GM Will Build Front-Drive Rivals for 'Cute-Utes'

Automotive News reported that General Motors and Suzuki Motor Corp. will switch their small sport-utilities -- the Chevrolet Tracker and Suzuki Vitara -- to front-wheel-drive crossover vehicles. Moving the Tracker and Vitara to a fwd crossover platform represents a major shift for the small sport-utilities. The current vehicles are body on frame with rwd, and both makers have touted the truck-like ruggedness of their vehicles. But GM and Suzuki have seen a new generation of "cute-utes," such as the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and Ford Escape, outsell them as consumers seek car-like handling. The Chevrolet and Suzuki sport wagons, due for the 2004 model year, will be the first vehicles added to GM's new Theta platform created for the Saturn Vue sport-utility coming out this fall. The Tracker and Vitara replacements will be assembled at the CAMI Automotive Inc. plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, according to sources familiar with the product.