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The 2002 Rendezvous sport wagon, to be launched in early 2001, will finally fulfill Buick’s need for a minivan and a sport-utility.
The Rendezvous is a sibling to the Pontiac Aztek. Both are based on GM’s front-wheel-drive minivan platform and built in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. Both receive the same 185-hp 3.4-liter V-6 engine found in the minivans plus an optional all-wheel-drive system.
But unlike the Aztek, the Buick version will feature three rows of seats. It also is 4.4 inches longer than the Aztek and 2.2 inches taller.
Cadillac will skip the 2001 model year and launch its redesigned full-sized sport-utility as a 2002 model early next year. The Escalade is moving to GM’s newer GMT 800 truck platform.
The Cadillac sport-utility differentiates itself from its sibling, the GMC Yukon Denali, with headlights and a grille reminiscent of the Evoq concept car.
The Escalade will be powered by a revved-up 6.0-liter Vortec V-8 engine and will feature a version of Cadillac’s Stabilitrak traction-control system. Cadillac will not offer an extended wheelbase Escalade based on the Chevrolet Suburban.
From the front, it looks like the Escalade. But the pickup box exposes the new 2002 Escalade EXT as a close sibling to Chevrolet’s new 2002 Avalanche sport-utility/pickup.
The EXT will go head-to-head with Lincoln’s upcoming Blackwood luxury sport-utility/pickup. It will have the same modified Vortec V-8 that will power the Escalade.
Although Cadillac has played with the names SUT (sport-utility truck) and UUV (ultimate-utility vehicle), EXT appears to be the winner. GM has reserved the rights to the Web site domain names "Escalade EXT.com" and "EXTiscoming.com."
For now Cadillac’s first sport wagon, due for the 2003 model year, is being called the LAV, for Luxury Activity Vehicle. But that won’t be the vehicle’s real name. The awd wagon will be aimed at the Lexus RX 300 and other luxury sport wagons.
The LAV will offer three rows of seats and may be powered by a 4.2-liter, Northstar V-8 or a V-6 derived from the Northstar’s design.
The vehicle will be produced on the Sigma platform.
The all-new TrailBlazer will debut early next year for the 2002 model year. The TrailBlazer will be longer and wider than the current Blazer and be powered by GM’s new 4.2-liter inline six-cylinder Vortec engine. GM says the new engine will exceed 250 hp.
GM will build the four-door sport-utility and its siblings, the redesigned 2002 GMC Envoy and Oldsmobile Bravada, at its Moraine, Ohio, assembly plant. A two-door model is not planned.
For the 2003 model year, Chevrolet will introduce a long-wheelbase version of the TrailBlazer that will accommodate a third row of seats. Overall, the vehicle will be about 16 inches longer than the standard TrailBlazer. That version will be built at GM’s Oklahoma City assembly plant, which is being converted from cars to trucks.
Chevrolet’s new four-door sport-utility/pickup debuts at the beginning of 2001 calendar year as a 2002 model. The truck’s base engine is the 5.3-liter Vortec V-8.
The cargo box is 5 feet 3 inches long. But open a door on the back of the cab, and the cargo area stretches into the passenger compartment and provides an 8-foot-1-inch cargo area.
The Avalanche sets the styling cues for Chevrolet’s future truck line.
GM will offer a Cadillac model based on the Avalanche but no GMC version.
For the 2003 model year, the Avalanche’s standard V-8 engine will be modified to handle blends of ethanol and gasoline of up to 85 percent ethanol, a year after the Tahoe and Suburban receive the same modified engine.
Here comes the six-door Suburban. For the 2002 model year, the Suburban will add small doors above the rear wheel wells to give easier access to the third-row seat. Vehicle length does not change.
Also for 2002, all Tahoes and Suburbans equipped with the 5.3-liter Vortec V-8 will be able to run on varying blends of ethanol and gasoline of up to 85 percent ethanol.
This new truck is part sport-utility and part pickup and probably will debut in the 2004 model year. It will be similar in concept to the full-sized Avalanche, with a door (called a midgate) at the back of the cab that lowers, and expands the cargo area into the cab to carry longer items. The vehicle will compete against the Ford Explorer Sport Trac.
GMC will dump the Jimmy name for the 2002 model year when it launches its redesigned, four-door mid-sized sport-utility, the Envoy. GMC will not offer a two-door version of the Envoy. The base engine will be GM’s new 250-hp-plus inline six-cylinder Vortec engine.
GMC will get a long-wheelbase version of the Envoy for 2003 that will have a third row of seats.
Although Chevrolet is keeping the two- and four-door Blazer to meet customer demand for a lower-cost sport-utility, GMC will kill the Jimmy in June 2001 as it ramps up the bigger Envoy.
For 2002, all Yukons and Yukon XLs equipped with the 5.3-liter Vortec V-8 will be able to run on varying blends of ethanol and gasoline up to 85 percent ethanol, as do their Chevy counterparts.
For the 2002 model year, GMC is considering giving the Yukon XL six doors, two suicide doors, for easier access to the third-row seat.
The first GM-designed Hummer brand vehicle will debut as a 2003 model. It will be built on GM’s full-sized truck platform, the GMT 800.
The mid-sized sport-utility moves to a new and larger platform for the 2002 model year. It will be powered by GM’s new 4.2-liter inline six-cylinder engine. Unlike Chevrolet and GMC, Oldsmobile will not get an extended-wheelbase sport-utility.
Saturn’s first sport-utility makes its entrance during the 2002 model year. It will be built at Saturn’s Spring Hill, Tenn., assembly plant, also home to the S series. It will share some components with the next-generation S series.
The awd vehicle’s base powertrain will be the 2.2-liter four-cylinder L850 engine mated to a GM-designed continuously variable transmission. Saturn will offer an optional GM 3.0-liter V-6 engine coupled with a standard automatic transmission to accommodate the V-6’s higher torque.
The vehicle will be about the size of the current Chevrolet Blazer and aimed at the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4.
GMC's upscale Yukon Denali is redesigned for 2001 and receives major upgrades in structure, ride and performance. Also for 2001, the line is expanded to include the Yukon XL Denali, a vehicle based on the Yukon XL/Chevrolet Suburban. The Denali's grille, which is pierced with more than 300 cooling-air inlets and polished to a brilliant sheen, has the look of industrial architecture. Both models feature General Motors' high-output 330 hp Vortec 6000 V-8, which is exclusive to the Denali line. To take advantage of the 330 hp and 370 pounds-feet of torque, the vehicles are equipped with an advanced full-time all-wheel-drive system that requires no driver interaction to reap optimum performance.
-- Automotive News
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