People used to really like Station Wagons.
But by the mid '80s, EPA and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), as well as styling mistakes, best embodied
by this fictional creation, the Wagon Queen Family Truckster ( a '79 Ford Country Squire, near beat to death with the Ugly Stick)
turned them into sluggish beasts with poor quality, pretty much ended Americas love affair with the Station Wagon
But there were was a new choices for 1980s
Lets look over at AMC, desperate to stay alive, and was willing to try almost anything, like making a 4WD Concord, and calling it Eagle
And the Jeep Grand Wagoneer
That really was a 1962 Jeep Wagoneer at its heart, but loaded with options. The regular Wagoneer was the new downsize platform for the '80s
These were doing better than the Renault offerings for AMC with the buying public
Big Three took notice, and improved their Truck lines that also had the Blazer and Bronco, making them less truck like and added more features and options, while Chrysler introduce the Minivan, in the form of the Dodge Caravan
And didn't do much to change their RamCharger, more utilitarian than the Ford and GM offerings.
Chrysler ending up solving their Ramcharger problem by buying AMC, that had the profitable Jeep line.
People started to like the 4WD that were fulltime capable, unlike the earlier part time 4WD systems that were not happy on dry pavement
So to avoid the SUV, best way for that goal would be to change the SUV to have to operate under the same rules as regular sedans for safety and fuel economy.
That said, the Old Wagoneers crash tested well for the era
So EPA of mileage and emissions is the best way to strike. If the Wagoneer couldn't use its 160 Hp carburetored 360 V8, but the 258 six with Renault Fuel injection tacked on, and that turns out low powered and unreliable, that's another nail in the coffin