Anthony Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20140415/AUTO0103/304150112/GM-will-bring-subcompact-Chevy-Trax-SUV-U-S- General Motors Co. is will bring its sporty subcompact crossover Chevrolet Trax SUV to the United States after all. With competitors bringing subcompact SUVs to the U.S. and analysts expecting a sales boom for the little SUVs, the Detroit automaker will introduce the Trax to U.S. showrooms early next year as a 2015 model. GM made the announcement Tuesday during a news conference ahead of the start of press days for the New York International Auto Show, where it also showed a refreshed 2015 Chevy Cruze and 2015 Corvette Z06 convertible. The Trax is named after a concept vehicle that GM showed at the New York show in 2007. The company launched the production Trax in 2012, but opted not to bring the Trax to the U.S. because it would compete directly with its sibling, the Buick Encore, and the popular compact Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers. The Encore was introduced as a 2013 model last year; GM sold nearly 32,000 of the small SUVs here in the Encore’s first year on the market. Rest of article at link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 4 compact SUVs. Because 3 just wasn't enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 4 compact SUVs. Because 3 just wasn't enough. Thus the problem with GM's brand strategy. When one of them gets a product that does well, all the other brands complain until they get one too. Then none of them end up doing great. Any predictions on what this does to Encore sales? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blwnsmoke Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 The company launched the production Trax in 2012, but opted not to bring the Trax to the U.S. because it would compete directly with its sibling, the Buick Encore, and the popular compact Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain crossovers. From the same article above.. felt the need to post it again... So they didn't bring it to the US because it would compete with their other vehicles but now they are bringing it so it will compete with their other vehicles???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 From the same article above.. felt the need to post it again... So they didn't bring it to the US because it would compete with their other vehicles but now they are bringing it so it will compete with their other vehicles???? You're not expecting to find actual logic in GM's marketing choices are you? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 (edited) There's no way GM can bring Trax to market without hurting Encore sales, the overlap in buyers is just too great. In other markets, the 1.0 EB Ecosport Titanium seriously undercuts Trax LTZ on price and fuel economy it would make a nice addition to Mexican production alongside Fiesta. We live in hope... Edited April 16, 2014 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Any predictions on what this does to Encore sales? At least one Buick dealer told me he expects Encore to go away once Anthem comes online... More brilliance from GM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 At least one Buick dealer told me he expects Encore to go away once Anthem comes online... More brilliance from GM. Will the Anthem be the Buick version of the Equinox and SRX? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 (edited) Will the Anthem be the Buick version of the Equinox and SRX? Essentially... IIRC,the Delta II CUVs (Equinox, Terrain, SRX, and Anthem) are "paired" onto 2 different wheelbases. Of course, Cadillac currently has both Alpha and Delta CUV's under development. Another "Oh, GM" moment... the next versions of Equinox and Traverse are getting smaller than their current iterations, as they move from Theta and Lambda to Delta and Sigma Epsillon, respectively. What's the best thing to do when you tweener crossover finally becomes a true compact? Duh! Introduce one even smaller! Edited April 16, 2014 by PREMiERdrum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Wait. Sigma as in some new Sigma, or they're moving the Traverse to a RWD architecture? So they can have a nice, very expensive AWD setup in the front axle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmc523 Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Essentially... IIRC,the Delta II CUVs (Equinox, Terrain, SRX, and Anthem) are "paired" onto 2 different wheelbases. Of course, Cadillac currently has both Alpha and Delta CUV's under development. Another "Oh, GM" moment... the next versions of Equinox and Traverse are getting smaller than their current iterations, as they move from Theta and Lambda to Delta and Sigma, respectively. What's the best thing to do when you tweener crossover finally becomes a true compact? Duh! Introduce one even smaller! Too many Greek letters, hard to keep track! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Another "Oh, GM" moment... the next versions of Equinox and Traverse are getting smaller than their current iterations, as they move from Theta and Lambda to Delta and Sigma, respectively. What's the best thing to do when you tweener crossover finally becomes a true compact? Duh! Introduce one even smaller! Is the Equinox being thoroughly downsized, or losing 1-2 inches in some dimensions (much like the current Honda Accord versus the previous generation)? If the latter scenario is the case, I don't believe that there will be much overlap between a slightly smaller Equinox and the Trax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Too many Greek letters, hard to keep track! Exactly! Post corrected... Next-gen Lambda's move to a version of Epsillon, a la XTS and Impala. Wait. Sigma as in some new Sigma, or they're moving the Traverse to a RWD architecture? So they can have a nice, very expensive AWD setup in the front axle? See above. Is the Equinox being thoroughly downsized, or losing 1-2 inches in some dimensions (much like the current Honda Accord versus the previous generation)? If the latter scenario is the case, I don't believe that there will be much overlap between a slightly smaller Equinox and the Trax. Equinox in its next-gen are cleansheet redesigns as it moves from Theta to Delta. I'd expect it to be very, very close to Escape dimentionally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Will there be that much overlap between the smaller Equinox and the Trax? Note that Honda is planning to offer a Trax-type vehicle - the HR-V - while its CR-V remains in the line-up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Will there be that much overlap between the smaller Equinox and the Trax? Note that Honda is planning to offer a Trax-type vehicle - the HR-V - while its CR-V remains in the line-up. The issue is what is the pricing going to be like? The Encore starts at $24K...the larger Equinox starts at the same price as the Encore does. That means the Trax would have to start around $18-20K to make sense...then again this is GM we are talking about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old_fairmont_wagon Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Wait, what happened to the Captiva? I see those things ALL OVER THE PLACE, and they aren't all rentals like they were originally billed as. How many tiny little SUVs does GM need? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Good old GM, keep pulling levers on product, one of them is bound t work.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Wait, what happened to the Captiva? I see those things ALL OVER THE PLACE, and they aren't all rentals like they were originally billed as. How many tiny little SUVs does GM need? Its a fleet vehicle and the ones you don't see in fleets are sold as used cars.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grbeck Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Good old GM, keep pulling levers on product, one of them is bound t work.... I can see the market for this type of vehicle, and it's a decent fit for Chevrolet. The real question here is why did the Buick entry debut first. Chevrolet should be GM's most important division, but GM management still doesn't seem to realize this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 Its a fleet vehicle and the ones you don't see in fleets are sold as used cars.... Still raises the question about what happens to Captiva. I would imagine even fleets will be far more interested in both the Trax and new Equinox instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlRozzi Posted April 17, 2014 Share Posted April 17, 2014 (edited) What happens to Trax transaction prices as used Captiva fleet returns compete with Trax at a lower price? Captiva Sport is plentiful too. I'm looking at the sales table here and I see 12,854 units were moved in the first three months of the year. Edited April 17, 2014 by AlRozzi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 (edited) What happens to Trax transaction prices as used Captiva fleet returns compete with Trax at a lower price? Captiva Sport is plentiful too. I'm looking at the sales table here and I see 12,854 units were moved in the first three months of the year. Different vehicle segments, Captiva is a Compact closer to Escape while Trax is more of an Ecosport Subcompact. Edited April 18, 2014 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlRozzi Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Different vehicle segments, Captiva is a Compact closer to Escape while Trax is more of an Ecosport Subcompact. True, but I've seen this all too often where a customer moves up to a larger vehicle at a lower price. Consider the same effect where a cheap-lease Malibu might draw Cruze buyers, for example. I suspect Captiva will disappear to be replaced by Equinox for the same fleet orders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 (edited) True, but I've seen this all too often where a customer moves up to a larger vehicle at a lower price. Consider the same effect where a cheap-lease Malibu might draw Cruze buyers, for example. I suspect Captiva will disappear to be replaced by Equinox for the same fleet orders. Seeing this in the Aussie market with Trax vs Captiva, a lot of sticker shock as people see Captiva as more value for money. Also, in our market Trax LTZ is available only as 1.8 auto while the 1.0 EB Ecosport Titanium manual is $4,000 less and the 1.0 EB Auto is still $2,000 less...Ford India is knocking them out dirt cheap, hope Ecosport catches on. Edited April 19, 2014 by jpd80 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonj80 Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Seeing this in the Aussie market with Trax vs Captiva, a lot of sticker shock as people see Captiva as more value for money. Also, in our market Trax LTZ is available only as 1.8 auto while the 1.0 EB Ecosport Titanium manual is $4,000 less and the 1.0 EB Auto is still $2,000 less...Ford India is knocking them out dirt cheap, hope Ecosport catches on. Hopefully Ford internally is hopefully scrambling to get the EcoSport launched here. They are going to come very late to the microSUV party, and not being in this segment will cost them sales for years as people become loyal to a brand. The HR-V and Renegade will be a very popular, these Micro SUV's will be taking sales from the Fiesta and Focus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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