Hot Tahoe fuels GM optimism

[notacarguy]

"They just made some great changes to the truck," said Michael Wujczyk of Farmington Hills, who leased a 2007 Tahoe last month. Even without rebates, the SUVs are on dealer lots less than a week before customers buy them.



Sales of revamped Chevy SUV were up 50% in January despite slump in large-truck segment.

Brett Clanton / The Detroit News

When the lease on his old Chevy Tahoe expired, Michael Wujczyk toyed with going in another direction. Maybe something smaller. Maybe a different brand. But when he saw the 2007 Tahoe, he stopped looking.

"They just made some great changes to the truck," said the 52-year-old door distributor from Farmington Hills, who leased one of the new SUVs last month.

Such praise has helped GM get off to a good start with the redesigned Tahoe -- the nation's top-selling large SUV and a critical piece of the automaker's comeback strategy.

Fueled by a rash of advertising, exposure at events such as the Olympics and auto show hype, Tahoe is turning in good numbers despite a softening market for large truck-like SUVs.

Tahoe sales were up more than 50 percent in January. The 2007 model is fetching a higher average selling price than its predecessor.

Even without rebates, the new SUVs are sitting on dealer lots for less than a week before customers snatch them up.

"It seems like there's a lot of good initial buzz on this product," said Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis at J.D. Power's Power Information Network.

So far, so good. But a true verdict on the vehicle is probably still months away.

Only on sale since Jan. 10, GM has booked just more than 4,000 sales and is still in the process of shipping Tahoes to dealers.

Tahoe, Ford Expedition and other large SUVs bankrolled Detroit in the 1990s and were once the vehicle of choice for American families. But their popularity has waned in recent years with the rise of smaller, more fuel-efficient alternatives, uncertainty over gas prices and growing attention on the environment.

For that reason, Wall Street has raised doubts about the wisdom of GM hitching comeback hopes on vehicles whose best days may be behind them.

"(The launch of the large SUVs) is important," said Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy in a recent report, "but not a solution to GM's financial problems."

Large SUV sales plummeted last year after Gulf Coast hurricanes drove gas prices above $3 per gallon. Predictions are that the category will level out around 700,000 vehicles a year -- a far cry from its 1 million-a-year peak a few years back.

But while GM leaders acknowledge the segment has slipped, there is still plenty of life -- and profit -- left in the segment. They say they will use a new lineup of SUVs -- including Tahoe and updates of the Cadillac Escalade, Chevy Suburban and GMC Yukon -- to expand their 62 percent market share of the category.

The rollout of the Tahoe gives a flavor of how aggressive GM will be as it moves to strengthen its stance in large SUVs.






Continued at: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...TO01/602150411

[Perian]

Thank you God.

Thank you God.

Thank you God.

[Quickening]

Lets hope this trend continues

[CarShark]

6 days??? All we can hear is that gas is going up again and people are mad that oil companies are making record profits. So what do we buy? Full-size SUVs, of course.

I wonder about Ford. GM decided to go whole hog and completely redesign their trucks. Far as I can tell, Ford just refreshed them. GM might actually gain some market share from those that are in the middle of a generation.

[darknight9]

Originally Posted by CarShark

6 days??? All we can hear is that gas is going up again and people are mad that oil companies are making record profits. So what do we buy? Full-size SUVs, of course.

I wonder about Ford. GM decided to go whole hog and completely redesign their trucks. Far as I can tell, Ford just refreshed them. GM might actually gain some market share from those that are in the middle of a generation.

Ford is letting another good round of products die on the vine! The Expd/Navi were great products and now are just so-so. The new face of the Navigator is just awful.

[nsap]

Originally Posted by CarShark

I wonder about Ford. GM decided to go whole hog and completely redesign their trucks. Far as I can tell, Ford just refreshed them. GM might actually gain some market share from those that are in the middle of a generation.

GM already has 60% of the RETAIL market share for full-size SUV's. Anymore gains in that segment will be icing on the cake.

It's great to hear that the new Tahoe is doing it's job. Six days is excellent for any mainstream product.

[Ming]

This is good. Considering how long the old Tahoe stuck around, though, I think you would have to expect some pent up demand from people who wanted a new one but didn't want to look at basically the same interior from many years ago. Now they can have their fix. Hope it lasts!

I look forward to the day I can read "Hot new Malibu fuels GM optimism". I really want to see a winning small to mid size car effort take off like this and steal the spotlight for once. I think the G6 is doing OK, but like many GM car efforts fell a bit short of what it will take to get people out of their Toyohondas.

[VibenPontiac]

That stat of 51% decline is horse%^ap! It compares an spike month - December when sale/incentives were on with January, which by looking at the chart is a pretty average type of month as far as sales go. Its comparing apples to oranges.

[stevecmh]

THank you God. OMG that is such good news. 6 Days. Holy Crap. Just amazing

[Cortazzo]

I saw a couple on the lot of one of my local chevy dealers, the thing looks hot and tough.

[megeebee]

This is great, but don't jump too high just yet. What counts is sales in a year or two.

[mr_bots]

Here in town we have one Tahoe and two Yukons. The Tahoe and one of the Yukons have been there for maybe two weeks. I'm actually surprised they're still there, but they are fully loaded 4WD with all the options and many can't afford to spend ~$50k on a vehicle. Hopefully sales will stay up as GM has a lot riding on the success of the 900s, but it's still a little too early to tell. I'm sure they'll sell, just maybe not enough to pull GM out of the red.

[paul3230]

Originally Posted by megeebee

This is great, but don't jump too high just yet. What counts is sales in a year or two.

True..but I have a feeling the media will not spread this news too quickly either....mostly because almost everyone was expecting them to fail. And fail bad. The fact that GM bucked this trend (although still early), is a God send

[jwrebholz]

After seeing the '07 Tahoe in person at the Pittsburgh Auto Show, I can definitely see why it's moving so quickly. I wasn't really sold on it until I saw it in the metal. Now I'm sold on it.

Before, you couldn't have given me a Tahoe. Now...well, I'm not going to rush out and buy one, but I wouldn't kick it out of the driveway if one were to magically appear.

[mbukukanyau]

Boy, GM should invest in smaller Engines of Aveos and cobalts, Revamp the Envoy T/B and move to take back america