Future Cars: General Motors

A new Chevy Avalanche is planned for the 2007 model year. The barbed wire fences and great distances precluded any detailed inspection of the new truck, but it's clear that GM will stick close to the same formula as today's Avalanche. Like the current Avalanche, the prototype clearly displays the same "flying buttress" design aft of the C-pillar, extending down into an integrated tonneau cover. Beneath the camouflage, it looks like GM has avoided any excessive cladding.  The Avalanche pioneered the use of GM's Midgate, and it clearly looks to be employed on this second-generation prototype.

COMING: The new Tahoe and Suburban arrive for the 2007 model year with fuel-saving technology and much smoother style. A Camaro concept is coming to the Detroit auto show in 2006.

 

GMC

The next GMC Yukon and Yukon Denali, in GM's words, have exceptional driving characteristics. What's immediately obvious, too, is that they have distinctive appearances, much more so than the last editions.

The Yukon is the mass-market edition, available in cloth or leather-trimmed versions with rear- or four-wheel drive. Tall headlamps and smart details distinguish the Yukon from the similar Chevrolet Tahoe. Like the Tahoe and the new Denali, the Yukon is longer and wider than the past versions, has a stiffer body structure and a new power-steering rack, and standard anti-lock brakes with stability control.

Seventeen-inch wheels are standard on the Yukon , as is a 320-hp, 5.3-liter V-8 engine (though a 290-hp, 4.8-liter version will replace that on rear-drive models later in the model year, GM says).

The Yukon Denali, meanwhile, gets some exclusivity added to its image in the 2007 edition. A new 380-hp, 6.2-liter V-8 mated to a tap-shift six-speed automatic transmission is reserved for the Denali model. A chromed grille, different head and taillamps and special 18-inch wheels separate it from the Yukon as well as automatic climate control and remote starting.

Both the Yukon and Denali offer a laundry list of options, including running boards, a power tailgate, DVD navigation, and a DVD entertainment system, as well as three-row side-curtain airbags (standard on the Denali). Both versions will be on sale in the first quarter of 2006.

GM Reveals New Full-Size SUVs by TCC Team (9/26/2005)
But can they ride out $3 gas?

 

HUMMER

With the H3 arriving in showrooms this spring, HUMMER is working on boosting sales of that vehicle and its faltering H2. Executives are exploring the idea of a full-size or mid-size HUMMER pickup truck , which would be spun off the new GMT800 full-size trucks or the existing Colorado/Canyon mid-size truck platform.

 

PONTIAC

A hardtop convertible G6 is due in the first quarter of 2006. Other possible entries from Pontiac include a big G8 sedan to replace the Bonneville, as well as a hardtop version of the Solstice.

 

SAAB

A redesigned 9-5 sedan is coming next year, but will be only a light facelift to the aging sedan. GM has committed to building cars in Sweden through the end of the decade, including the 9-5, but no product plan nor a new replacement for the 9-5 has been confirmed.

Other possible entries include a Saab version of the Solstice, and a new crossover based on the 9-3 CombiSport.

 

SATURN

Saturn's busy schedule for new-product launches will accelerate in 2006 as the brand adds the Sky roadster, a new Aura sedan and an as-yet-unnamed SUV. The first of the new products will be the Sky roadster, a Kappa-architecture two-seater that shares its underpinnings with the Pontiac Solstice. Joining the Ion, Vue, and Relay in the Saturn lineup, the Sky will sport a 140-hp, 2.4-liter four-cylinder and a new front-end treatment that begins a style renaissance for the brand.

 

Next up will be the Aura four-door, the replacement for the unloved L-Series. The Aura will come with a 250-hp, 3.6-liter V-6 - and though it will be shown as a concept car at the Detroit show next week, it's roughly 80 percent production-intended, according to USA Today. Those who have seen both products have raved about the quality and design of the vehicle's interiors. The last new Saturn of the trio will be an SUV larger than the current Vue crossover, due in late 2006. Stay tuned today for more on the Saturn products.

 

 

COMING: Replacements for the Ion compacts and the Vue crossover are at least a couple years off; a larger crossover vehicle spun from GM's Lambda architecture, called the Outlook, is coming to Saturn, likely late in the 2007 model year.