PARIS -- General Motors Vice Chairman Robert Lutz said the automaker decided not to offer a seven-passenger SUV developed on the Theta architecture for North America.

Last month, GM unveiled the Chevrolet S3X concept at the Paris auto show, a small SUV with three rows of seats. But Lutz says it doesn't suit American tastes.

"We decided that the (S3X's) seven-passenger seating was very tight and that for all intents and purposes you would have to choose between luggage or seven seats," Lutz said. The S3X's third row of seats is designed primarily for children.

Speaking of the S3X's size and seven-passenger seating, Lutz said that by U.S. standards the S3X is small, but "Europeans would call it a medium-sized SUV" and find the tight seating arrangement acceptable.

GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. will build a seven-passenger production version of the Chevrolet S3X in Korea.

Sales are planned for Korea and Europe, beginning in 2006.

The S3X concept is based on GM s Theta vehicle architecture, as is the Chevrolet Equinox and Saturn Vue. But unlike the S3X in Paris, the Equinox and Vue have two rows of seats, seating five.