AutoNews: Provoq IS New Crossover

[Ach]

So this is based on the VUE/Antara platform?

[PA Dweller]

So this is what the BRX will look like? I think I like it. If you have this vehicle, the CTS Wagon, and Escalade do you really need the SRX? Wouldn't it overlap with them?

[jlt0x]

I think Cadillac needs all possible SUVs (CTS-wagon, BRX, SRX, Escalade). It's just diversifying the lineup. It'll be up to GM to decide in what proportions (20% China, 60% Europe/UK, 20% US) to ship their product. I think most people on the forum only see the US market and forget about the global auto market in general. GM is making world-class exteriors meant for multiple continents, not just the US.

It's really important for GM to leverage most of its international brands to be marketable in various countries...that's just the way of survival and solid business. The US is quickly becoming less-and-less important b/c the declining dollar is making it hard to do business (and make a healthy profit) in the US.

Look at many of the foreign-based auto firms today. Companies such as BMW, Mercedes, etc create one design for multiple markets. And that's why they're easily recognized everywhere.

[HotCarNut]

Enough said! Hopefully if this is built off the Vue platform, they'll be able to put the 2-mode hybrid system in it as well.

[megeebee]

Originally Posted by EldoFan

So let me get this straight.....within a few years we will have:

-The Provoq
-A bigger version of the Provoq (next gen. SRX?)
-CTS Wagon

Can we say 'sales cannibalization' ??

Ask Mercedes or Lexus.

Mercedes has 4 SUV's of differing size.

Lexus has 3.


I have not read anything about 2 sizes of the Provoq.


The SRX has not sold well. I've also been seeing several on rental lots, too. It's a fantastic vehicle, yes. It wins awards all over the place, even after years on the market. But the market doesn't BUY them. 22,500 were sold last year. Fleet sales are not seperated from this figure. A modest 10% rate would put retail at about 20,000.

The SRX is costly to build, being on the Sigma platform. A FWD/AWD product like the Provoq will be more profitable and most likely sell better overseas. It is lighter weight, so mileage would improve. Remeber too, that a vehicle like the BRX would sell better outside the US, too.

Also, back to the Sigma platform; remember that there is only one plant in the world capable of building the Sigma platform. Grand River in Lansing, Michigan. With the CTS so popular, and 2 new variants of it coming, why continue with the SRX? The CTS wagon will be for those who wish a RWD performance oriented vehicle like the SRX.

At the end of the day, Cadillac will have Escalade at the top, BRX in the middle, and CTS wagon at the bottom in terms of size. As much as I love the SRX, I can understand why it's going away.

I hope that D O C R A Y 1 might post something on this.

[mcool]

Originally Posted by CADILLACSIXTEEN

Ok so how does this work?
Correct me if im wrong, but wouldnt a CTS Wagon be smaller than the BRX???
To me, this doesnt make logical sence. How can the SRX replacement be a CTS Wagon?
Cadillac NEEDS a VERY STRONG midsize contender... not a CTS wagon.

Infiniti isn't killing the FX just because the EX is here. The X3 didn't kill the X5... Cadillac shouldn't ditch the SRX at all, but 2009 would still be too soon.

The CTS wagon won't really do much business here and IMO won't meet the SRX's volume as a replacement. Run both down the line and tailor most CTS wagon's for export.

Having the BRX and CTS wagon are good for Cadillac, keeping the SRX in the lineup despite those additions is best.

[Ach]

Originally Posted by megeebee

Ask Mercedes or Lexus.

Mercedes has 4 SUV's of differing size.

Lexus has 3.


I have not read anything about 2 sizes of the Provoq.


The SRX has not sold well. I've also been seeing several on rental lots, too. It's a fantastic vehicle, yes. It wins awards all over the place, even after years on the market. But the market doesn't BUY them. 22,500 were sold last year. Fleet sales are not seperated from this figure. A modest 10% rate would put retail at about 20,000.

The SRX is costly to build, being on the Sigma platform. A FWD/AWD product like the Provoq will be more profitable and most likely sell better overseas. It is lighter weight, so mileage would improve. Remeber too, that a vehicle like the BRX would sell better outside the US, too.

Also, back to the Sigma platform; remember that there is only one plant in the world capable of building the Sigma platform. Grand River in Lansing, Michigan. With the CTS so popular, and 2 new variants of it coming, why continue with the SRX? The CTS wagon will be for those who wish a RWD performance oriented vehicle like the SRX.

At the end of the day, Cadillac will have Escalade at the top, BRX in the middle, and CTS wagon at the bottom in terms of size. As much as I love the SRX, I can understand why it's going away.

I hope that D O C R A Y 1 might post something on this.

Is the BRX expected to sell well in Asia? I'm afraid that in Europe it will meet the same fate as the BLS. I believe that Cadillac needs the precision and prestige afforded by a RWD platform to make the BRX truly competitive. Where is the Alpha platform? Could it accommodate a BRX/Provoq sized vehicle?

While the SRX hasn't sold well, I think that is the result of poor marketing, a less than stellar pre-MCE interior and lackluster styling. None of which are good reasons to give up on it.

I don't like the retreats I'm seeing from Cadillac right now. No SRX replacement, no STS replacement, no Northstar replacement, and a FWD-based small luxury ute. Has Cadillac given up on the big boys and gone back to competing with Lincoln and Acura?

[GM-Joe]

Originally Posted by Ach

So this is based on the VUE/Antara platform?

yep, but I still see Equinox in it.

[sprchev1]

Originally Posted by skylark68

I hope the Escalade doesn't go FWD. All we need is yet another FWD crossover.

Escalade is built on the Tahoe/Suburban chassis. It will never be just FWD.

[t-rex]

Firstly, wagon buyers are an entirely different breed of buyer than Crossover/SUV buyers. Wagon buyers tend to buy them specifically to lug things around in something that's difficult to do when you have to heave that heavy cast iron item you bought at a jumble sale 3 feet off the ground to get it into the back of an Escalade. So while it's still a small segment, the premium wagon buyer isn't automatically going to step into a crossover.

Secondly, the SRX is a sales flop. If Cadillac had given it the beautiful Vizon's roofline, instead of that horrible hemorrhoidal wagonesque rear end, it could have captured more traditional SUV buyers. It was too SUV to appeal to wagon buyers and too wagony to appeal to SUV buyers. If Cadillac wants to nab the wagon buyer, do it with a CTS/STS wagon, or a bespoke model along the lines of the Mercedes R-class (which I'd buy today if I weren't such a cheapskate). Redesigning the SRX, which is a nice vehicle IMHO, would be a waste of development dollars. Even restyled, I don't think it would capture the same number of buyers the BRX will. Designing a CTS wagon can be done for a fraction of what it would cost to develop a new SRX, and more properly attract the type of customer looking for a premium wagon.

Thirdly, I don't believe that Cadillac necessarily needs a midsize SUV at all. Personally I don't believe they belong in the Cadillac line at all, but with the competition offering them, it's a reality I simply have to accept. Midsize luxury SUV's don't appear to sell in any volume anyway, and most of them are cynical rebadges of lower-end products. Great profit generators, but simply not worthy of spending billions to develop a unique model. Mercedes M-class sales are flat and I don't see the X5 selling for too much longer. The entire midsize segment is shrinking at a rapid rate, even with the luxury brands. It seems luxury SUV buyers want something small like the BRX and Lexus RX, or a big boy like the Navigator and Escalade. In short, the midsize SUV segment is dead.

Fourthly, I JUST LOVE THE PROVOQ!!! And so does everybody I've shown it to! My next-door neighbors fell in love with it and are ready to trade their Murano in for a BRX ASAP! Assuming of course that the Provoq is in fact a near-production BRX.

I've contended for a while, in the face of much opposition, that Crossovers, especially compacts and lower-midsizers, will be the next "big thing" in the market. Even without high fuel prices, I believe the public is simply tired of the big BOF SUV and are ready for something different. But with so many owners spoiled to the SUV's (arguable) virtues — high driver's seating, easy ingress/egress, cargo carrying, etc. — many customers won't just trade down to a sedan to save on fuel. Thus I think GM were very wise to invest in the BRX and Saab crossover. In two or three years' time, I think we'll see factories churning out Equinoxes, Edges, and such in the same huge numbers that the Explorer and GMT360's had in their heyday...

[emh]

Originally Posted by megeebee

The SRX is costly to build, being on the Sigma platform. A FWD/AWD product like the Provoq will be more profitable and most likely sell better overseas. It is lighter weight, so mileage would improve. Remeber too, that a vehicle like the BRX would sell better outside the US, too.

The Saturn VUE in V6 FWD trim is only 100lb lighter than a V6 RWD SRX. In AWD, the Vue is actually a few lbs HEAVIER than an AWD V6 SRX! And that's before the luxo goodies needed in a BRX. If the BRX is longer than the Vue (which it supposedly is), there will need to be some serious weight reductions for it to be lighter than an SRX.

I'm not holding my breath for the BRX to drive and handle almost like a sport-sedan the way the SRX does. Unfortunately, not many buyers of this class of vehicles seem to care about that (if they did Lexus wouldn't sell a single RX!). So there's a good chance the BRX will sell well.

[Relik86]

Based on the title of the thread, I thought Cadillac was taking a page from Pontiac's new slogan...

Pontiac is CAR

Provoq IS New Crossover...

[Hurricane]

Originally Posted by GM_Fanatic

That was the most significant part of this article to me! That is really encouraging news!

Nice catch!

[ral1960]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

That' snot sales cannibalization if Cadillac differentiates each appropriately.

Easily the most intelligent comment on this forum, ever!

[heatroc]

Originally Posted by Sal Collaziano

Cadillac needs a bigger Crossover.. So I hope with the Provoq coming along, the SRX (or something to replace it) is bigger. The Lincoln MKT is going to be an extremely comfortable four passenger luxury vehicle with interior room like the Town Car and Cadillac Fleetwood.. Cadillac needs something like this as well - and it doesn't necessarily need to be the Escalade. Gas prices are getting too ridiculous. Not only that, however - the Escalade rides like a truck. A large Crossover could ride much softer and quieter.

Please have you taken a ride in a Escalade. That truck rides better than most cars even with the 22 inch rims on it!