Buick Makes Party For New (Plug-in) SUV Nobody Comes - Oh Well

SEE ALSO: Popular Mechanics Gets It Wrong on Buick SUV Hybrid

DETROIT, Aug 19, 2009; Soyoung Kim writing for Reuters reported that General Motors Co has dropped plans for a new Buick sport utility vehicle due to lack of consumer interest, Vice Chairman Tom Stephens said on Wednesday, only two weeks after the new model was announced.

The automaker canceled plans for the SUV, which also called for a plug-in hybrid version, after potential customers invited to GM's testing ground last week said the model did not have the premium characteristics they expect from Buick.

"What we decided to do in response is a good example of the essence of the new General Motors.. acting quickly, and boldly, and listening to feedback from customers, employees, dealers, media and just about anyone else with an opinion," Stephens wrote on a company blog.

"In the past this would have been a several-month process," he said.

GM, which emerged from bankruptcy last month, has said it wants to be more responsive to customer feedback and make decisions more quickly.

The company unveiled plans to launch the five-passenger Buick crossover in 2010 and a plug-in version of the model in 2011 during an industry conference on Aug. 6.

The Buick was expected to be the first commercially available plug-in SUV by a major automaker and follow GM's heavily touted Chevrolet Volt plug-in car.

The plug-in hybrid technology would be applied to another vehicle "at no delay" and the company would discuss the plans in the near future, Stephens said.

Editing for Reuters by Robert MacMillan

SEE ALSO: Popular Mechanics Gets It Wrong on Buick SUV Hybrid