GM Hopes Station wagons OOPs I Mean Crossovers Are Hits

WARREN, Mich., Dec 4, 2003; Michael Ellis writing for Reuters reported that with sport utility vehicle sales surging and minivans stigmatized as the "soccer mom" mobile, General Motors Corp. unveiled on Thursday two new "crossover sport vans," that aim to combine the machismo of SUVs with the functionality of minivans.

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 said.

"A lot of men recognize minivans as a family necessity ... but they don't want to drive a minivan," GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told reporters at a press event here. "Women do feel empowered driving a sport utility rather than a minivan."

SUVs that have the same passenger and cargo area of minivans usually cost thousands of dollars more, and have stiffer steering and use more gas.

GM added some SUV-like styling to broaden the appeal of their new minivans -- the Buick Terraza and the Saturn Relay, both shown publicly for the first time on Thursday, as well as the Chevrolet Uplander and Pontiac Montana SV6. They go on sale next fall.

All four vehicles are built using some of the components of GM's current three minivans, but GM added some SUV characteristics such as higher ground clearance, large grilles, bigger wheels and prominent fog lights. Thus the name "crossover sport van," or CSV.

"It doesn't have the minivan stigma," Lutz said. "We have all the features that parents love about minivans but wrapped in an exterior that looks like a sport utility vehicle."

GM's share of the minivan market has fallen over the past few years as Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and now Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co Ltd. have come out with more competitive offerings.

But GM hopes sales will grow with the new minivans, or CSVs, as GM now calls them. Currently GM sells three minivans -- the Chevrolet Venture, the Pontiac Montana and the Silhouette from Oldsmobile, which is being phased out.

"Really the goal here is to attain higher volume than the current van and hopefully higher margin," Lutz said.

GM's minivan sales in the U.S. are down about 8 percent so far this year. Last year, GM sold nearly 200,000 of the minivans in the United States and Canada, far below the capacity of about 250,000 at the Doraville, Georgia plant where they are built.

With the new vehicles, GM will offer four minivans, including a Buick and Saturn minivan 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, said Jill Lajdziak, Saturn's vice president for sales, service and marketing.

The Relay will also be the first Saturn vehicle without plastic doors and fenders, which some consumers loved because they were dent resistant. 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 said. "The consumer wants tight fit and finish and we can't achieve that with polymer."

The Terraza will give GM its first minivan to compete with the Chrysler Town & Country in the growing number of minivans selling for more than $30,000, which now represents about 24 percent of the market.

The Terraza will also go on sale in China, where GM currently builds and sells the Buick GL8 minivan, in early 2005, said Roger Adams, the head of the Buick division.