GM axes small crossover plans, Asian compact coming instead
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Chevy Orlando concept
When GM and the UAW agreed to a new contract in 2007, several new models and the plants in which they would be built were agreed on. Drastic shifts in customer tastes are changing those plans rapidly, and the General is scrambling to deliver. GM was planning to build a seven-seat crossover based off its global Delta small car platform at the Detroit Hamtramck plant next year, but the Wall Street Journal is now reporting that the vehicle will no longer be produced for the US market.
The small MPV, which is being unveiled at the Paris Motor Show in concept form as the Chevy Orlando, will still be available in Europe where small seven-seaters are much more popular than here in the States. The small crossover will instead be replaced by a compact vehicle from Asia, possibly the Chevy Beat. However, GM never designed the Beat to meet U.S. crash-test standards, but hopefully the extra resources freed up by nixing the Orlando's U.S. launch could make that happen in quick order.
Gallery: Chevrolet Orlando concept
[Source: Wall Street Journal]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
No Welfare for GM 1:47PM (9/19/2008)
Asian Compact? G3?
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montoym 9:11PM (9/19/2008)
I wouldn't think they'd need to devote a whole 'nother plant just to build the G3. It's not like it's going to sell a whole lot more than the Aveo(if it sells more at all). The Aveo is the volume car for that model for sure.
Don't they just have the extra capacity at the plant that builds the Aveo to pump out more of a virtually identical car(G3)?
My guess is, we will be seeing a Beat or something similar that also happens to be Asian. I would like to see them squeeze in something like the Orlando though.
I like the Mazda5 and wish there were more similar vehicles out there. Would be neat to see the Orlando with rear-sliding dorrs though like the Mazda5, they are actually quite useful.
Say What? 1:51PM (9/19/2008)
Aw, snaps! And I was just getting ready to place my order for one o' these! *Snicker!*
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raptorspike 1:56PM (9/19/2008)
Wow, someone canceling a SUV? Now all we need to do is lighten our current fleet...
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rwcmick 2:06PM (9/19/2008)
The way I read the WSJ article the Asian sourced car it was referring to is the Pontiac G3...
"General Motors Corp. has suspended plans to build a small, seven-seat crossover wagon for its Chevrolet brand in North America and instead plans to bring another small car to the U.S. from Asia....Earlier in 2008, GM began scouring its global product portfolio for small vehicles it could bring to the U.S. On Thursday, GM said it will start selling the Pontiac G3 subcompact car in the U.S. next spring. The G3, closely based on the Chevrolet Aveo already on sale in the U.S., will be built in South Korea and shipped to the U.S."
Anyways...that's how I see it. As for the MPV-7 in the U.S., the only thing we know is that it won't be assembled at Hamtramck. It could be built elsewhere in the U.S. or imported here. I wouldn't rule it out yet.
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LOs 2:43PM (9/19/2008)
Seeing as the Chevy Beat will be in the new Transformers, I really do think this has been the plan all along. The only reason they floated the Orlando out there was to gauge buzz, if it had gotten a bigger response things may have gone differently.
Probably helped them reach the deal with the UAW ala, "Hey yea you guys can build this new car that cool?... oh wait... yea it's the consumer... no no... it's us not you. You're still with us right?"
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stealthebeatles 2:48PM (9/19/2008)
I'm surprised that everyone isn't praising this move. Seemed like every time I saw a post about the Chevy Beat, people were clamoring to place preorders.
Is the Beat in the same class as the Fiesta, or is it smaller? I feel like if it is any smaller than a Fiesta, its chances of success in the U.S. will not be very good.
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EJinID 2:54PM (9/19/2008)
I was really interested in a small people mover such as the Orlando. Personally don't have much use for a G3 :(
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BGJ 3:39PM (9/19/2008)
The only thing the WSJ article says is that the MPV7 will not be built at Hamtramck. It is a stretch to then say it will not be built anywhere else in NA.
AFAIK it will be coming to NA. Where it will be built is anybody's guess, but it is based on the GMDAT version that will be built in Korea.
Either way, this has absolutely no bearing on the subcompact G3. Completely different architecture as the Volt so I don't see the possibility of it being built in the same plant.
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RanDog 5:28PM (9/19/2008)
Sounds like a gound Honda Element, Mazda 5, Fighter, & I would have bought one!! Beat is way too small to compete in the Orlando's segment.
Too Bad!!!
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mark g. davis 4:20PM (9/19/2008)
Why not just make this the next HHR? Duh!
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rwcmick 4:24PM (9/19/2008)
Mark,
It's my theory that the MPV-7 will be the next HHR. Since the HHR is based off Cobalt and the Cruze is the next iteration of Cobalt, it would make sense that a Delta-based spinoff like Orlando becomes the next HHR.
http://allcarsallthetime.blogspot.com/2008/08/next-hhr-may-be-delta-mpv-7.html
Anyways, as someone said above. Just because one plant doesn't get the MPV-7 doesn't mean it's dead for the U.S. market.
Say tuned.
glockophilic 4:43PM (9/19/2008)
when will the crossover nightmare end. Just call them what they are...all wheel drive minivan without the sliding door.
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fixitfixitstop 4:45PM (9/19/2008)
I don't remember the last time I had more than 5 people in a vehicle which wasn't a bus. Do we really need that many 7-seaters anyway?
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john riley 4:52PM (9/19/2008)
None of this makes sense. You can't "replace" the Orlando, made on the Cruze platform (sorry, I can't remember the names of them all) with some later version of the Aveo. They aren't close to the same size. They may drop the Orlando, but that is it. It is not being replaced.
My impression is that smaller vans like the Kia Rhondo and Mazda M5 are starting to sell better. I think it is time for smaller vans and wagons.
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P.V. 6:10PM (9/19/2008)
I assume the Asian compact is the new Aveo/G3. As for the Orlando, I don't really miss it.
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Torrent 7:47PM (9/19/2008)
Dang. And it looked really good.
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RanDog 12:11PM (9/20/2008)
This (G3) instead of the Orlando, just great!! I would have bought one (Orlando).
The 7 passenger Cruze based (Like Element, Mazda 5) Orlando is a real competitive small van like replacement for families & people who carry large items inside for outdoor use. We need good mileage, but many of us need something bigger then the Aveo-G3.
This Stinks, just when I think GM is getting it, they fall for dealer presure for the ultra small, when they can get a real mass market NEW small crossover & be very competitive with Japan's best in segment!!
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