GM to Add Third Row of Seats to Mid-Size SUVs

The latest "must-have" feature in SUVs is a third row of seats.

General Motors Corporation plans to offer stretch versions of its mid-size SUVs that will include the extra seating in an effort to compete against DaimlerChrysler AG's highly successful Dodge Durango and Ford Motor Company's redesigned Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer.

The stretch versions of the Chevrolet Trailblazer, GMC Envoy and Oldsmobile Bravada will likely go on sale in late 2001 or early 2002, within a year after the regular-size versions reach U.S. dealerships in the first half of 2001, according to GM officials and auto industry analysts.