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Whatever happened to tailgates with windows that roll down on SUV's? I'm hanging onto my '95 4-Runner with over 210,000 miles because I can't find a SUV that doesn't have what I call the "minivan hatch."
How come manufacturers stopped making tailgates on 4-wheel drive vehicles? What happened to a rear window you can roll down?
Any thoughts?  

My guess is that it's probably cheaper to manufacture a one piece "hatch gate". I don't get it, seems to hinder the UTILITY of an SUV.  

I'm not sure if there is an SUV that don't have that. I think all of them have that for safety.  

My thoughts exactly! It does take UTILITY out of SUV.  It's most disappointing to see this on real SUVs like 4Runners and Jeeps. For all the models of SUVs, and now crossovers, everything seems very cookie-cutter in design features. We've lost both the SPORT and the UTILITY in SUV.  

Those kind of windows were very common in old American station wagons of the past.

But I agree with cpr74.the main reason is probably how expensive all the mechanical parts were for that kind of tailgate.  

Spoken like someone who never owned a Chevy k5 (full size) Blazer.  The electric rear window was (and continues to be, for some) an absolute nightmare.  Forget rear exit exhaust with that setup, too, because you'll kill yourself from the CO fumes.  I drove one with a broken window motor (in the winter) from New York City to Phoenix.  I think my brain was permanently damaged, but I know this: I wouldn't ever buy another truck with one!  

I have a 95 Chevy Blazer (the small S-10 model) and it has a tail gate with a window that flips up like the hatch back doors on all the newer SUVs. I think this arrangement eliminates the electric window problem mentioned by one of the previous posters and is probably no more costly to make that a full hatchback.

In any case, I love having the tailgate because it allows me to load long oversize objects into the truck and also occasionally provides a nice seat.  Unfortunately, I think they only made these Blazers with tailgates for a couple years and then went to the totally useless hatchback.  Needless to say, I'm holding on to my old Chevy until I can find a new SUV with a proper tailgate.  Hopefully the car makers will wake up and bring these back.  If they do, I'll seriously consider buying one.