 On the left we have the interior of a Yukon Denali, and on the right, the interior of a Cadillac Escalade. Can you spot the differences? General Motors has dropped the cookie cutter approach to the interiors of its full-size SUVs, beginning with the redesigned 2014 models. "In the past we shared SUV and (pickup) truck interiors. That is not the case going forward," said Chris Hilts, creative manager of interior design at General Motors. When the Chevrolet Tahoe and the Suburban, the GMC Yukons, and the Cadillac Escalades get their redesigns, they'll be getting their own instrument panels, consoles, instrumentation, center stacks, knobs, materials and other design elements. Hilts cited two reasons for the change in strategy. First, GM learned during clinics that SUV buyers want more refinement in their vehicles. (No surprise there.) However, pickup owners want a different look in the Silverado and the GMC Sierra interiors. "We went to a lot of clinics. What we learned is that truck customers like their interior to feel like a truck. In some of our past experiences, we felt truck customers would like a passenger-car interior," Hilts said. "That wasn't quite the case when we started listening to what was being said."
 The front ends of Chevy's Silverado and Suburban look awfully similar. The second reason, refinement, also is an effort to further separate the three brands—especially Cadillac—so the interior of a $85,000 Escalade isn't similar to a $45,000 Tahoe. For example, the 2013 Tahoe and Suburban, the GMC Yukons, and the Cadillac Escalades share interior door panels. The 2014 models will have panels specifically designed for each brand. "I think in the past we have not done so well with brand differentiation and we haven't done so well with trim differentiation," Hilts said. With the next-generation pickups and SUVs, "we tried to make a great effort to correct that." He said there still will be some sharing, "but it will be the things that people don't notice. We are putting the money where people do notice. That is what we need to do to be competitive, right?"
As for exterior styling, Hilts suggested that the 2014 Chevrolet and GMC SUVs will be noticeably different from each brand's pickups. Today, the front-end styling of the Tahoe and the Suburban are nearly identical to the Silverado, as is the front treatment for the Sierra and Yukon models. Hilts said if a Chevrolet dealer places a 2014 Silverado and 2014 Tahoe side-by-side on the floor, "they will appear as completely different interiors and they will look like completely separate vehicles." from Car and Driver Blog http://blog.caranddriver.com | |||
| | |||
| | |||
|
Monday, December 24, 2012
GM to Further Differentiate Interiors and Exteriors of Redesigned SUV Family
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment