bad co

In a move that would have seemed implausable a decade ago, General Motors have cancelled a $2 billion investment program to update their range of full-size SUVs, the staple breadwinners of the 90s. Pulling the plug on Project CXX, which was set to underpin future versions of the Escalade, Yukon and Suburban, was unanimously approved by executives, ending 15 years of vehicles that defined the brand.

“It would have been very difficult in today’s environment to spend a couple of billion dollars to do a replacement,” said Robert A. Lutz, G.M.’s vice chairman and head of product development. In a market faced with soaring fuel prices and consumer demand for more compact, more efficient cars; “reality had set in.”

But with sales of SUVs steadily falling since 2004 and the company posting an $18.8 billion loss in the first half of the year, GM are in troubled waters. Share prices have seen drops of as much as 76 percent on the year - but they are by no means alone. Ford shares are down 70 percent over the same period, while Chrysler, like GM, may also loom on bankruptcy. But it is General Motors which has suffered and will suffer most, its passenger cars sold as loss-makers and its success dependant on its line of sport-utility vehicles.

Lay-offs at GM plants are set to continue, with Janesville, the firm's oldest and most reliant on SUV production, being announced earlier this month as to close by Christmas. And if the potential merger goes ahead with flailing Chrysler, further job losses are expected, adding to the some 40,000 hourly workers already made redundant in the last three years. Hopes that a new small car could fill the production line at Janesville were dashed as GM made a committment to its Arlington plant for future developments.

GM Chairman Rich Wagoner says development of smaller cars and lower-capacity engines will be sped up, also redeclaring the company's commitment to delivering the electric-drivetrain Chevrolet Volt by 2010. Further resources are being poured into development of the new Chevrolet Malibu and its crossover entries, the Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia, as well as the continued development on hybrid systems.



source : world car fans
http://www.worldcarfans.com/9081028....full-size-suvs

thats HUGE!! escalade, yukon, suburban all the suv's we have learned to love to hate are going bye bye

should toyota look at this too and think about cutting off the sequia land cruiser and theyre rebadged counter parts

UberNoob

thats some really really bold move

so what are people going to buy when they need something to haul their RV or boat when going grocery shopping with their whole family tree?

Trexus

No, this gives Toyota an edge to take over the full size SUV market. Today in Carlsbad, CA regular gas is at $2.99/gallon and it's still going down...bring on a Lexus version of the Sequoia...

EmeraldLexuSC3

All the more reason to hang on to my Yukon.

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

Dang, regular is down to $2.35 here today!

nabbun

I just paid $2.29 per gallon.

No name gas stations FTW!

D.Jobin

iTrader: (4)

I believe its called the LX570

Lil4X

SUV prices have been artificially high for years because of their popularity. Don't look for the Chevy, Ford, and Chrysler full-size lines to be discontinued, but it is more likely they will get a face-lift every 6-8 years, once typical of pickups. Too many of these vehicles are sold to commercial users who actually put their vehicles to work and require the versatile hauling and towing capacity and the practicality of a large SUV. I'd expect the Lincoln and Escalade models to disappear, and the designer and limited editions of the standard products to be scaled back. SUV's will be going back to their roots.

OTOH, look for crossovers to bloom. These combine the sporty style and some of the capacity of a large SUV with the economy of a smaller sedan. I don't think the love affair between Americans and their "trucklets" is over yet. Elevated sightlines, passenger room and load capacity may not quite be up to the levels of the big Suburbans, but their economy, handling, parking, and versatility make them a good compromise to a hatchback or mommy van.

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

LX570 is the Land Cruiser. We have no Sequoia-equivalent Lexus. To be honest, there's no reason to have one. I rather not have Lexus clutter itself up with SUVs.

MadDawg350

Me too with hanging on to my 07 Tahoe.

Threxx

Based on what I've heard from people seemingly in the know they're not going 'bye'... they'll just remain what they are now with only minor updates until GM recovers.

GM is in serious financial trouble right now so spending 2 billion on updating large gas guzzling SUVs that wouldn't even be released to the public until years from now is just not a priority. GM is thinking short term survival, Volt, etc. Not long term improvement of a segment that seems to be waning in popularity these days, even with recovering gas prices it seems most people are in the 'once bitten' mindset and don't trust gas prices enough to go back to full sizers unless they truly need one.

UDel

Good move on GMs part, we need less giant wasteful SUVs not more even if gas prices are going down.

D.Jobin

iTrader: (4)

Was not aware they still made the Land Cruiser

bad co

Well the escalade is such a bg seller it will be probably moved to the lamba platform buick enclave, saturn outlook etc) and i dont think a tahoe is much smalle than a suburban

luxury1

I agree that GM needs to focus on survival first but the SUV market is not dead. It just needs to be reworked a bit.

Better MPG is the name of the game. The hybrid SUV is a good idea but at a large premium it is not selling the customers. If customers can get better MPG's out of these SUV's then they will keep buying them as long as they are NOT priced at a several thousand dollar premium.

Either way, the economy is not helping. Not only are people switching to more fuel efficient vehicles, they are also switching to lower priced vehicles.

Should be interesting to watch this play out but I am certain that there will be another Escalade within the next 10 years.