You know the feeling when you’ve worked on something for a while, and then the end result is really great? At first you’re happy with how it all turned out, and you’re looking forward to all the accolade you’ll receive. But then it dawns on you that, before long, others will probably copy your good solution because, hey, if it works why not copy it? That is what I imagine Jeep felt like when it put the finishing touches on the Mk IV Grand Cherokee.
And true to form, before long there came not one but two imitators: the Toyota Highlander and Kia Sorento. Neither car was a looker in its previous generation, so the carmakers probably thought they could do worse than to “draw inspiration” from the hot thing on the US SUV market. And so they did, taking the shape of the rear lights and the license plate opening that give the Grand Cherokee such a nice, aggressive look, simply pinched it here, expanded there and voilà, out came cars that are much more attractive then their predecessors!