Roberts had a long fight in creating the distinctive upscale products in the stingy and slow moving environment in General Motors. Now he has seen his popular products grabbed and re-badged by Cadillac as the Escalade.