By
Rebecca Heydon
April 21, 2008
It’s official: size matters in car design. Only instead of ever-bigger and brawnier gas-guzzlers, it’s the little guys who now rule the roadway. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the new Land Rover LRX. Long known for its size and off-road power, the iconic all-terrain brand is going mini (well, mini-er). Six inches shorter and almost eight inches lower than an LR2, the LRX was conceived as a premium car, designed to appeal to customers who want the benefits of a 4x4 and the presence of a larger vehicle, but don’t want to be held personally responsible for the disappearance of the ozone.
Full disclosure. I don’t have my license, I don’t recycle, and I’ve smoked more cigarettes than my lungs care to remember. Also, I’m scared of vegetarians, vegans, Bob Dole, people interested in the environment, people who use the word “green,” Leonardo DiCaprio, Vanity Fair’s “Green Issue,” farmers markets, and fresh produce in general. These are just a few of my shortcomings, which is why it struck me as odd when I was asked to explore the new eco-friendly 
From the Coupe de Ville to the all-mighty Escalade, Cadillac has been a pop culture icon ever since Jimmy Liggins’s “Cadillac Boogie” rocked the airwaves in 1948. Though indisputably rock-and-roll (Led Zeppelin anthems back their ads) and hip-hop friendly (Snoop Dogg reportedly christened his custom Caddy the ‘Snoop De Ville’), the brand’s aesthetic—all chiseled muscle and sharp angles—hasn’t emphasized sporty or compact in the past. But evolution is everything.
