Chevy Traverse First Drive

[paul8488]

I'm very curious to see how Flex sales compare to the Lambda quadruplets in a year.

The Traverse will add enough Lambda sales to compensate for the cost of its development, without question. The real question is can the same be said for the Outlook. We've heard time and time again just how expensive it is to redesign even small things (especially interiors)... I'm pretty convinced that the Outlook was a huge waste of resources, and that GM should have put the resources (development talent and dollars and marketing and advertising budgets) they spent on it into the Cobalt last year.

[BigAls87Z28]

The Flex? Are you serious? That thing? Over any of the Lambdas?
Traverse will retain some of the Trailblazer/Uplander sales from Chevy, and hopefully gain some new ones. I would also like to see Tahoe and Suburban sales be taken up by Traverse.

[paul8488]

Aside from the Chevy guys that wouldn't even consider a GMC (and those numbers are dwindling), how many people are seriously going to say that they would never buy an Outlook or Traverse but would buy an Acadia? Ford is going to be able to reel in a whole bunch of customers who want something different... something in between an SUV and minivan. I love the Lambdas, but there's not enough difference (again, besides the logo) to make one much more appealing than the others (aside from the Enclave).

I don't think for a second that the Flex will outsell the Lambdas combined, but it will easily outsell Outlook and could even challenge Acadia.

[mbukukanyau]

I am buying a black traverse for my wife. I like it

wait and see

[GMusa]

Motortrend reviewed the Traverse too .. check it out at the link: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...ive/index.html

P.S.
anyone know why i cant paste a image?

[GMinTheDriveway]

Originally Posted by HoosierRon

Who cares if someone buys a Traverse or an Outlook? As long as the overall sales increase, it is good.

Every Saturn sales consultant would disagree. But yes, the Traverse will effectively kill the Outlook by sheer volume. 4000 dealers vs 400, and the Chevy will start lower priced. You can't get an Outlook serviced (warranty repairs) except through a Saturn store. The only reason to buy a Saturn is because you are reasonably close to a Saturn store. EVERYONE is reasonably close to a Chevy store, if not 12 Chevy stores.

[DuSpinnst]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

...and now there are 4 of them...

just watch traverse eat into sales of Acadia and Outlook.
GM hasn't learned its lesson.

See you are looking at this wrong (not a shock). GM realized that the Outlook was a bad choice for Saturn, and that the Acadia wasn't exactly great for GMC (but better than the Outlook).

Watch them both get killed and see the Traverse and Enclave sell more because of it (and outsell the original 3 combined).

[MCGARRETT]

The outlook needs to go daewoo, holden, opel and vauxhall. Death is not a solution

I have said the same thing before, but since Lambda was designed to be LHD only (DUH DUH DUH DUH!!) it can only be sold as a Opel and Daewoo (Korea is LHD right?) They are or soon will be exporting the Enclave to China(where it will quickly be copied) so there is export potential for the Lambda platform. I wonder how much it would cost to make the Lambda RHD?

I have even thought that a Lambda based vehicle could be a great replacement for the dead Saab 9/7(dont throw rocks just yet, its only a suggestion) I imagine that the the turbocharged "Saab" sixes(2.8 base Turbo w/ optional Turbo (or...twin!) 3.6) will fit in the Lambdas large engine bay. If styled right and if it uses all right Saab styling cues it could be sold globaly along with the Outlook(the Buick, although it is the best Lambda so far might be a tad over the top for Europe). The Saab Lamda in the US might step on the Enclaves toes a bit, but since Saab has a smaller dealer network and different customers from Buick, there might be room for both of them.

Could that be too much though?

Chevrolet Traverse (exportable as well)
Saturn/Opel/Daewoo Outlook
GMC Acadia
Buick Enclave (exportable)
Saab 9/7(9/8?) (exportable)

Ouch, I think I need Lambd-otomy.


I have been of the opinion that every GM car, not mater where it is sold or engineered needs to be developed with both LHD and RHD in mind.

[powervette]

that's a nice face!
I want to believe the new cobalt front-end will look as good as the one of the Traverse and the headlights we saw on spy shots are only pre-production ones.

[Gm786]

Originally Posted by GMusa

Motortrend reviewed the Traverse too .. check it out at the link: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/...ive/index.html

P.S.
anyone know why i cant paste a image?

You beat me to it..... I was going to post that review that Motor Trend did of the new Chevy Traverse but you did it before me. Anyway, I like the way the Traverse looks. It's the second best looking Lambda crossover from GM in my opinion after the Buick Enclave. It should sell well for GM as long as they advertise and price it properly.

[Member17739]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

...and now there are 4 of them...

just watch traverse eat into sales of Acadia and Outlook.
GM hasn't learned its lesson.

And the lesson would be that you give the best products to Chevy and Cadillac, the rest will have to survive on the leftovers for now. If Chevy was the first to get a Lambda vehicle it would sell more than GMC/Saturn combined,

[FenwickHockey65]

I want one. So badly. I think I'd actually take this over an Acadia now.
Curse that extra 1.8 inches that won't fit in my garage...

[ATPeele]

They should modify the Lambdas to offer a five-seat configuration. Perhaps the added MPG from the lower weight would pull in more customers. And why the hell aren't they flex-fuel? Actually, why isn't E85 standard across the gas-guzzler lineup? It's so much easier to justify when odds are you're going to be paying $2.00 or less per gallon in the future with cellulosic ethanol coming onboard.

[EllwynX]

Originally Posted by BigAls87Z28

The Flex? Are you serious? That thing? Over any of the Lambdas?
Traverse will retain some of the Trailblazer/Uplander sales from Chevy, and hopefully gain some new ones. I would also like to see Tahoe and Suburban sales be taken up by Traverse.

Agreed. Flex is one of the ugliest choices out there. Edge, on the other hand, is quite attractive.

[jbartley]

Originally Posted by mgescuro

...and now there are 4 of them...

just watch traverse eat into sales of Acadia and Outlook.
GM hasn't learned its lesson.

outlook yes? acadia no!

why do people drive gmc? cuz they don't want to drive a chevy. period.