General Motors Corp. will introduce more than a dozen new crossover wagons in the next three years, according to a June 2 report in the Detroit Free Press. Crossovers—combining the basic structure of a car with the height and all-wheel drive of an SUV—have been booming as automakers developed new models like the Hyundai Santa Fe, Mercedes-Benz M-Class, BMW X5 and Volvo XC90. GM currently offers just four crossover wagons: the Buick Rendezvous, Cadillac SRX, Chevrolet Equinox and Saturn Vue. GM will add two crossovers this year: the Pontiac Torrent and Chevrolet HHR. The new GM crossovers will include both midsize vehicles like the Toyota Highlander and a new larger class of crossovers as big as a full-size Chevrolet Tahoe SUV, the industry newsletter Global Auto Insider reported. The Insider report added they would probably come with standard V6 engines and optional V8s. A second family of smaller crossovers—in both five-seat compact models and stretched seven-seat versions—will replace current models like the Vue and Equinox in 2007, the newsletter reported, and the GM source confirmed in the Free Press report. GM’s four current models account for about 14.4 percent of U.S. crossover sales, and GM expects the new models to boost that share considerably. Its crossover portfolio will grow to 10 vehicles for the 2007 model year and 14 for the 2009 model year, according to the Free Press Report.
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