By JOE YOGERST
Special Advetising Sections Writer

What do you get when you cross a sports utility vehicle and a four-door pickup? One of the hottest segments of the automotive industry. Nobody’s sure what to call them — crossovers, hybrids, lifestyle pickups or sports utility trucks (SUTs) — yet auto industry experts and the motoring press seem certain that combos are the next big thing.

“ What first seemed like a gimmick — combining two different types of vehicles — turned out to have a fair amount of practical value,” said a Cars.Com columnist Jim Flammang. “Over the past few years, two-in-one vehicles have captured considerable attention.”

Indeed, they have. According to Truck Trend magazine, the more popular models are selling at a clip of 50,000 units per year.

Ford pioneered the concept in 2001 when it launched the Explorer Sport Trac — basically nothing more than an Explorer SUV with the back roof shaved off and the cargo bay replaced by a small open flatbed. The concept was just different enough to catch the eye of the motoring press and catch fire with consumers clambering for something new.

Sport Trac ended up being named America’s “Most Appealing Compact Pickup” of 2002 by J.D. Power & Associates, the market research and consumer-polling firm. Competing automakers took note of the vehicle’s popularity and created their own versions, many of which have hit the streets in the past 12 months.

One of the first off the blocks was Chevy Avalanche, which combines attributes of the Suburban SUV and Silverado pickup. But this vehicle takes the crossover concept to an even greater extreme with a revolutionary Midgate system that allows drivers to convert from a six-passenger SUV with a five-foot cargo box to a three-passenger, full-sized pickup with an eight-foot flatbed. According to Chevy, the conversion can be accomplished in less than a minute at the touch of a few buttons and levers.

The top-of-the-range Avalanche 2500 sports a powerful 320-horsepower V8 engine, Hydra-Matic four-speed automatic transmission (with overdrive) and towing capacity of up to 12,000 pounds. But the vehicle also has plenty of including x side-impact air bags, a sunroof and satellite radio, as well as GM’s OnStar communication system and Stabilitrak vehicle stability enhancement system.

“ Even though the Avalanche looks immense, it seems considerably less gargantuan when you’re inside it,” said Flammang, adding that “passing performance is fairly exuberant. The Avalanche is easy to maneuver in the city and feels controlled on the highway.”

The Cadillac Escalade EXT monopolizes the luxury end of the crossover market. Powered by a 345-horsepower Vortec V8 engine, the EXT can beat just about any truck off the line, racing from 0 to 60 mph in a mere nine seconds.

Among its many standard and optional features are ultrasonic rear parking assist, GPS navigation system, leather seats, XM satellite radio and a rear-seat DVD player.

All of these swank extras make the EXT a force to be reckoned with in the luxury — and a prime target for thieves. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Escalade crossover was the most stolen vehicle in America last year on a per capita basis — seven to eight times more likely to be stolen than your average sedan.

The latest entrant in the crossover race is the Honda Ridgeline, which debuted in March. With a 255-horsepower V6 engine and 5,000-pound towing capability, Honda’s first entry into the truck field has loads of power and plenty of muscle to go with its snazzy styling.

Ridgeline delivers great fuel economy and comes with all sorts of features that are new to the class. First and foremost among these is a secure, lockable trunk (hidden beneath the flatbed) that can store three golf bags, a 72-quart cooler or other bulky items.

Ridgeline’s unique body architecture — an integrated steel frame grafted onto a rigid unibody — makes for a roomy cab and gives the vehicle outstanding passenger protection. Other safety features include vehicle stability assist with traction control, electronic brake assist and side-curtain air bags with rollover sensors in both front and back seats. In fact, Ridgeline is the first four-door pickup to earn a five-star safety rating for both frontal and side-impact crashes from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Loads of other pickup/SUV crossovers are on the drawing board. One of the more intriguing concepts comes from Jeep: a “flexible utility truck” based on the classic 1962 Jeep full-sized pickup. Although no launch date has been announced, the two-door Gladiator would feature an open-air canvas roof, removable doors and fold-down windshield, as well as expandable cargo bed and various storage compartments, including a lockable storage panel in front of the rear wheel.

Drawing from the line’s rich history, the Gladiator would also have a side-mounted spare tire, a front winch, full skid plates and front and rear locking differentials to complement the standard four-wheel drive. But there would also be modern high-tech features such as a built-in GPS and a 2.8-liter turbo diesel engine.

Joe Yogerst is a freelance writer based in San Diego.

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