You “take it” wrong. SUVs didn’t exist prior to the 80s and are relatively rare outside of the US. People get along just fine with minivans and station wagons which are far safer for other due to their lower weight and far safer for those in the car due to their lower COG.
Minivans didn’t become mainstream until the mid-late 80s, and anyway pickup trucks were common well before that. Moreover, station wagons that were popular in the 80s were huge and they guzzled gas.
