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CNN Live At Daybreak
Chevrolet Unveils Nine New Crossover Vehicles
Aired August 08, 2003 - 06:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time again for a little business buzz. Have you always wanted to drive you Chevy to the levee? Well, gee, I might just have the model for you.
Let's head live to New York and check in with Carrie Lee, who is in the driver's seat this morning at the Nasdaq site.
Hello, Carol.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: General Motors is unveiling nine new vehicles for the 2006 model year, and the idea here is to roll out some crossover vehicles. Now, these are vehicles that have been very popular over the past year or so. They combine aspects of a car, a minivan and an SUV.
The latest one here is code named the "HHR," and it's really going to be targeted to young families. Here, you can take a look at some of these vehicles. You can see that they have somewhat of a retro design to them.
The one on the right is actually being designed after the 1949 Chevy Suburban. It's appropriate to design it after the Suburban, because most of these vehicles, as I said, are being targeted to young families. They're going to have more affordable price tags, and they're going to comply with new fuel regulations.
So, clearly GM is sort of getting back to its roots here with the Chevrolet product line. Remember, the company also recently redesigned the Cadillac, so really trying to boost sales here. And General Motors really needs to do that. In the first seven months of 2003, GM sales fell about 3.6 percent. Meanwhile, Honda and Toyota have actually picked up in terms of sales.
So, a lot of U.S. car companies, Carol, seeing pressure from Japanese or other overseas imports. And hopefully, GM picking up some sales with this new line...
COSTELLO: Yes.
LEE: ... that's coming out in 2006.
COSTELLO: And if you can't decide on what to get, you can have all three in one car.
LEE: Well, that's right. It's sort of trying to be all things to all people, young families, somebody who wants an affordable car, something that just works for the average person. So, that's what they're going for. We'll see if it's successful.
They do look pretty cool, though, you have to admit.
COSTELLO: Yes, they are pretty cool looking actually.
A quick look at the futures.
LEE: We're looking for a higher open this Friday. I have to say, though, on a weekly basis technology has really taken a hit. The Nasdaq is down about 3.5 percent; the Dow pretty much flat. Some people believe that tech is going to maybe take a little bit of a breather for the next couple of weeks, people rotating out of tech perhaps into other stocks. We'll see what happens today, Carol, looking slightly bullish.
Back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, Carrie Lee live out of New York City this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired August 8, 2003 - 06:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time again for a little business buzz. Have you always wanted to drive you Chevy to the levee? Well, gee, I might just have the model for you.
Let's head live to New York and check in with Carrie Lee, who is in the driver's seat this morning at the Nasdaq site.
Hello, Carol.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: General Motors is unveiling nine new vehicles for the 2006 model year, and the idea here is to roll out some crossover vehicles. Now, these are vehicles that have been very popular over the past year or so. They combine aspects of a car, a minivan and an SUV.
The latest one here is code named the "HHR," and it's really going to be targeted to young families. Here, you can take a look at some of these vehicles. You can see that they have somewhat of a retro design to them.
The one on the right is actually being designed after the 1949 Chevy Suburban. It's appropriate to design it after the Suburban, because most of these vehicles, as I said, are being targeted to young families. They're going to have more affordable price tags, and they're going to comply with new fuel regulations.
So, clearly GM is sort of getting back to its roots here with the Chevrolet product line. Remember, the company also recently redesigned the Cadillac, so really trying to boost sales here. And General Motors really needs to do that. In the first seven months of 2003, GM sales fell about 3.6 percent. Meanwhile, Honda and Toyota have actually picked up in terms of sales.
So, a lot of U.S. car companies, Carol, seeing pressure from Japanese or other overseas imports. And hopefully, GM picking up some sales with this new line...
COSTELLO: Yes.
LEE: ... that's coming out in 2006.
COSTELLO: And if you can't decide on what to get, you can have all three in one car.
LEE: Well, that's right. It's sort of trying to be all things to all people, young families, somebody who wants an affordable car, something that just works for the average person. So, that's what they're going for. We'll see if it's successful.
They do look pretty cool, though, you have to admit.
COSTELLO: Yes, they are pretty cool looking actually.
A quick look at the futures.
LEE: We're looking for a higher open this Friday. I have to say, though, on a weekly basis technology has really taken a hit. The Nasdaq is down about 3.5 percent; the Dow pretty much flat. Some people believe that tech is going to maybe take a little bit of a breather for the next couple of weeks, people rotating out of tech perhaps into other stocks. We'll see what happens today, Carol, looking slightly bullish.
Back to you.
COSTELLO: All right, Carrie Lee live out of New York City this morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
