Archive for the ‘Traverse’ Category

This year, even if you ignore the demise of Pontiac and the uncertain future of Saturn, and Hummer, there's already going to be a very noticeable difference at Chevrolet and GMC dealerships: the 2009 Chevrolet Trailblazer and 2009 GMC Envoy are gone, and they're not coming back for 2010.

That's right; those once top-selling mid-size SUVs have seen a big decline in interest along with a slow and quiet death over the past couple of years. GM discontinued the three-row Trailblazer EXT and Envoy XL models after 2006 and all but confirmed the demise of their shorter counterparts models around that time—though they soldiered on for nearly three...

As fuel prices continue to edge up and the auto market remains soft, the sales decline of the traditional truck-based SUV looks to be  permanent. What are people driving instead? What should you consider if you're in the market?

MSNBC reports that from their high-water mark in 2003, the percentage of market captured by SUVs has fallen from 17.1 percent to just 7.8 percent year to date. Specialty entries such as the excellent 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid and 2009 GMC Yukon Hybrid are not produced in high enough volumes to stem this tide, and their price of entry is too steep to effect broader sales numbers. Chrysler canceled their hybrid...

The best vehicles exude character befitting the vehicle's brand. Character doesn't magically appear by some accidental assemblage of parts. A vehicle's character comes from engineers and designers who know, systemically, what the vehicle should look and feel like. This is why luxury drips from the grille of a Rolls-Royce and why one look at a Lotus explains the car's purpose in life.

Similarly, 2009 Chevrolet Traverse, Chevy's version of GM's full-size crossover (see our full review here) has spot-on character. This notion struck us after returning from a trip to drive the 2010 Volvo XC60, an all-new mid-size crossover from the Swedes.

The...