General Motors will drop the word ‘minivan’ and give the Chevrolet Venture and Pontiac Montana a different look when they are replaced for the 2005 model year, according to Automotive News.
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The trade newspaper said that GM intends to create a taller vehicle that will resemble an SUV but retain the cargo-carrying and people-carrying features of a minivan. GM insiders say the vehicle will be billed as a “crossover sport van,” or “CSV.”
Buick and Saturn will have their own versions from the 2006 model year, the report added.
Automotive News said that, with the move, GM hopes to shake an image that equates minivan owners with “soccer moms.” It also hopes to make a mark in a segment in which it has had little success over 14 years.
The paper said the front end of the new vehicles will feature a tall, prominent grille, combined with tall fenders to house the headlights. It will be several inches higher than the 2003 Venture, whose base version is 67.4 inches tall.
By comparison, Automotive News noted, the styling signature of today’s minivans is a short, sloping nose with a short, wide grille. Minivans typically have a ground clearance of about six inches.
“We think there is an opportunity to mix all of the interior flexibility of a van … with a different look on the outside that walks away from the traditional minivan look,” a GM insider told Automotive News, speaking on condition of anonymity.
All-wheel drive will continue to be available, the newspaper added.
The president of consulting firm AutoPacific, George Peterson, told Automotive News that GM is making a smart move. US minivan sales plunged 17.2% from 2000 to 2002, and Peterson says they carry a stigma.
“If you ask people about buying a vehicle in the minivan category, they will say, ‘Only if I’m forced to,’ ” he told the newspaper, adding: “If GM can believably call it something different, that may help stimulate sales interest.”
