There has been a lot of criticism in the automotive press as to whether GM should have spent so much time and money in a market segment that's on the decline. My personal feeling is yes, they did the right thing, as there will always be a market for these types of vehicles. The market for "traditional" SUVs will certainly be smaller, and GM knows this—but it won't disappear. My only criticism with the new GM SUVs is with some of the features, or lack-there-of, such as fold-into-the-floor seat and IRS.The other thing that is oft missing when discussing GM full-size SUVs, is that these vehicles—be it good or bad—are very much a part of GM's long and storied history. Heck, the Suburban has been around since 1935! I think it would be about the biggest mistake GM could possibly make, if they were to abandon this market segment. Once you toss out "history," it's very hard to get it back. There's a huge amount of corporate GM image equity invested in those vehicles, and that would evaporate if these vehicles were to disappear.
I guess the real test will be to see whether this demand will sustain itself, and we won't know that for some time to come.
Source: © blogs.edmunds.com by Bob
photo: autoweek.com
