When Automakers Got Weird: The Most Unconventional SUVs That Actually Made It to Market

Walk through any parking lot today and you'll see the same rounded-off crossover shapes in every color. It's hard to believe that just 20 years ago, sedans still ruled the road and SUVs were mostly snow-belt purchases. But back when manufacturers weren't sure what an SUV should be, they took real chances.

The result? A handful of truly bizarre machines that somehow made it past the drawing board and into showrooms. Here's a look at eight of the strangest.

5 cubic feet of cargo space, a built-in cooler, and even a tent accessory. Then there's the Suzuki X90, a two-seat SUV coupe that looked like something from a cartoon. Car and Driver called it a "comic-book car" and suggested the name Platypus. It had T-tops and decent off-road chops, but that 95-horsepower engine couldn't keep up with its ambition.

The GMC Envoy XUV tried to be everything at once: an SUV with a retractable roof that turned into a pickup. It worked, but the extra weight and loss of third-row seats confused buyers. It lasted just two years.

Isuzu's VehiCross looked like it escaped from a video game, with bulging fenders and vampire fangs in the grille. Love it or hate it, the thing could rally, it won the Paris-Dakar and Australian Safari. The Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet might be the most head-scratching entry: a convertible SUV with no rear doors and a body that flexed over bumps.

" At the other extreme, the Lamborghini LM002 was a V12-powered military truck that basically invented the super-SUV concept. It had 444 horsepower and a top speed of 130 mph, absurd for 1986. The Honda Element and Nissan Juke rounded out the list with their own quirks: the Element had waterproof seats and a floor you could hose out, while the Juke looked like a frog but drove like a hot hatch.

Whether these experiments succeeded or failed, they remind us that automakers used to take risks. And honestly? We could use a little more of that spirit today.