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Automotive News & Views GM News, New Models and Market Share
8509 messages, Last post on Nov 29, 2009 at 12:30 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: 62vetteefp (Nov 29, 2008 6:31 pm) I agree the SRX is a great vehicle. It never really sold well because it looks more of a station wagon than an SUV. Now the sad part is this: GM seems to be doing to Cadillac what Ford did to Lincoln. Cadillac is sharing more platforms with Chevy. The 2010 SRX will be based on the Equinox/Vue/Terrain. Why? Why not the CTS platform? Is it to save cost in the typical GM way? What's worse, Motor Trend is reporting that next Escalade will be the FIFTH Lambda.
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They are seriously going to sell a fifth Lambda? And worse yet, call it a Cadillac? I will second the opinion that Equinox was truly an awful vehicle, especially by comparison with its peers, even when it was new. There is a reason Escape has sold like crazy and the Equinox/Torrent has been a rental special since its inception. Truly one of GM's worst efforts among the vehicles still available today. Of course it came out, what, 4 or 5 years ago? So perhaps that was the last of the OLD GM. If they present this plan for the bailout and it goes ahead, I think GM will benefit tremendously. And Chevy could pick up the couple of Pontiacs that people might actually miss, like the Solstice and Vibe, which both should have been Chevys right from the beginning. The next thing on the horizon should be importing the Buicks from China to bring costs down. |
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| V6 ext cab '99 model. The seller got an Equinox that I rode in. He was getting upper 20's for mileage. I got 25.5 mpg from the 4.3 powered ext cab truck with automatic on trip home from buying it (1200 miles). Trailblazers might squeeze out 24 hwy with 2WD with 4.0 L6. I always got 23mpg hwy from my 4.3 V6 Chev Astros, so I figure with 20 year newer engine tech and a smaller engine and smaller vehicle, the trailblazer could muster 1 more mpg. | |
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Replying to: 62vetteefp (Nov 29, 2008 6:31 pm) The Suburban is an ancient replacement that is no longer needed, unless you need to carry seven passengers AND a ton of cargo AND tow a boat or something like that. That's a very niche market that not many will put up with after $5 per gallon gas (the few people I knew with Suburbans took them off the road during the spike...they couldn't afford to drive them). Name one thing the Suburban can do better than a crew-cab truck or a 7 passenger Lambda...those that don't need towing will take the Lambda, and those that do need it will go grab an F-series from Ford. The Suburban is a concept who's time has passed I'm thinking. And think what dropping it would do for GM's CAFE too. Those things are what, 10 MPG highway? May as well sell them as Hummers... |
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Replying to: torque_r (Nov 29, 2008 8:29 pm) What's worse, Motor Trend is reporting that next Escalade will be the FIFTH Lambda. Two possibilities here. One: they'll keep the platform mostly as is to save costs, completely ruin Caddy's new image of the "good" GM, and take the entire company down with a (theoretically sound) plan to cut costs without having to give up their precious brand names. Two: they'll make so many modifications to the platform to make it a worth Cadillac and that will eventually trickle down to the other brands, improving them. Assuming GM survives that long.
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Replying to: bpizzuti (Nov 30, 2008 3:01 am) GM sold 24000 full size SUV's during may, the height of the gas proce "panic". That is a lot of vehicles. They also get 20 highway. Comparing a Sub to a Lambda and the delta in yearly gas usage is $500. Seems like there are a lot of $50k buyers who would not care if they bought a sub or Exhibition since that is about 10 Lattes per month. AND if you do need to tow #8000 and carry a protected payload (8 people or stuff) they are the only way to go. Will the market be smaller? Heck yes, I switched to a Lambda, but there are a quarter million buyers out there that did not (GM took ~2% of entire vehicle market alone). |
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Replying to: bpizzuti (Nov 30, 2008 3:12 am) Actually a new architecture shared with the 9-4x "Moving SRX off Sigma onto Theta-Epsilon buys GM a better interior package relative to the vehicle footprint. It shares the new platform with the upcoming Saab 9-4x, and it's bigger than the Chevy Equinox, Pontiac Torrent (GMC Terrain), and Saturn Vue Thetas, so it's directed squarely at Lexus' hugely popular RX midsize crossovers." |
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Replying to: bpizzuti (Nov 30, 2008 3:01 am) The Suburban is a great family vehicle. I could get 17 MPG on highway trips. Around town was usually 13 MPG. That was the last of the heavy built Suburbans in 1998. The new ones are tinny by comparison. If they ever get a small diesel engine for them they will be a great all around vehicle. Especially for families that like outdoor sports. I liked my Suburban a lot better than the Excursions I talked our company into buying. A Crew Cab at best is a 6 passenger vehicle. You can get the Suburban as 9 passenger. You don't ever feel guilty about those in the second row being cramped as you do in most sedans smaller than a Town Car. I think the government alone probably keeps the Suburban factory in Mexico working 3 shifts. |
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Replying to: 62vetteefp (Nov 29, 2008 6:31 pm) |
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Replying to: bpizzuti (Nov 30, 2008 3:01 am) You haven't been to a boat ramp lately. Boaters with families most often have a Suburban/Denali/Escalade or Expedition. When gas shot up to 4.50, I traded my Suburban in on an Expedition. Saved $20k on a 1 year old loaded Expedition. That will buy a lot of gas for the Expe and our boat. If 4.50 gas is the difference between being able to afford an SUV or not, then you couldn't afford it to begin with. Yes, a truck is better to tow with, but we often will have 6-7 people in the Expedition while towing the boat to the lake. Can't do that with a p/u and Lambda type SUV and the Lambda's can't tow 4500 pounds plus 6-7 people and gear safely. The Expedition/Suburban SUVs can. Plus it tows our 26' travel trailer that weighs 6,000lbs. Still a lot of RVs on the road regardless of what you read in the paper. Plus millions of boat still being used. The lakes we visited this summer were always busy. I agree the Suburban is a niche type vehicle, it's still a big enough niche to be profitable. GM/Ford just can't bank on those sales to bail them out.
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