Filed under: Minivans/MPVs, SUVs, Crossovers/CUVs, Chevrolet, Dodge, GM, Rumormill
Rumormill: Caravan, Suburban would move to Lambda platform
We reported last month that General Motors could move the next Cadillac Escalade to its Lambda platform that's currently used by the Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave and Chevy Traverse, and now GM Inside News is reporting via an inside source that the Suburban/Yukon XL may also get the unibody treatment. With replacements for the smaller Chevy Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Escalade reportedly cancelled, we think all signs are pointing to each GMT900-based SUV moving over to the Lambda platform with some of the current slow-selling Lambda-based models being cut altogether.
But the craziness doesn't end there. GM Inside News also reports an even more surprising vehicle could get moved to the crossover platform: the Dodge Caravan, assuming of course that the General follows through on talks to purchase Chrysler from Cerberus. You may recall that GM abandoned the minivan market earlier this year in favor of its Lambda-based crossovers.
The Lambda platform must be extremely modular if it can be stretched enough to accommodate the size of the Suburban along with the people- and cargo-carrying capacity of a Dodge minivan. Also on the rumormill menu is a possible Chevrolet version of the minivan. These changes are supposedly set to take place by 2014, and plenty of things can and will change by then. In other words, talk this all with a grain of salt.
[Source: GM Inside News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Torrent 5:37PM (10/31/2008)
yeah....................
not gonna happen....
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Sandeep 5:41PM (10/31/2008)
+1
Andrew 6:51PM (10/31/2008)
+2
There is still plenty of demand for the Suburban, especially if the Durango and Japanese competitors give up first. Might not always be for soccer moms, but there are numerous businesses, municipalities, and families that actually do need the people, cargo, and towing capacity that can only come from a full-size BOF truck.
Torrent 7:38PM (10/31/2008)
The main people who demand Suburbans:
da gubment...
Torrent 7:39PM (10/31/2008)
that means 'the government' for those slower thinking people...
waiownsyou 5:41PM (10/31/2008)
For such a modular platform, you'd think they give it a better nomenclature than Lambda. I'm thinking somewhere the lines of... oh... The Chuck Norris Platform.
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akboss302 5:35PM (11/01/2008)
HA HA HA! +1
P.V. 5:47PM (10/31/2008)
I like the idea of a Lambda-based minivan, as long as they give them proper sliding doors. I don't want another internal Lambda competitor with swing doors. People do still have uses for sliding doors nowadays, despite their waning popularity.
Also, PLEASE KEEP THE SUBURBAN AS A TRUCK-BASED UTE! It has towing capabilities like none other, and it still has more room than the Lambdas (granted, the Lambdas beat the GMT900s, but not the GMT900 XLs).
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Todd 5:48PM (10/31/2008)
Ummm D'uh!
After being nationalized by the government, a merged GM/Chrysler/Ford, would only have one "suv" based on either the Lamdba platform or the Escape.
...and I don't want to hear anyone ask/speculate what the available engines will be...No gasoline V-8s or V-6! 2.0 diesel hybrid will be the only available engine on the Suburabn. M'kay?
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f3rg 6:10PM (10/31/2008)
Castrating the 'Burban? Bad idea. It needed to tow like a truck and haul like a truck, just like it always has.
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C.W. 6:19PM (10/31/2008)
I understand cutting either the GMT900 or GMT900 XL line, but to cut one and then maim the other doesn't make sense to me. Maybe GM could save money by combining Tahoe, Yukon (and XL), and Suburban into one vehicle...surely there's money to be saved in reducing the amount of badge engineering that needs to be done. The Lambda line is crowded as is. I understand that it's flexible architecture, but does it really need 10+ vehicles based on it? If you tow anything bigger than a WaveRunner, you'd understand why GMT1000 needs to exist.
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playdrv4me 6:22PM (10/31/2008)
LOL, a Lambda based Escalade... Now a Lambda based SRX actually makes sense, but my 'Lade as a cross-over? Please cancel the thing already before you forcibly remove its testicles, same goes for the Tahoe and 'Burban.
What's next? An XJ based Range Rover wagon? :rolleyes:
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Jeff 9:03PM (11/01/2008)
Please don't give Tata any ideas.
Mex---I--CAN R8 6:41PM (10/31/2008)
Seriously?
More Lambdas?
how many vehicles based on this platform GM is planning to make?
1000?
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Kitko 6:43PM (10/31/2008)
Is "Lambda platform" a synonym for a "funeral coach"?
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Parkerman 6:56PM (10/31/2008)
GM failed with Minvans... Looks like they are going to take the caravan... and fail again with it.
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McLovin 7:06PM (10/31/2008)
GM would be smart to move their body on frame, truck based SUVs to Lamda. How many people take their Escalade off-road? I'll give you a hint, it's fewer than the number of people who think McCain will win the election. The Tahoe gets marked down because of lousy third row seating space and high rear trunk height and a lot of that is because of their body on frame platform. Let's face it, most SUVs don't go off-road.
As for moving Chrysler minivans to Lambda, this is just wild speculation. The equivalent of mental masturbation. Let's see if GM buys Chrysler first ... then speculate on this then.
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jim 10:41PM (10/31/2008)
Off road isn't the use that those who need a Suburban or the XL scade, its towing. I have a difficult time believing that the Lambda would handle a 9-10,000# trailer.
Torrent 11:03PM (10/31/2008)
We're basically talkng a FWD, Car-like V6 Escalade.... Everything the escalade isn't.
It'll be a Ford Flex!
UltimoDragon 2:09AM (11/01/2008)
You're not that crazy, McLovin. Just for kicks, I matched up the Buick Enclave (3.6 V6) with a Chevy Tahoe (4.8 V8). As far as specifications go, they're not that far apart.
http://www.edmunds.com/apps/nvc/edmunds/VehicleComparison?styleid=100845493&styleid=100891760&maxvehicles=5&refid=&op=3&tab=specs
As expected, the Tahoe has a tremendous advantage in towing and torque. But for everyday driving needs, the Enclave (and other Lambdas, assuming similar numbers) aren't bad replacements. And you can always buy a smaller boat or camper.