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Will All Wheel Drive Save the Sedan?

Car makers are adding some of the features that people love about SUVs and applying them to their smaller, squatter counterparts.

Edmunds.com says that more than 63 percent of the new vehicles sold last year were SUVs or trucks, which is no surprise to automakers who have spent the last few years slashing their small car models to line up with the market.

But they’re not ready to fully let go just yet. According to Bloomberg, automakers have a plan to save some of their dying sedan models, but it’s not exactly novel: a recent report says car makers are adding some of the features that people love about SUVs and applying them to their smaller, squatter counterparts.

One of these more sought after details is all wheel drive and if everybody wants it, then the Toyota Prius should have it, right? And the Mazda 6 and Nissan Altima, a few of the sedans that have lived to tell the tale of the great SUV craze of the 21st century.

All wheel drive and four wheel drive used to matter to only those enthusiasts who really liked to offroad -- or the casual driver who lived in a particularly slippery or snow-covered terrain. There was a time where using it came with a fuel economy penalty that most drivers didn’t find to be worth it.

But today, low gas prices make that less of a hurdle. Add that to the fact that technology has caught up a bit and, according to Toyota, there is no fuel economy penalty with its Prius. It says at 50 MPG combined, using an all-wheel-drive Prius is as -- or more -- efficient than driving most other front wheel drive vehicles.

Bloomberg says the latest effort from more mainstream carmakers and models have taken the feature from more niche and luxury sedans and attempted to democratize it. Rumor has it that Fiat Chrysler is even looking to put all wheel on its Pacifica minivan. The more the merrier, right?

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