When was the SUV invented?
Sport utility vehicle
1935
The earliest examples of longer-wheelbase, civilian, wagon-type SUVs (using the term retrospectively) were truck-framed station wagons and carry-alls, to which four-wheel drive was added – first of all the 1946 Willys Jeep Station Wagon, launched a year before its 1947 Jeep Truck sibling. Though Willys sold it as a "Jeep", it wasn't offered with four-wheel drive until 1949. The all-steel GMC and Chevrolet Suburban Carryall that dated back to 1935, the 1953 International Harvester Travelall, and the 1954 Dodge (Power) Town Wagon were all large station-wagon bodied versions of light trucks that were made available with 4-wheel drive in 1956/1957.[38][39] GMC and Chevy initially only offered the 4x4 option in the form of a dealer-installed NAPCO Power-Pak aftermarket conversion kit — factory four-wheel drive only arrived in 1960.[40][38] In Britain, also from 1956, the Land Rover Series I line was expanded with a 107-inch long-wheelbase version, including a 10-seat station wagon which used very simple metal panels and bolt-together construction, intended to be used both as commercial vehicles and people-carriers.