GM pushes new line of 'cross-dressing vans'
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GM pushes new line of 'cross-dressing vans'
Minivans take on SUV attributes to boost sales
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News
BAY HARBOR- General Motors Corp. calls its new line of minivans "crossover sport vans," but a more apt description might be "cross-dressing vans."
The Saturn Relay and Buick Terraza, along with the Chevrolet Uplander and Pontiac Montana SV6, soon to reach showrooms, are GM's latest attempt to conquer the minivan market.
The No. 1 automaker has been a perennial also-ran in the segment.
The company's first entries-the boxy Chevrolet Astro and GMC Safari of the 1980s-are now built in small volumes primarily for commercial customers.
The so-called "Dustbuster" minivans of the 1990s-Chevrolet Lumina, Oldsmobile Silhouette and Pontiac Trans Sport- drew derision for their long, pointed front ends resembling the shape of the hand-held vacuum cleaner sold by Black & Decker.
And the outgoing Pontiac Montana and Chevrolet Venture minivans have been overshadowed by market leaders Dodge Caravan, Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey.
This time around, GM is dressing its minivans in sport utility vehicle clothing by popping off the sloped nose and popping on a more SUV-like horizontal front end, along with 17-inch wheels.
But analyst Jim Hall at auto research firm AutoPacific Inc. said no matter what handle GM hangs on its new vehicles, they will still be minivans.
"They're not fooling anybody into thinking they're buying SUVs, that's for sure," Hall said. "They still have too many hard buttons they push that are minivan buttons and flattening the hood out doesn't change that. It doesn't mean they're bad, but they're not what they think they're going to be."
All the new models will have the requisite minivan sliding doors, seating for seven, a plethora of cup holders and storage compartments and more refined interiors. While the second and third row seats will fold flat, they will not collapse all the way into the floor a la Chrysler's new minivans.
The Relay and Terraza are available in front or all-wheel drive powered by a standard 200 horsepower, 3.5 liter, V-6 engine. Traction control and Stabilitrak, a vehicle stability enhancement system, will be standard on all front-wheel-drive Terrazas.
http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosins...b01-302191.htm
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News
BAY HARBOR- General Motors Corp. calls its new line of minivans "crossover sport vans," but a more apt description might be "cross-dressing vans."
The Saturn Relay and Buick Terraza, along with the Chevrolet Uplander and Pontiac Montana SV6, soon to reach showrooms, are GM's latest attempt to conquer the minivan market.
The No. 1 automaker has been a perennial also-ran in the segment.
The company's first entries-the boxy Chevrolet Astro and GMC Safari of the 1980s-are now built in small volumes primarily for commercial customers.
The so-called "Dustbuster" minivans of the 1990s-Chevrolet Lumina, Oldsmobile Silhouette and Pontiac Trans Sport- drew derision for their long, pointed front ends resembling the shape of the hand-held vacuum cleaner sold by Black & Decker.
And the outgoing Pontiac Montana and Chevrolet Venture minivans have been overshadowed by market leaders Dodge Caravan, Toyota Sienna and Honda Odyssey.
This time around, GM is dressing its minivans in sport utility vehicle clothing by popping off the sloped nose and popping on a more SUV-like horizontal front end, along with 17-inch wheels.
But analyst Jim Hall at auto research firm AutoPacific Inc. said no matter what handle GM hangs on its new vehicles, they will still be minivans.
"They're not fooling anybody into thinking they're buying SUVs, that's for sure," Hall said. "They still have too many hard buttons they push that are minivan buttons and flattening the hood out doesn't change that. It doesn't mean they're bad, but they're not what they think they're going to be."
All the new models will have the requisite minivan sliding doors, seating for seven, a plethora of cup holders and storage compartments and more refined interiors. While the second and third row seats will fold flat, they will not collapse all the way into the floor a la Chrysler's new minivans.
The Relay and Terraza are available in front or all-wheel drive powered by a standard 200 horsepower, 3.5 liter, V-6 engine. Traction control and Stabilitrak, a vehicle stability enhancement system, will be standard on all front-wheel-drive Terrazas.
http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosins...b01-302191.htm
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