More Choice for GM Customers
Sometimes when an automaker comes to market with a new vehicle it just seems to fill a void that wasn't properly represented either by manufacturers as a whole or the particular brand itself. And then other times, I'm left scratching my head in wonderment as to why it exists at all.
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| General Motors is taking brand engineering to a new level with the Rainier and its SUV siblings. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
Take the new Buick Rainier. Is it nice? Yeah, it's easily as good as the Chevy Trailblazer, GMC Envoy and soon to be discontinued Oldsmobile Bravada, near identical siblings that each deserves respect. In the U.S., consumers even get another GM SUV clone in the Isuzu Ascender that replaced the long-running Trooper last year. As it seems the General is taking brand engineering to a new level, a philosophy the world's largest automaker promised years ago it would discontinue.
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| The 2004 Rainier features distinctive front end styling and a few unique interior surface treatments. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press) |
But why stop there, joining the Rainier will be the upcoming Saab 9-7 based once again on the same architecture. It is one thing to want to bolster sales in what was a bleeding Swedish brand when the concept was envisioned (its sales have since improved dramatically with the onset of the impressive 9-3), but to base Saab's first SUV on a body-on-frame truck platform is extremely difficult to understand. After all, it has to go up against a slew of Asian and European premium competitors including Volvo's exceptionally good XC90.
So why so many virtually cloned SUVs? While Rainier features distinctive front end styling and a few unique interior surface treatments, its existence can't all be about appearances. What about luxury? Buick has a name for pampering its customers for sure, but the GMC Envoy offers levels of interior luxury easily on par with Buick's new entry.