Uplander replacement spotted... and has a name!

[ocnblu]

Hmmm... well, it's not bad looking, but with it's bulging fenders and uptick in the quarter glass, it reminds me of the Love Child of an HHR and a Traverse. I really hope this is an addition to the line, and not a replacement for the adorable little HHR.

[turbo200]

question for griffon: is this the upsized Groove for our shores, you mentioned a little while back? you mentioned that would be Gamma...

this looks like a great fit for a ~$20k and up market. It will never translate this well to production, I would assume.

Edited September 10, 2008 by turbo200

[thegriffon]

No, this is not the upsized Groove. The Orlando is based on the lwb version of the Global Compact Car, towards the high end of the C-segment, and has 7 seats. If anything it will be bigger than its closest rivals sold in the US, the Mazda5 and Rondo. The upsized Groove will be much smaller and have only 5 seats. It should be something like the upcoming, 2nd gen Nissan Cube Cubic, or the original Scion xB (Toyota bB)—a taller, boxier, more van-like lwb derivation of the B-segment Global Small Car architecture. Opel's Meriva, meanwhile, has grown up a lot and will be in between the two in size—similar to the 1st gen Renault Scenic, PT Cruiser and the new C-segment Scion Xb (Corolla Rumion); i.e. a 5-seat C-MPV. The Meriva will technically be Gamma, but not necessarily the same architecture as the Groove and Aveo. The future Gamma-based crossovers will probably share the new Meriva's longer wheelbase, but with longer front and rear overhangs and a more conventional small-SUV profile.

[Chicagoland]

I remember many on C&G were saying the same thing "copy of PT, will flop". Now suddenly they jumped on bandwagon.