GM Cancels Next-Generation Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon and Escalade SUVs

It was already reported that GM had postponed the replacements for the Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon and Escalade SUVs, but now according to Bob Lutz there will not be replacement at all.

Lutz told the New York Times, “It would have been very difficult in today’s environment to spend a couple of billion dollars to do a replacement.”

The next-generation Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon and Escalade were set to arrive in 2011 as 2012 models. It is not known if the current models will continue past 2011.

GM announced plans earlier this month to kill the Chevy Trailblazer, GMC Envoy and Saab 9-7x due to slow sales. GM also announced plans to close its plant in Janesville, Wisconsin that currently produces the GMC Yukon and Chevy Suburban.

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GM Extends "Employee Pricing for Everyone" Until the End of September

GM launched the "Employee Pricing for Everyone" campaign last month to move the remaining 08' models and a few 09' models off dealer lots...well GM has extended the program until the end of September.

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GM Unveils "Xtra Fuel Economy" Versions of its Full Size Trucks and SUVs

Earlier this year GM quietly released the XFE version of the Chevy Cobalt. XFE stands for "Xtra Fuel Economy" and means that vehicles labeled with this tag feature more fuel-saving technologies to save even more gas. GM has announced today that the Cobalt XFE is going to be joined by XFE versions of the Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, Chevy Tahoe and GMC Yukon.

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2009 GMC Terrain is Going to Replace the Pontiac Torrent

Last month GM unveiled the GMC Terrain in Kuwait that is essentially a rebadged version of the Saturn Vue, which is also a rebadged version of the Opel Antara. According to reports that are supposed to be released tomorrow, the GMC Terrain is going to be sold in the US and will effectively replace the Pontiac Torrent.

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GM Halts Sales of Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia

In a significant move, GM has told dealers to temporarily stop selling the Saturn Outlook and GMC Acadia, two all-new crossovers that are immensely important to the automaker. According to a GM release:

“Based on recent learnings from our pre-production test fleet, GM has requested that dealers make two (non-safety) enhancements to all 2007 GMC Acadia and 2007 Saturn Outlook vehicles in their inventory to ensure customer satisfaction."

The company says it has not sold either of the models to retail customers yet, and it wouldn’t provide specifics about what the two fixes are. Cars.com’s Joe Wiesenfelder reviewed the new Outlook last week and found issues with the transmission and acceleration of his test vehicle. Again, we don’t know if those were the issues targeted by this stop order. 

There’s no word on when the vehicles will go on sale or if the fix can be easily completed by the dealers. Without more information, we’re hesitant to guess at the impact this will have on initial quality, but it sure won’t look good on the evening news. We’ll post an update as soon as we receive more specifics.

[Breaking! GM Issues "Stop Sale" To Dealers On Saturn Outlook And GMC Acadia, Jalopnik]

Related:  Taking on the Saturn Outlook

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GM's Crossover Conundrum

Marketers at GM are having trouble deciding what to call the automaker's newest crossovers, reports Automotive News. The cars in question include the 2007 GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook, and the 2008 Buick Enclave. Invoked to describe everything from the Chevrolet Avalanche to the Toyota Matrix, "crossover" technically indicates a vehicle that joins two different segments.

It's more than just marketing-speak: Crossover have come to refer to a unibody SUV that offers the utility and tall seating position of traditional SUVs (like the Ford Explorer or Toyota 4Runner) while retaining gas mileage and maneuverability that's closer to a car's. Cadillac calls their SRX a crossover, as do Ford and Nissan with the Edge and Murano, respectively. Honda and Toyota call their crossover vehicles SUVs – and by the looks of it, that billing hasn't hurt their popularity.

Where will the Acadia, Outlook and Enclave end up? We bet GM will eventually pick "crossover" or something like that. Most buyers, on the other hand, will probably call them SUVs.

[Crossovers: GM Can't Decide What to Call Them in Ads, Automotive News – registration required]

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