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General Motors May Discontinue Full-Size SUVs

2009 Chevrolet Tahoe2009 Chevrolet Tahoe2009 Chevrolet Tahoe2009 Chevrolet Tahoe2009 Chevrolet Tahoe
In the context of global economic crisis, American car manufacturer General Motors said it may cancel the next generation Tahoe and Suburban, initially planned for release in 2011 and 2012 respectively, but it's unclear if the current models remain in production until then or not. The announcement comes after other discontinued projects were confirmed this month, with production of Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy and Saab 9-7X to be stopped in December.

“It would have been very difficult in today’s environment to spend a couple of billion dollars to do a replacement,” Robert A. Lutz, G.M.’s vice chairman and head of product development, told the New York Times. “Reality had set in.”

This decision is somehow obvious with the global recession continuously affecting car manufacturers from all over the world. American automakers experienced loses due to increasing petrol prices, with potential customers starting looking for more fuel-efficient cars usually built by European companies. More importantly, Tahoe sales were down 30 percent in the first nine months of this year, according to Edmunds, with General Motors aiming to close the SUV factory in Janesville, Winsconsin and move the production to Arlington, Texas.

“For a long time, gas was cheap and money was easy and Americans wanted these big vehicles. There was no downside — until the bottom fell out,” John Casesa, a principal in the Casesa Shapiro Group, an auto consulting firm, told the aforementioned source.

Motorcycles are not doing great either as the demand has experienced a huge decrease in the last few months, so large companies such as Suzuki, Yamaha and Honda announced job cuts and lowered productions for American plants.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
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Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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