General Motors plans to cancel its next-generation minivan and abandon that vehicle segment.
Instead it will woo buyers with its mid-sized Lambda-based crossover vehicles. The minivans had been scheduled for the 2010 model year.
Chevrolet is scheduled to receive a crossover on the Lambda architecture by the 2010 model year. It will replace the Uplander minivan. Other minivans being killed are the Buick Terraza and Saturn Relay.
Crossovers off the front-drive Lambda architecture originally had been intended for more premium brands. The Lambda vehicles debut next month with the 2007 Saturn Outlook. The 2007 GMC Acadia follows early next year, and the 2008 Buick Enclave launches next summer.
GM's product board has not approved cancellation of the minivan program. But those close to GM say it's a safe bet the board will do so, based on declining sales in the segment, the high cost for GM and a belief that crossover vehicles can fill the void.
GM supplier says it was awarded work on the GMT511 program, GM's internal code name for the new generation of minivans. But on Nov. 17, GM told suppliers it was canceling the program.
The Chrysler group led the segment last year with 36.7 percent of the market, followed by Honda at 15.7 percent and GM at 14.9 percent. Last year GM sold 166,016 minivans. This year, minivan sales are off 10.9 percent through October.
The Lambda-based Chevrolet crossover will fill the slots vacated by the Chevrolet TrailBlazer SUV and Uplander minivan. The Chevrolet crossover's styling draws heavily from the Chevrolet Sequel concept, unveiled in September. GM plans to discontinue the TrailBlazer and GMC Envoy, although the timetable has not been announced.
The Acadia and Outlook are assembled at GM's Delta Township plant near Lansing, Mich. The Enclave goes into production there next spring. GM's minivans are built in the Doraville, Ga., plant, which is scheduled to close in 2008.
Pontiac Montana SV6 dropped for 2007 as Pontiac is going for the sport car approach.
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& Chevrolet Sequel
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-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
Wow, this is huge news. The import companies have successfully pushed GM out of a vehicle market! We all know GMs minivans have been garbage in recent years, and it appears that GM is just giving up on the market. Congratulations Honda & Toyota.
^^Add Chrysler to that list too.
Expect Ford to the same with their Freestar/Monterey soon too.
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-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
even the KIA sedona has better reviews than any chevy/gm van
CaviFL45
the lumina APV my dad had was a great mini-van/dust buster
he prob had over 300k on it and never any major probems , just the standard water pump , alt and fan relay
the series 1 3800 got mid to high 30's for mpg also
Thats the old vans, a guy I work with just bought an 06' whatever the hell the minivan was Chevy had in 06' I forget the name. We tease him about it at work because he's had it at the dealership more than his wife has been able to drive it. It's had THAT many problems. He's now trying to get the vehicle replaced under the lemon law, but the dealership is giving him a hard time.
For what I know is that Chevy CUV might be here as early as October of '08.
This is pretty bad news for the Spring Hill Plant since this was going to be their new product. And within 6 months they won't have anything left.
Now what I am looking at is who is going to be Lansing Delta's overflow and who is going to be Oshawa's overflow.
Lansing Delta can only produce as it sits 280,000 units a year. Moraine Assembly (GMT 360's) are able to build 350,000 a year. Moraine had a sister plant OKC the built the GMT 370's.
The way I see it the Lambda CUV's are going to try to fill a soon to be 500,000+ unit void.
I know that the Zeta is going to be built in Oshawa plant 1 and 2. But combine that is only 500,000 units a year.
100,000 Camaro's
300,000 Impalas (even more when the Monte Carlo is dropped)
Then the others on that platform. Lucerne, DTS, Possible G8 and G6 (yes I said G6)
On another side note.
To all of the people on other boards that said there was no way GM is planning the new Minivans for Spring Hill. I was right but sadly I wasn't proven right until they said it was being canceled.
all I can say..it's about time.
They are the biggest POS minivans on the market..period.
They are slow, junky (stuff falls off), not to mention ugly..
I've seen quite a few in the shop lately.....
slow ??????????
the uplander i had for a rental , was a hell of alot faster than the caravan i had for a rental
gm's 3.9 kills dodges 3.8
got better milage too
only thing the dodge was better at was seat stoage
Good those things are fugly anyway
1989 Turbo Trans Am #82, 2007 Cobalt SS G85
You guys the Minivans that are out now and the ugly CRV's has known to be canceled.
The news is the next generation Lambda based Minivans that were going to be released in '09 - '10 has been canceled.
Spy shot of it
Here
they shoulda just stuck with this
hell yeah, our old astro is still runnin 300,000 miles +. we just replaced the tranny 15,000 miles ago.
<~~~~PWN3D!!
NfamousZ24 wrote:
The news is the next generation Lambda based Minivans that were going to be released in '09 - '10 has been canceled.
And actually leaving the segment early as there will not be a 2008 model of those models.^^^
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-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
[quote=97trd(???™)]the lumina APV my dad had was a great mini-van/dust buster
he prob had over 300k on it and never any major probems , just the standard water pump , alt and fan relay
the series 1 3800 got mid to high 30's for mpg also
Agreed.
So ahead of their time.
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-----The orginal Mr.Goodwrench on the JBO since 11/99-----
Rodimus Prime wrote:Good those things are fugly anyway
All minivans are ugly, it's inherent to the design.
that blue lumina van in the pic posted by Mr.Goodwrench my friends mom had one just like that and it was a really good van. took the thing everywhere and the crap it had to put up with it lasted a long time. i think the motor started makeing a ticking sound at a little over 200K so she got rid of it. but that van was a nice looking one and the seats where really cool how you could pick what seat you wanted in the car and the rest take out.
Not to mention there are so many on the market the resell value sux .If someone buys one keep it long enuff to not cry when u see the book value when u trade or sell it outright,unless toyota or honda makes it,maybe even kia.There just plain UGLY! regardless I call honda's a pig on wheels that' what it looks like at least the 05/06 model.
halfJ99 wrote:
they shoulda just stuck with this
i had a white 94 work van with over 200k on it and it ran great even after it burned a exhaust valve and it lasted over a year like that.
Astros pwn... but a PITA to work on
astro/safari vans rule weve had a 87 cargo 400k, 88rs astro 390k, 92 astro xt 300k no probs, all totaled off .we currently have a 92 safari xt 290k diff broke last winter. and just bought a 96 astro with a vortec 4.3.
the most reliable minivan ever built they go forever unless you get hit ever so often. i know the 4.3 is very reliable is there any problems at all with the 4.3 vortec?
maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow....... but some day
I'm glad GM is getting rid of their minivans.. Saturn Relays are sooo butt ugly..
Red 2005 Saturn Ion-3 Coupe
Mr.Goodwrench-G.T. wrote:[quote=97trd(???™)]the lumina APV my dad had was a great mini-van/dust buster
he prob had over 300k on it and never any major probems , just the standard water pump , alt and fan relay
the series 1 3800 got mid to high 30's for mpg also
Agreed.
So ahead of their time.
haha I had one of those! 92 red! Hay stacks in the rear for seats! Not bad for $200
halfJ99 wrote:
they shoulda just stuck with this
They did stick with that sorta....2005 was the last year for the Safari, not sure if they killed the Astro before that. It may have just been in cargo tirm though, I had an 05 Safari cargo.
