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DETROIT — Facing a prolonged downturn in sales of full-size trucks and SUVs and the likelihood of a permanent erosion in their volume and market share, General Motors executives last May canceled the CXX program — the planned replacements for the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban and their siblings at GMC and Cadillac.
A story in Sunday's New York Times quotes GM Vice Chairman Robert Lutz, head of product development, as saying: "It would have been very difficult in today's environment to spend a couple of billion dollars to do a replacement."
The next-generation Tahoe and Suburban, along with successors to the Yukon and Escalade, were slated to begin arriving in 2011 as 2012 models, supplier sources told Inside Line. GM originally had earmarked $2 billion to completely redesign the big SUVs and retool its assembly plants to build them.
It is now unclear whether the current models, which went on sale in early 2006, will continue in production until 2011 or will be phased out earlier. GM has announced plans to close one SUV plant in Janesville, Wisconsin, consolidating SUV production in Arlington, Texas.
Through the first nine months of 2008, Tahoe sales were down 30 percent.
GM earlier this month said it would kill the midsize Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Saab 9-7X in December because of plunging sales.
GM is not alone among the Detroit-based automakers facing a sea change in buyers' vehicle preferences. Chrysler last week said it would discontinue its full-size Aspen and Durango SUVs at year-end, including just-released hybrid editions.
Inside Line says: Look for the classic truck-based sport-utility vehicle to completely vanish from the American landscape over the next 24 to 36 months. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
Humm...What are the vikings players suppost to drive now 26" wheels don't fit on the coblats very well:rlol:
A story in Sunday's New York Times quotes GM Vice Chairman Robert Lutz, head of product development, as saying: "It would have been very difficult in today's environment to spend a couple of billion dollars to do a replacement."
The next-generation Tahoe and Suburban, along with successors to the Yukon and Escalade, were slated to begin arriving in 2011 as 2012 models, supplier sources told Inside Line. GM originally had earmarked $2 billion to completely redesign the big SUVs and retool its assembly plants to build them.
It is now unclear whether the current models, which went on sale in early 2006, will continue in production until 2011 or will be phased out earlier. GM has announced plans to close one SUV plant in Janesville, Wisconsin, consolidating SUV production in Arlington, Texas.
Through the first nine months of 2008, Tahoe sales were down 30 percent.
GM earlier this month said it would kill the midsize Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Saab 9-7X in December because of plunging sales.
GM is not alone among the Detroit-based automakers facing a sea change in buyers' vehicle preferences. Chrysler last week said it would discontinue its full-size Aspen and Durango SUVs at year-end, including just-released hybrid editions.
Inside Line says: Look for the classic truck-based sport-utility vehicle to completely vanish from the American landscape over the next 24 to 36 months. — Paul Lienert, Correspondent
Humm...What are the vikings players suppost to drive now 26" wheels don't fit on the coblats very well:rlol: