General Motors plans to dispel the “soccer mom” image of its minivans in the United States by launching a new four-model range of so-called “crossover sport vans,” or CSVs. The new range is an update of GM’s current three-model minivan line with more aggressive SUV-like frontal styling, raised ride height and front foglights.
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First to be shown to journalists on Thursday were the Buick Terraza and Saturn
Relay. Chevrolet Uplander and Pontiac Montana SV6 derivatives will be unveiled
later and sales of the 2005 model year vehicles begin in autumn next year.
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Buick Terraza
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“A lot of men recognise minivans as a family necessity … but they don’t want
to drive a minivan,” GM vice chairman Bob Lutz told Reuters, adding: “Women
do feel empowered driving a sport utility rather than a minivan.”
The minivan segment, which accounts for about 1.1 million U.S. sales a year, is too big to ignore, but few drivers want to own one, GM officials reportedly said.
“It doesn’t have the minivan stigma,” Lutz told Reuters. “We have all the features that parents love about minivans but wrapped in an exterior that looks like a sport utility vehicle.”
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By GlobalDataThe news agency noted that GM’s share of the minivan market has fallen over the past few years as Honda, Toyota and Nissan have developed more competitive offerings [all largely designed in the US and built there, too].
Reuters said GM hopes sales will grow with the new minivans which will replace the current Chevrolet Venture, Pontiac Montana and the Silhouette from Oldsmobile, a brand which is being phased out.
“Really the goal here is to attain higher volume than the current van and hopefully higher margin,” Lutz told Reuters.
Reuters said GM’s minivan sales in the US are down about 8% so far this year
– last year, GM sold nearly 200,000 in the United States and Canada, far below
the capacity of about 250,000 at the Doraville, Georgia plant where they are
built.
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Saturn Relay
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The new four-model range includes versions for Buick and Saturn for the first
time.
The Relay, Saturn’s first seven-passenger vehicle, gives the brand a chance to keep customers who want a larger vehicle for their family, Jill Lajdziak, Saturn’s vice president for sales, service and marketing, told Reuters.
The news agency noted that the Relay will also be the first Saturn vehicle without plastic doors and wing panels, which some US consumers loved because they were dent resistant while others disliked the wide gaps necessary for the polymer panels as they expand and contract in hot and cold temperatures.
“The consumer today is very discerning,” Lajdziak reportedly said. “The consumer wants tight fit and finish and we can’t achieve that with polymer.”
A GM press release said the Relay will also help Saturn attract a new group of customers, since 50% of purchasers in the segment are first-time mid-van buyers.
Saturn will also target first-time buyers, especially the 40% who select an import brand. The division also expects the Relay to attract current mid-van owners who are considering moving to an SUV.
Reuters said the Buick Terraza will give GM its first minivan to compete with the Chrysler Town & Country in the growing number of minivans selling for more than $US30,000, which now represents about 24% of the market.
Buick division head Roger Adams told Reuters the Terraza will also go on sale in China, where GM currently builds and sells the GL8 minivan, in early 2005.
Like the current three-model GM minivan line, the new 2005 range shares styling and dashboard architecture with each of the four derivatives distinguished by unique nose styling and detailed variations in rear lighting, dashboard finish, interior trim and standard equipment.
Base engine is the familiar GM3500 200hp 3.5-litre V6 developing 220 lb-ft of torque, coupled to an automatic transmission with the column-mounted gear shift lever US buyers prefer.
The range features a new all-disc braking system and offers StabiliTrak – GM’s vehicle stability enhancement system or VSES – as an option.
The Versatrak all-wheel-drive system is also available, though not with VSES.
