admin February 6th, 2008
Chevrolet has an all-new crossover vehicle featuring three rows of seats, capacity for 7 passengers, and fresh styling and technology - the Traverse.
Building on the success of other GM crossovers, such as the GMC Acadia and the Saturn Outlook, the Traverse gets its own engine setup featuring a direct-injection V6 pegged at 3.6 liters and 286hp (similar to the top powerplant in the new Cadillac CTS). Like its crossover stablemates, a six-speed automatic transmission, in both front- and all-wheel-drive versions is standard, although the Traverse gets special software since its direct injection engine makes more power than the other GM CUVs. “It hits the sweet spot in our lineup,” said Don Butler, Chevy’s Executive Director of truck marketing. “Crossovers are hot. It’s one of the few segments of the market that’s growing, and we can use the Traverse to build the momentum that began with the Malibu.”
Lots of GM’s recent styling cues are evident in the Traverse - the snout looks very similar to the new Malibu, as do the headlights and taillights. This is not a coincidence says Butler, as the Traverse is intended to be “a bridge between what the Malibu says about Chevrolet cars and our strong truck portfolio.”
Interior options are also significant and robust. Buyers can choose between seven or eight passenger seating, a rearview camera, power liftgate, DVD entertainment system, navigation system, and remote starter to name just a few.
The Traverse goes on sale in the Fall at a Chevy dealer near you as a 2009 model
Tags: Chevrolet, Chevy, crossover, CUV, Traverse
admin January 4th, 2008
Forbes recently published an article on its Most Overpriced Vehicles. The study, which took into account discounting from market price, JD Power and Associates APEAL survey, 1- and 3-year ALG residual values, and the Consumer Reports owner satisfaction survey, tried to determine which vehicles were most overpriced relative to market value (and ultimate residual value).
The results were quite interesting. Vehicles that maintained high sticker prices (or MSRP), but continuously offered heavy rebates or other incentives, tended to have lower residuals compared with cars and trucks with a lower MSRP but fewer incentives.
One victim on Forbes’ list was the Dodge Ram 1500 pickup. The Ram truck topped the list given its large difference between MSRP ($37,105) and market price ($29,947). ALG’s one year residual is a mere 48% and a top-of-the-line version of the Dodge Ram can lose over $20,000 just in year one! yikes - better grab life by the horns (as Dodge used to say) and grab your ankles too if you pick one of these trucks up brand-new.
One of the top SUVs (in addition to the Dodge Durango) was the Chevy Trailblazer and its twin, the GMC Envoy. In particular, the Envoy now competes against its stablemate, the GMC Acadia crossover SUV, whose more sophisticated design, technology, and innovation makes the less-modern, comparably priced Envoy seem woefully inadequate. Consumer Reports indicated that owner satisfaction is less than average for the Envoy and Trailblazer and the vehicle hasn’t seen a comprehensive freshening in many, many years. All this despite a $2000 price cut in 2005 and continuous incentives (averaging about $3000) has resulted in poor resale value and indicates prices on these two SUV clones should be trimmed.
Read the entire story here.
Tags: chevy trailblazer, dodge ram, forbes, overpriced trucks
admin December 28th, 2007
According to a recent Business Week article, SUV sales are quite strong in the U.S.. Apparently, light truck sales as well as SUV vehicles and crossover vehicles gained market share this year, reversing all losses accumulated during 2005 and 2006.
Luxury SUVs were particularly immune to sales drops, partially due to the insensitivity of the average buyer to gas prices. In addition, big discounts are also helping to move many of the big SUVs that were best sellers in 2007. One such incentive is what Cadillac is offering on leftover 2007 Escalades: zero-percent financing or $4,500 cash on Escalade EXTs, or $1,000 cash on 2008 models. The Escalade EXT is a full-size, four-door SUV with a pickup bed in the rear.
Tags: 2007 SUVs, Business Week, Cadillac, Escalade, suv, SUV Sales
Chevrolet has an all-new crossover vehicle featuring three rows of seats, capacity for 7 passengers, and fresh styling and technology - the Traverse.
