GM May Adopt Car-Like Construction For Its Future Large SUVs

The days of GM’s pick-up frame based large SUVs may soon be over as the American carmaker is considering a shift in 2012 to a car-like construction for the successors to the Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon, Cadillac Escalade and other large SUVs according to a report from Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the effort.

The reason is none other than the rising fuel prices which have resulted to a decline in light truck and pickup sales. GM recently announced that it will cut one shift each at three truck plants and one making SUVs starting in July because of this.

While a shift to a unibody construction for large SUVs will not only add to the cost but it will also alienate customers in search of a frame-built model because of their towing abilities, on the other hand, these types of SUVs are lighter which means reduced emissions and better fuel economy. -Continued

“It's a sea change in the type of vehicle that Americans are going to be driving,”' said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst at consulting firm Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts. “This is a big thing. For a long time, GM has been able to rely mostly on profits from trucks. That's changing.''

Via: Bloomberg