Chrysler's Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV sales jumped 27%, while Ford's redesigned Escape SUV rose 52%.

BBC: US carmakers drive monthly sales to six-year highs

Chrysler sales were up 11 percent on strong demand for the Ram and Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV.

NPR: US Auto Sales See Big Gains In May

Chrysler also has stepped up to the technology with a clean-diesel version of the 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, its most popular SUV.

FORBES: New Cruze Isn't Your Father's Old GM Diesel -- Or The Volt

Still, for a high performance SUV like the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8, the suspension does have to be stiffer than drivers of ordinary SUVs would probably like.

CNN: Fat and fast: High-performance gets big