Introducing the Acadia
By John Larson
General Manager, Buick-Pontiac-GMC
UPDATE: Take a look at our FYI blog for more photos from the unveiling yesterday with Ed Welburn, VP of global design.
We at GMC got to show off our first crossover vehicle to journalists in Hollywood today. It's called the Acadia, and for the first time pairs the versatility of a small utility vehicle with the "Professional Grade" standards of GMC.
Crossovers are the fastest-growing vehicle segment in the U.S., with nearly a million sales last year. And because we expect that number to grow by another million by 2010, General Motors will double the number of our crossover entries by then. Right now, the GMC Acadia is our eighth crossover, joining the Chevy Equinox and HHR, the Pontiac Torrent and Vibe, the Saturn Vue, the Buick Rendezvous and the Cadillac SRX. We believe the Acadia will bring new customers to GMC showrooms.
Take a look at the photos, but here's a bit more about the Acadia:
- Body-frame-integral design, long wheelbase and low center of gravity provide a smooth ride and responsive handling.
- The 3.6L V-6 with variable valve timing and new 6-speed Hydra-Matic 6T75 automatic transmission balance fuel economy with power. Towing capacity is 4,500 pounds, and estimated fuel economy is a competitive 17/25 for the FWD and 17/24 for AWD.
- Up to eight adults can sit comfortably in its three rows, including heating and air conditioning in the third row. The second and third rows fold to create a flat load floor.
- Six air bags are standard equipment: two in the front, two side-impact air bags in the first row, and two roof rail air bags that cover all three seating rows.
The Acadia will be produced at our Lansing Delta Township plant, and will be available at dealerships late this year. Let me know what you think of it.
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From what I can see the Acadia looks fine, but I have a little commentary to write again:
How did GM lose its dominance?
You guys don’t know how to put full content into their vehicles for one. The Malibu has a tilt/telescoping steering wheel, yet no other vehicle including the more expensive Impala, Lucerne, or Caddys have it! Even inexpensive foreign cars like the Civic and Mazda3 have it and it should be standard on everything GM sells.
Old powertrains. The base Lucerne has the 3800? Are ya kidding me?
The base Malibu has the same engine as the Cobalt! Are ya kidding me?
Pushrods in sedans? Come on.
You spend money to produce a 5 cylinder engine and put it in a small truck thats nowhere near competitive, while you have tons of pushrod V6’s they could have used. Pushrods in a truck is OK. Noone wants a 5 cylinder engine, Biff.
Electric Steering. It sucks. Other companies use it but GM’s sucks. Everyone knows it, the car mags say it, but you insist on sticking it in yourvehicles and ruining them. Get rid of the electric steering or use another brand.
Ugly steering wheels used in the Impala, Malibu, etc even though they have good looking 3 spokes used in of all things their minivans!
Poor interior designs, and when its obvious they are poor you are slow to change them.
Not sweating the details. For example, check the Cobalt-interior silver plastic rubs off, hardly any storage space, too small, parking brake under the console, console has no storage, can’t reach seat adjusters without opening the door, etc. Simply pathetic.
A fixation with cheap fake wood. The Saturn Aura should not have cheap fake wood.
Constant dumbing down of concept cars-see Saturn Aura again and please tell me what happened to those poor foglamps? Chrysler’s Cirrus called and it wants its wheels back.
Does not take chances, either with design or new types of vehicles-they actually needed this much time to OK the Camaro? The Captiva is hot, why isnt it here? Why do overseas GM companies make much better looking vehicles inside and out than GM North America?
A refusal to switch suppliers to better ones and to accept nothing but the best for their vehicles. As an example, the HHR’s interior door panels including the armrest feel like they were cut out from plastic milk cartons. The door knob sticks out from a cut-out on the door. Dreadful.
An inattention to ergonomics-see the HHR again and Vue for window switches on the center console, where they dont belong, and out of easy reach. Brake pedal on my mothers Impala seems to be 6 inches higher than the gas pedal-quite uncomfortable. The side view mirrors on the Impala seem to be half the size they should be, and the rear visibility is atrocious.
Uncomfortable seats-in most of your vehicles.
Boring design-why wasn’t the Lucerne designed more boldly for instance. Why doesnt the Impala look like an Impala anymore? Cobalt? Snore inducing. etcetc.
Why does GM need 12 V6 engines, most of which aren’t world class? Keep 2 Pushrods, improve them, and put them in the trucks. Everything else should get the DOHC V6 engines.
Why can’t GM produce world class 4 cylinder engines? The Ecotec’s are noisy and not smooth. They are always getting panned. Either improve them or produce something else.
Side airbags and Onstar should be standard on everything.
Why haven’t you increased your warranty when they know for a fact that people avoid their vehicles because they don’t think they will last past 3-4 years? It doesnt take a rocket scientist to realize that without a longer warranty people just wont feel secure buying a GM vehicle, probably for good reason.
Sorry to be so tough on GM, but its really ludicrous that a company with such a history and a company so large just can’t seem to get its act together once and for all! Its extremely frustrating and I’m tired of GM’s lack of urgency, lack of guts, and lack of leadership.
Sigh, I’ve actually been waiting for this car for some time, unfortuantely it doesn’t appear to have been worth the wait. With EPA fuel economy ratings of 17/24 that means we can expect 15/20 if we’re lucky in the real world. That’s poor mileage for a minivan, lwhen you consider that it’s more of a station wagon it’s downright pathetic. (yes I’m well aware you don’t classify it as a minivan OR a station wagon, doesn’t change what it is)
Looking very good. I really like the interior and the larger set of rims.
John,
Looks very, very good. Great news with regards to both the engine and the 6 speed automatic.
My only concern is that it is easily differentiated from its sister lambda-based crossover vehicles. The photo above looks like the Theta based Vue from the side, esp the C pillar but I guessing that it will be a larger vehicle.
This vehicle is good news. Needs a hybrid version, however. It seems to be a badge of honour here in Toronto for people to drive their Camry Hybrids.
Will it have bluetooth available as an option?
Great new crossover. They should sell well.
PLEASE…increase your warranties. You have GOT to change the perception of the American people about your quality and reliability. Increasing your warranties is the fastest and easiest way to do it.
I work in a midwestern town with a strong american manufacturing history and economy. Most of the people in the town grew up and continue to drive american cars. These are strong, pro-American people, both upper and middle class. However, even here, everyone has a story or a feeling that the American cars are not as “good” as the Japanese cars.
You must do something. If your message isn’t convincing the people in my town, you are bound to struggle and fail.
Increase your warranties. Make it clean and simple: “We guarantee everything on every 2007 or later car/truck/SUV until they get to 70,000 miles.” I don’t understand why GM refuses to do this.
First time posting here – and it is this new Acadia that brought me to it. GM – this is the best looking (inside and out) CUV I have ever seen. I showed my wife and we both are sold. We will be purchasing an Acadia SLT next year. Now – with product like this coming – why oh why do you feel the need to get in bed with Nissan?
This will fund the come back that has been in the works for the past 10 years. Bob Lutz and Wagoner are doing the right thing – cut costs and bring us the product in your pipeline.
This will be my first GM product and I can’t wait.
GM, keep it up. You are really starting to hit stride with your products. I love them, and we have 2 (Saab 97x and Suburban) and have had zero problems with them. Love the quality and features.
The Acadia looks like a great SUV, and looks like it could be my next vehicle.
Sorry to all of the GM bashers for this positive story. I’m sick to death of hearing how the domestic industry can’t compete. You heard it here first: You’ll start hearing about how Toyota will slip in sales/quality in a year or two.
Looks good. I’m not the SUV crossover enthusiast, but lately I have fewer reasons not to be. I feel GM has been doing a A+ effort with its turn around policy and I think this will be another set in the right direction.
John,
I like it – the look had got good lines, it’s got a good feel to it auto wise.. as a potential purchaser, I’m happy to see it looks like it has a navigation system, and other sites mention a dual sun roof and heads up display – some things which I still miss on my last american car (a Pontiac Grand Prix). You and your team did good. I might check it out when our X3 comes up from lease in May.
Is this another Theta variant? If so, how does it differentiate itself from the other Thetas like the Vue and Equinox?
At least it seems not to be using the Chinese V6 from the Equinox. The 6 speed sounds good as well.
my mistake for previous post…discovered this vehicle is on Lambda, not Theta platform.
Please disregard previous post..thank you.
when will these be avalible? and will chevy get a version?
so far we’ve got the Enclave Outlook and now the Acadia…
when will these be avalible and how much will they expect to be priced… if the GMT900 has fuel ecconomy ratings of 16/22 and a price of 34/49 will the 17/24 vehicle be much cheaper?
GM finally got one right! Nice job. Now put a 10 year/100K mile warranty on them and watch people FLOCK to GM showrooms. Make people believe they can trust your product down the road.
Yes, it is a nice family vehicle and think it will fit just nicely into suburban drive ways. But I do know one thing, please do not get rid of the Envoy and Trailblazer; those are very needed vehicles. If you must, then combine that platform with the Colorado/Canyon/H3 and then maybe close down the body panel gaps and rake back the windshield a bit to decrease the drag co-efficient and up the mileage to a little more respectable number.
There is no reason to get rid of the midsize truck SUV’s.
This vehicle is a very compelling package: dare I say best in class. The interior looks fantastic! The exterior is still pretty similar to the Saturn Outlook’s but it is pitched at a different person perhaps (saturn-import vs. gmc-blue-collar). Just continue the value pricing strategy and have the right mix of base and high-end models on dealer lots (to avoid what happened to the Chrylser Pacifica) and this should fly off of dealer lots.
Can I run e85 in it?
If not, no thanks.
Warranty,Warranty,Warranty…I will not come back to GM until the vehicle is covered at least 60 months 60000 miles bumper to bumper with no deductibles or gimmicks.Your quality has burned me in the past and I now drive an import.If you ever want my business again dont talk the talk, prove it.
Puh-lease!
You have heard it a million times by now.
Stop rebadging!
Manufacture ONLY ONE variant of each model and make it the Best in the Class.
NO MORE CLONES!
Rich Feather I’d be shocked if this car isn’t capable of running E85, GM gets some crazy multiplier for their CAFE numbers for “flex fuel” vehicles plus they and Ford are the only ones pushing E85.
Now if you happen to be one of the small percentage of Americans that actually lives near an E85 station is a different question entirely, for example there is exactly ONE public E85 station in the entire state of California.
I have rented several new gm products and like steve g. I am un impressed. You not only should but despretly need to make a comittment to be the best. In every comparson test in every catagory your vehicles need to beat the compertition,otherwise you will continue to struggle for years to come or fail completely. As I have said before I understand your need to save money,but you have a more urgent need to make money. You do that by offering a better product for a better price. So far you have’nt done that yet. While most of your new products are vastly improved ove your former products,it is not yourself you have to beat.
I am admittedly a GM fan. I think this vehcle looks fantastic and hopefully people will give it a chance. I have always felt that the imports get a pass on a lot of issues and the domestics get critisized for the smallest things. I am the service manager in a dealership that carries both GM product and a import line and can tell you from first hand experiance there is not that large a gap in quality if at all between the vehicles that we carry. Over the last few years our warranty business has fallen dramatically with GM, I have not seen our import line drop near as much. I do think that GM should extend the warranty period to help overcome the quality misperceptions that exist.
On the other hand GM does need to be quicker making decisions(Camaro) and do a better job with product and promotion to help their image (high mileage compact and not doing stupid promotions like the $1.99 gas promotion).
On a final note: if you wanted to you could pick every car apart made by every manufacturer if you wanted to and find fault. Again, people are overly critical of GM and give the imports a pass.
A question for SteveG, Did you think up all these complaints all by yourself? It sounds like all you are doing is parroting the car mags that we all know are biased against anything American made. Come up with an original thought of your own man!
As they say, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and changes at a major corporation cannot happen in a day either. Give them time to make the changes that we have been hearing about. GM to the end!!!!!
I too admittedly am a GM fan,
and agree wholeheartedly with David’s -final note-. I presently own 4 GM vehicles ranging in years from 69 thru 03 and honestly can say I have never had any major problems with any of them and they are still quite reliable and valuable to me. Of course,
I maintain them quite well and enjoy doing it. Actually, when it comes right down to it I am a true auto fan period, I have no real disgust for any auto ever made, I just have my favorites and most of the 30 some vehicles I have owned so far have been GM and always will be. HINT – I have owned quite a few Camaro’s in that time (7) and probably could persuade my better half into ONE more IF somebody would kindly get OFF there you know what and produce one… enough said.
I was also a GM fan and want to be again.My father worked for GM and I get employee pricing.However a discount is not my criteria for a vehicle purchase,quality and peace of mind as well as resale value is more important. I am basing my statements on past experience not on consumer reports or the media.A properly maintained vehicle should not have any expenses other than normal wear items for at least a 5 yr 60000 period.I work hard for my money and expect the manufacturer to stand behind their products if they want some of it.
GM: If you’re going to be releasing 8 passenger vehicles that get less than 30 mpg, the least you could do is promote carpooling.
I also get employee discounting, I also get reliablilty, I also get value, I also get good resale, I also have piece of mind, I also base this on past experience, I also have had some bad experiences, but I also have had alot of good experiences with GM and like so many other auto buyers (including imports), I tend to be loyal to my brand, w or wo warranties.
Okay, i know it’s somehow fashionable to have three row seating, but if this vehicle is going to be anywhere near the size of the Ford Freestyle, then the third row will probably prove useless in most instances. With front buckets and a single rear bench, the vehicle has plenty of space for four or five people and all of the stuff they’ll be bringing on a road trip. Where the configuration in the pics would allow for four adults in the first two rows, and three kids all 10 or under in the back with no room for luggage of any kind. Perhaps it’s time to rethink the third row seating idea on vehicles of this type. There really isn’t enough room to make it practical. Though it should be said that I have the same complaint when it comes to shorter bodied minivans as well.
I do agree with some points from above. The cars all should have tilt wheel at the least, and telescoping wheels at lest as an option on all of your cars. Not all Japanese cars have both either, so I don’t really think that would be a big issue.
Part of the deal with GM changing perception is in having good looking, functional interiors made with good quality materials, and of course, everything has to fit properly with no squeeks, rattles or parts otherwise moving when they shouldn’t. GM seems to be making progress on that front, but in far to many cars, particularly on the low end of the price scale, the interiors are just cheap. The cars are good, they ride nice, and are reliable. but the hard plastics in the interiors, oddd switch locations, and other annoyabces all come together to make a car that might well be superior overall to a Corolla seem incredibly cheap, and thus drive customers away from the car feeling that the rest of the car was as cheap as the interior.
The other thing I agree with wholeheartedly is that GM needs to step up and offer some real warranties. Mr Lutz can testify as to how well increasing the warranty to 7 years, 70,000 miles worked for Chrysler’s revival. It brought in quite a few people because it was a bold statement that showed just how confident Chrysler was in their vehicles. At the very least, GM needs to match it. You can’t just tell the American car buying public how confident you are in your new vehicles, you must show us. A considerably longer warranty would do just that.
why are people on here bashing GM in general instead of commenting on the vehicle in question? I can honestly say that the broad statments being made by some on here are probably not helpful to GM at all, if you aren’t going to offer constructive, realistic recommendations about the Acadia you should probably go elsewhere.
The Acadia looks pretty much flawless to me and people are still on here complaining. what more do you want from a new GM vehicle? Compare this to a Trailblazer and then tell me no progress is being made at GM. The interior on thus truck could almost be an Acura. How can people complain about cheap plastics without even sitting in the Acadia? It is pointless to harp on less than stellar products from three years ago, the whole point here is that GM should be showing constant improvement and an ability to learn from past mistakes. That seems to be happening.
Bring on the Enclave!
The Acadia looks to be a very nice vehicle if properly executed with world class quality. Personally I would rather see this vehicle as a Pontiac Torrent. GMC and Chevy should get a new compact SUV based on a truck (body on frame) chassis. They should be about the same size as the last generation Jimmy and Blazer.As both a sporty 2 door and 4 door. Even bring back the Jimmy and Blazer names back. Like the last gen have only one engine. Please make it a v6. No 5cyl engines please and thank you. A few years back GM showed a new v8 engine. If I remember right it was called the XV8. It had 300hp and close to 300lb/ft of torque from 4.3 liters. If GM really wants to sell a lot of trucks you would make a full line of these engines and perhaps a XV6, and offer them through out your entire line of trucks and truck based SUVs. (300hp from 4.3 liters. Can you imagine a 7 liter XV8 Corvette.)I do not want the size or price of a Trailblazer or Envoy, but would rather have the durrability of a RWD/4WD drivetrain which I believe is better at towing. Traction with the same 4WD as your full size pickups should also get better traction than a FWD/AWD drivetrain. Of course they sholuld be loaded with features and options with high quality interriors. An off road option should also be available.
Beautiful! I prefer the Buick Enclave, and I hope it has bluetooth.
Great news, the crossovers are selling, they are needed for families that need the space.
Rick Wagoner should put this Alliance talk out of commission and focus on GM’s turnaround success.
Loyalists are going to get really fumed really fast, if Renault/Nissan hype keeps up. Its nothing but a feeding frenzy and a distraction from GM’s success.
You want share holder value, your loyal customers will give you share holder value as long as GM stays pure GM. If we wanted a foreign crossover we’d already have one.
I also want to comment on the talks with Renault-Nissan.
Why on Earth would you want to team up with a company that makes less reliable cars than you? The only advantage I can see is if some of Nissan’s stylists come to GM and show the poor designers you have what an exciting car can look like.
But here is where an alliance could work-HONDA.
A Honda-GM alliance makes all the sense in the world.
Honda can provide GM with a small car platform (Civic), V6 engines, 4 Cylinder engines that are actually smooth, and access to better parts suppliers and better seats.
GM can provide Honda with truck platforms, RWD platforms, transmissions, and V8 engines.
To me, this looks like a no brainer. How about heading off Jerkorian and forming an alliance with Honda that would shake up the auto industry?
I bet Honda doesn’t like Toyota anymore than GM does.
Honda+GM.
Finally, a variable valve timing, efficient engine and six speed transmission in a GM SUV: Welcome to the modern world!
I am impressed. I haven’t owned a GM since 1989, the 90’s were horrible years, I am glad to see GM returning to great designs and quality looking interiors. If they keep up this kind of work, I might return to American cars….after 17 years. Keep up the great work!
This type of vehicle is not my cup of tea. I think the ones from GM that I have seen are better looking than other vehicles of this type, such as the Dodge Durango. It kinda looks like a minivan too.
In trying to make this vehicle do everything well, it only succeeds in doing many things poorly. Such as fuel mileage. Not good. Appearance- what is this even supposed to be? A minivan? A station wagon? You call it a crossover, is that anything like a cross-dresser? Equally unappealing.
I work for GM and I really wish they would stop making so many of the same products with different name plates. Also please don’t merge with anyone let alone foriegn auto makers, all we have heard is BUY AMERICAN for so long. I feel thats what started GM’s problems to begin with, putting foriegn made parts in their products blurred the line between American made and foriegn made.
“Appearance- what is this even supposed to be? A minivan? A station wagon? You call it a crossover, is that anything like a cross-dresser? Equally unappealing.”
It’s kind of the point to be all those things in one. And I think they did a great job on it!
Fantastic job on the Acadia! When our SmartBuy is up in ‘08, there’s a 99% chance our Envoy will be replaced with either the Acadia or the Enclave, and I’m already looking forward to it greatly (even though we love the Envoy!) I can’t see a single weak spot in the design or features, and love that HUD will be available. Absolute applause to the whole design and engineering team, who obviously worked some long hours!
That said, I can’t believe the whiners on this forum. Go buy your Toyotas and Hondas, if you think they’re so great (whose warranties are no better, I might add.) Per vehicle sold, Toyota and Nissan this year are running at more than 2 and 5 times (respectively) the recall rate of GM! Obviously GM will never be good enough for these people, for reasons that are getting more and more fantastic, and frankly GM doesn’t need such problem customers. One more thing: if you want a longer warranty, it’s called GMPP, available on every car and truck GM sells. Don’t make 3 year buyers and leasers pay more if they don’t have to.
Bob thats great news for GM that they dont need customers so I guess they can continue the downslide.GM is shrinking and will never be as big as it once was so I would think they need every sale they can get.GM brought these problems on themselves and they have much work to do to get people back.Toyota and Honda dont need a better warranty because at this time they are making more dependable vehicles with a much higher resale value
AS always GM has been my car company, the new GMC Acadia and Buick are really great designed products. Needs warranty to match if you believe in your products
As a present owner of two Buick 2004 and 2005, I look forward to new releases, However, for the first time because of quality I’m look to replace them with a Lexus or Acura product.
> One more thing: if you want a longer warranty, it’s called GMPP, available on every car and truck GM sells. Don’t make 3 year buyers and leasers pay more if they don’t have to.
I have one other question regarding these new crossovers: Is this really what Saab wanted to use for their 9-7x? If so, then why do we not read anything about the Envoy based 9-7 that Saab apparently didn’t like or want being phased out? I think it would be cool to see a Saab crossover based on this along with their wonderful turbocharged engines.
This is sortof boring but I guess it follows GMC’s typcial styling (?) cues. The Buick version is drop-dead gorgeous though. Great job on that one!
The Arcadia looks good. However, I much prefer the Enclave. In the pictures, the Enclave’s interior to me looks as good or better than any interior made by anyone…. Ever.
Yes, even as good or better than a $300,000 Rolls-Royce.
SteveG does sound like he has been reading some car mags, but despite that fact he has hit on a few issues that are relavant. No matter what anybody thinks, GM is the big guy on the block, and needs to start acting like it. If not soon there will be the NEXT big guy on the block. Does anybody out there beleive it should take the General 7 years to bring out a rival to the Civic or Corolla and THEN NOT to get it dead nuts right? Why can Hyundai and Kia do it but GM has so much trouble with the idea? One reason is their fixation on trucks. Let me tell you, my brother in law just bought an Avalanche and it would put any large car to shame, but the bread and butter cars are not quite ready to play with the competetion yet. GM deserves kudos for theri new truck line, but with gas going to $5.00 a gallon, it may have hit its stride a few years too late for that market. BUT it shows what GM CAN do.
Oh, I drove the new Cobalt SS supercharged, WHAT A CAR! Who needs a GTO! But the interior is not what it should be. Its not bad, but a little more pressure on your subs (supliers)would go a long way. Drove the Impala, whats not to like! But there is little to lust after. But the good news is the controls are much BETTER in all respects than its competetion, very good job, the ride is great too. But not quite a home run. A little nose heavy and a little too narrow looking. Proportions not quite right, but driving it is a pleasure. The Malibu would be great with a slight re-do of the interior, (use the fake wood, it looks ok to most of us), but take a chance and throw in a hatch and a real wagon version, boost it with the 2.0l Supercharged unit and here comes the new SS. It would move. But how about us who need to watch our pennies? Bring in the diesel. GM, you guys can do anythin, so do it. Make the wagon AWD and compete with Subaru and Mazda.
Just let your design people run the show for a few years.
Gasoline is going up,(DU), where is your “FIT”? GET one quick.
GM. you are gonna make it, but youse gus have to break out from the corporate cage to do it.
Don’t forget… IT’s all about CARS!!!
Good luck with the Nissan/Renault talks, despite what the experts say, its a win-win-win.
Sincerely,
JWB
This looks great..
NEWS FLASH! TOYOTA NOT PERFECT!!
By HIROKO TABUCHI, Associated Press Writer
Tue Jul 18, 12:21 PM ET
TOKYO – Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it was recalling about 420,000 vehicles globally, including some Echo and Prius models sold in the U.S., over a faulty engine part.
The faulty part is the latest in a string of problems requiring recalls by Toyota, raising doubts over whether the automaker can maintain quality standards amid booming sales.
The recall affects 268,570 vehicles sold in Japan across 12 models manufactured in 2001, including Corollas, the compact cars Vitz and Platz and the hybrid Prius, the company said in a statement submitted to Japan’s Transport Ministry.
A faulty engine part could lead to an oil leak in the engine and cause it to stop, the statement said. There have been no accidents blamed on the fault, according to Toyota.
The recall also affects about 150,000 cars sold overseas, mainly in the United States and Canada, Toyota spokeswoman Shiori Hashimoto said. These autos were also manufactured in 2001.
In the United States, 24,490 cars sold under the name Echo and Yaris, as well as 8,476 Prius vehicles are affected by the recall, she said.
_________________________________________________
SO TOYOTA ISN’T PERFECT AFTER ALL!!
I have to say I have had mostly GM vehicles and for the most part have never had any major problems with any of them. Of course I handle any and all maintenance or repairs myself, am experienced with cars and minor problems are no big deal to me.
I would put money on it that MOST import owners would NEVER admit they also have problems with their vehicles. You can go to any dealership in the country and there will be NEW vehicles being repaired regardless of price or country of origin.
QUIT crying about pushrod engines and buy the most dependable vehicles I have ever had, GM!!
Sure GM has produced so very inferior product in the past, but I think that the current management is dedicated to EXCELLANCE!!
The comments about real world mileage are not necessarily true. HHr claims 30 highway. On a recent 4200 mile trip I averaged overall 31.6. City/highway combined.
If you are interested in mileage you can attain it.
Jim J.
I’m amazed – yet another SUV shaped object from GM! Too many brands, too many models, and too much repetition. Doesn’t it make more sense to focus your energies on fewer models with the possibility they’ll reflect greater thought and refinement?
The new Acadia looks nice, but I have a few suggestions for it.
* Lose or decrease the black plastic cladding around the lower part of the vehicle. When are you guys going to learn that black or gray plastic exterior cladding looks CHEAP! Can you say Aztek?
* Design a new steering wheel, please! That’s the same steering wheel we see on every Yukon and Tahoe.
Other than that, nice job designers!
GM has certainly taken its knocks over the years, most of it undesirved.
The imports, I fine, are not comfortable to ride in, the seats are cheap and too firm,
and the interiors are claustrophobic.
Please, never make a car like the Camry. GM ride and space, coupled with solid bodies, are better than the imports.
I’ve owned GM for years and never had any problems.
One question though. Why don’t you put a high-tech diesel in the Suburbans?
I’m sure some GM autos could use diesels too. you have to produce something different to re-capture the American market. A breakthrough in gas mileage would help.
I really liked the interior and beautiful shape of the Acadia It looks nice.
It is really one of the best
Cars
I’m finding it interesting and a little amusing that “crossovers” have become the “hot new segment” of the market- especially if you define a “crossover” as an “SUV with 2 wheel drive.” This definition dates the “crossover” back to the late 1940s and the original 2wd Jeep station wagons. Other early “crossovers” would be 2wd CJs and other 2wd SUVs such as Bronco, Blazer, Jimmy, and later 2wd entries such as Sidekick and Tracker (my daughter has a 1993 2wd Tracker, which I have found to be an excellent commuter vehicle on those days I’ve had to use it).
If “crossover” is defined as a vehicle that combines the qualities of SUV and minivan, that pretty well describes a late 1940s/ early 1950s station wagon- and the HHR. I’m not surprised it’s selling well; all it needs now is a removable or retractable roof section, so that it could be used to carry taller objects.
Another early “crossover” design was the “pickup car,” best represented by the 1957 Ranchero and the 1959 El Camino (and let’s not forget the Subaru BRAT and Baja).
Here are some additional “crossover” concepts that could be designed and developed fairly quickly and cheaply:
1.) The “sedan-pickup,” an otherwise normal sedan with a removable trunk lid and flip-down tailgate; removing the trunk lid transforms the trunk into a pickup bed.
2.) The “minivan-pickup,” an otherwise normal “car-based” front-wheel-drive minivan with fold-flat rear seats and removable (or retractable) cargo-area top (I’ll keep harping on this until I see one in dealer showrooms).
2a.) Minivan-based pickup. As above but with cargo-area top permanently removed, and perhaps a side-opening cargo door (as on the old Corvair pickup).
3.) The SUV sedan: take a typical “station wagon” SUV (TrailBlazer, Tahoe, even Suburban?) and make it a sedan, with a regular “sedan” trunk (with a flipdown tailgate and removable trunk lid, of course). Reminiscent of the old Checker Marathon, this should be hugely popular with police departments and taxi companies…
Note that in each of these concepts, the base vehicle platform is about 90-95% unchanged, and any or all could be put together on existing assembly lines.
Crossovers being the “new hot segment” is kind of amusing. Considering that they’ve been around for awhile. AMC and Subaru came up with the first vehicles in this niche. With their Eagle and GL wagons respectivly. The big difference is that those cars weren’t as tall as todays crossovers. Afterall, what is a crossover other than a tall car based station wagon that happens to have 4wd or AWD? Personally, I’d rather see GM make some real wagons again. If done right, they can be just as cool as the crossovers, and provide better fuel economy as well.
Bring the Captiva to the U.S. with its Diesel Engine. I want the same 37mpg highway as the Brits. Give it a 5yr/60K Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty, and keep the price under $30,000. Now that would be something to consider buying.
Hey! What about the Caddie BLS? Right car for right now.
Is GM planning to bring in a model to counter the Ford Crown Vic and Grand Marquee, as a full size six passenger sedan model. I have a Buick Roadmaster, 1993, Limited with over 200000 miles and it still runs fine, just getting long in the tooth waiting on a replacement. I would hate to go to Ford for the six passenger.
Mr. Lutz: I did not like the idea of a GMC crossover based on the same architecture as the Buick Enclave, but after seeing the Acadia have to admit that it complements the Enclave. It appears to have good leg room in the 2nd row and even acceptable leg room in the third row, the fact the 2nd row can move fore and aft is a plus. It even has enough room behind the third row of seats for several pieces of luggage.
Will a 4 x 8 piece of plywood fit with the seats folded?
Is a fold down passenger seat available for long cargo?
Hopefully a Denali version with 5.3 AFM V8 will be offered.
The Lambda architecture should be used for a new GMC Safari Van and be larger than a typical minivan.
A shorter 5 passenger sport model could also be derived from this for a new GMC Jimmy.
This would be a good platform for a new SAAB 9-7x and could offer Turbo-Diesel power, and this chassis would be easier to get some performance out of. GM needs a good 7 to 8 passenger cross-over for European sales and a SAAB fits the bill.
Although I cringe at the thought, GM will probably have a version for Chevrolet and as long as it offers a different look and function than the others it should be acceptable and like the SAAB needs to be marketed worldwide.
Holden should offer the Outlook, Acadia or Enclave as a replacement for the Adventra that never caught on.
GM must use the Lambda chassis for a world class minivan. This segment is making a comeback and GM needs a base (Chevy) and a luxury (GMC) model for it.
Thanks for listening and keep up the great work.
Larry,
In my humble opinion, this is exactly the type of car GM should NOT build. Crown Vic and clones are ancient dinosaurs. Live axel, heavy, unrefined. They are just big, that’s it. How many would they sell without fleet sales ?
Big is fine, but there are certain characteristics they should also have. See 300C for examples. IRS, refined, nice interiors, nicely styled. Ford is going to kill these dinosaurs shortly I believe.
Just my two-cents.
It doesn’t look as stylish as the Buick Enclave but it has some decent lines. It all comes down to how well you deliver on the details. Please, no more poor body fits, excessive road noise, and cheap plastic interior parts. A longer warranty would say do more than advertising, PR releases, and discount pricing plans to show how serious you are about quality. A 36 month warranty and a 60+ month loan don’t quite fit well together!
Liked the overall aesthetics of the car. It all will depend on how well you deliver on the details.
These lambda vehicles should spell the end of Trailblazer et al, and rightly so. Trailblazer and Co. offer nothing over the new Tahoe/Yukon, except a price differential.
GM, do yourself a favor and skip the proposed Chevy version of the Outlook/Enclave/Acadia. What could it offer that the Saturn Outlook wouldn’t already?
Mr. Larson: Sorry about the name mix-up on the first post.
Reviewed the GMC website and got some information from a local dealer and have to thank you for putting the red GMC letters back on some of the wheels and the optional equipment make sense for a change.
Still have some questions:
What is the cargo length behind the second (furthest forward and back) and behind the third row?
Any chance of Emerald Green exterior paint coming back for 2008?
Are cornering lights available?
Have to say it feels good not to find any glaring faults with the Acadia, and nothing to take it off the consideration list. I rented a Pacifica last year and liked it, nice to have a GMC model to consider against it.
Thanks again.
I have huge hope for this GM product IF:
1)The warranty is increased AND
2)the price is starting in the low 20’s.
Until GM starts increasing it’s fuel economy and warranty, I think I may finally be done buying GM after 20 years. I have a GM credit card I haven’t been able to use because of the above stated reasons. I am waiting to see how it compares to the new Suzuki XL7 out this fall.
I have been researching these all day and was wondering if the copper/orange leather interior will be available also will there be an option for heated second row seats.
Jerry….Low 20’s? Are you kidding me? You can barely buy an Accord these days in the “Low 20’s”.
David- no I am not kidding. Please refer to the Suzuki XL7 (starts about $22K), Mitsubishi Endeavor (about 25K invoice)or any other similar sized SUV. Even the Trailblazer starts at $25 (23K invoice). Obviously I’m not takling about a loaded vehicle, but comfortably equipped. Laugh now, but watch the foreign manufacturers jump on this segment and soar. It is absolutely possible to build a quality midsize SUV with decent gas mileage and a good warranty for the “low 20’s” (or mid 20’s I concede).
Why isn’t is sold in Canada?
If it were a Hyrid you would have a winner. Just the type vehicle I’m looking for, SUV with pulling power, but not too big. But may have to buy a Hyrid for replacement car, and a used truck for hauling. Come on guys, builtd what we want.
It looks good but will it be like my Trailblazer.I loved it but the poor gas mileage,the loud wind noise,uncomfortable seats and $10,000 drop in 2 years really turned me off.Gm can make really good cars if they want to .Lets have good design,comfortable interiors,good mileage AND GOOD RESALE VALUE!!
Wow is this thing huge….. Can we please have something smaller, like a “mini van” with a third row for the occasional passenger that doesn’t weight 4 tonnes and drink gas??
Too expensive, no power liftgate as on full size, poor engine/trans performance
I bought a 2007 Acadia and it has left me on the side of the road twice now in just three thousand miles. The computer was the weak link the first time and a component of it the second time, having to do with the cable-less accelerator system. I like the style of the thing but wonder if they worked out the bugs on this car befor it hit the market. Any other similar issues with any other users so far?
retired from gm 7 years ago uncle gave me 1993 toyota 4 cyl pickup 15 year old truck does not have a squeak or rattle r 2200 4cyl blows the doors off my 2004 v6 chevy silverado also 30 mpg every tank on 5 speed with 309 k mi
Absolutely love the Acadia but it’s not available in the UK. Come on “General” give us some decent stuff and don’t let Chrysler corner the market for mini-van America in the UK with the sub standard Voyager (Town and country to you blokes). Right hand drive a decent Diesel engine and you have the unique selling point of an up to eight seater cabin. You could easily market it as a GMC premium product or re-skin it as a SAAB.
Please for all of us who need the 8 seats or 7 true adult pews