Posts Tagged ‘Chevrolet’

Nissan NV Utility Vans

Posted: February 3, 2011 in Chevrolet, Dodge, Fiat, Ford, Nissan, Ram
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Later in 2011, probably in the last quarter, Nissan will begin to sell a commercial van that easily rivals the ancient offerings from Ford (Econoline/E-series  full-size vans) and Chevrolet (Express series).

2012 Nissan NV commercial vans

The Ford and Chevy vans haven’t changed much in decades. These pictures, with some minor cosmetic changes, could have come from any of the past 25 years.

2011 Ford E-Series Passenger and Cargo Van

2011 Chevy Express Cargo Van

Dodge used to sell a commercial van, but that’s long gone.  Until recently, Dodge sold a rebadged Ram version of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van, but after the Daimler-Chrysler divorce, those vans are now sold directly by Mercedes.

2011 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Cargo Van

And let’s not forget that Dodge is no longer in the truck business.  New task-master Fiat split off Ram Trucks into a separate brand.  Fiat may eventually market its commercial trucks in the US under the Ram brand.

2011 Fiat Ducato Cargo Van - A line of commercial Fiat vans like this may be marketed in the US under the Ram Brand

The Nissan NV Utility Vans are based on the Nissan Titan pickup truck, sharing the frame and drivetrains. It will come in three variants: The 1500 is a light duty van and two heavy duty vans, a 2500 and 3500.  The HD versions can be ordered with a tall roof, similar to that available on the Mercedes Sprinter.   The base engine is a 4.0 liter V6, while Nissan’s ubiquitous 5.6 liter V8 is optional or standard, depending on configuration.  Diesel power is promised sometime after introduction, but no timetable or details are forthcoming from Nissan.  All will have an automatic transmission.

2012 Nissan NV Cargo Van with the high roof option.

2012 Nissan NV cockpit. Looks very similar to the interior of the Nissan Titan pickup truck.

Our friends at PickupTrucks.com have this great video giving details on the production NV shown at the 2010 Work Truck Show in St. Louis, MO.

My only problem with these new vans is their size. That snout, in addition to the cavernous cargo area, will make these things very hard to park and drive in the congested city.

Ford’s Transit Connect, which looks like a much smaller version of the NV,  is a much better urban fit for most contractors who don’t need the cargo and weight capacity of a gigantic pickup truck.  Further, the Transit Connect will be available in an electric version this year, making it a great fit for fleets that don’t need to drive long distances every day and can recharge each night.

2011 Ford Transit Connect Electric

I think the NV may nudge Ford and GM to update their commercial vans and the Mercedes Sprinter will get its first direct competition.

GM’s Back to Its Old Tricks

Posted: January 19, 2011 in Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, General Motors, GMC, Opel
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One would hope that after GM’s massive bankruptcy, something would have shaken GM’s  infamous entrenched bureaucracy and Byzantine divisional structure to its core.  Once Saturn, Pontiac and Oldsmobile were vanquished to history’s dustbin, only Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC remained.  The old practice of taking a Chevy and cloning its products upstream to every division was supposed to be dead, right?  Not so much.

For as long as I can remember, GMC has had no unique products, but the premium GM gets for dressing up Chevy trucks is so seductive that it couldn’t give up that profit center. Okay, I get it, but I think GMC could have been jettisoned and a new sub-brand of Chevrolet could be created to sell Chevy trucks that look better and are laden with luxury.  My idea was to have the Black Tie division or sub-brand. It would be instantly recognizable as a Chevy and the Black Bow Tie on the grill would be prestigious.  That way, you didn’t have to feed a completely separate division and you could keep the profits within Chevrolet. No such luck. We are stuck with GMC.

Buick was supposed to be different. It was going to get some rebadged Opels, and that’s what you have with the LaCrosse and Regal – both based on the Opel Insignia platform. Sure the Enclave is just a Chevy Traverse or GMC Acadia, but that comes from the “old GM” where each division got a cloned Chevy.

I guess the temptation to fall back into its old ways was too much when the Chevy Cruze was introduced.  Chevy  uses the Cruze platform for the Volt and the Cruze is a world car sold in many markets outside the U.S.  The use of a world platform drives the costs down to the point were GM can build the Cruze in the US (Lordstown, OH) and still make money.

The car of no one's dreams: The Cadillac Cimmaron

A Chevy Cavalier: Looks a bit too much like that Cadillac, huh?

Enter the Buick Verano: A rebadged Chevy Cruze with some cheap-looking fake wood accents and a few more luxury appointments. What next? A modern Cadillac Cimmaron?  See if you see any family resemblances….

2012 Buick Verano: Front

2011 Chevy Cruze: Front

2012 Buick Verano: Rear

2011 Chevy Cruze: Rear

2012 Buick Verano: Cockpit

2011 Chevy Cruze: Cockpit

Sure, there are some subtle differences, but it all looks just a bit too familiar.  The Verano is better than other GM rebadged products in that the cockpit shows some different fascia and the door armrests are reshaped, but the size and look is still Chevrolet, in my humble opinion.  The exterior is also familiar in overall dimension, including the door cutouts and roof slant. The Buick gets a Buick grille and distinctive taillights. Whoop de doo.

GM is crowing about Buick’s sales renaissance; but when you start with such a low bar, it’s not hard to have double digit (55%) increases.  From my point of view in LA, Buick isn’t finding younger buyers; its finding its place in the rental fleets again. Hell, it’s hard to even find a Buick dealer in town.  The Santa Monica GM dealer now appears to share space with Santa Monica Infiniti!  This was a tiny dealership to begin with, so I don’t know how that’s going to work.  The  times I’ve gone there to  look at new models, they haven’t had any inventory.

Buick just doesn’t seem to have any traction in the LA market.  I doubt the Verano is going to help. I see a rental car fleet in its future.

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