 Jeep Liberty Loses Out to GMC Envoy
Posted by mike on 2001/10/9 23:00:00 (296) reads
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From Yahoo! News: Bucking strong competition from such rivals as the Jeep Liberty, Acura MDX and Toyota Highlander, the GMC Envoy has been named the Motor Trend Magazine SUV of the Year. Motor Trend Detroit bureau chief Jack Keebler said the mid-sized SUV excelled in several areas, but most notably it retained the toughness of a sport utility vehicle, while providing a comfortable ride despite being built on a truck body, rather than a car body like the Toyota Highlander and Lexus RX300. ``People who want SUVs want no tradeoffs,'' said Envoy brand manager, Tony DiSalle. ``We saw a gap in the market where people wanted comfort, but didn't want a car-based SUV.'' Analyst Bill Seltenheim, of Autodata Corp., said he agrees with Motor Trend's choice. He said he believes consumers for whom the traditional reasons for buying an SUV -- storage, power and towing capacity -- are important, might be disappointed with a car-based vehicle. ``You get the comfort, then you realize it's more like a station wagon,'' Seltenheim said. Keebler said the Envoy's exterior design also won over Motor Trend's editors, who drove each of the contenders for three weeks for a minimum of 1,000 miles, some of which were through California's demanding Death Valley. ``It has a fresh new shape, a little edgy,'' Keebler said of the Envoy. The judges also were sold on the Envoy's inline-six cylinder, aluminum block, double overhead cam engine. ``It's an amazing engine, a wonderful powertrain,'' Keebler said. The Envoy's closest competitor was the Jeep Liberty, Keebler said. The smaller SUV fell short on interior roominess and ride comfort, he said. Sticker price for the 2002 Envoy starts at $29,700 and can soar to $38,000 with leather seats and either a sunroof or DVD player. For General Motors Corp., the award is expected to give added momentum to a strong sales year for its light trucks. Last month, while light truck sales declined for most automakers, GM's shot up just over 10 percent from Sept. 2000.
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| Anonymous |
Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00 |
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 Originally posted by: XJKen You are certainly right on money with your comments Cal. As I recall it was
MOTOR TREND that named the Renault Alliance as COY back in the 1980's.
Just recently they ran a comparison test to determine the top performer between a Corvette Z06, BMW M3 and the Porsche Boxter. The Corvette
won every performance test except for one that the BMW tied. Even though
their own test proved the Corvette was the winner they chose the BMW because
it was their favorite. Its a joke.
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| Anonymous |
Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00 |
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Originally posted by: Griff But here's the real kicker, what's under the hood. Jeep needed a all new design because I6's were passe. Well look who saw a opportunity and did a good job with it. I don't like the Envoy any more than the Liberty but I would take it's 4.something I6 overy the Liberty's teeny 3.7 V6 anyday. It's all about torque which equals power and thats something I6's will always be able to do better than v6's
SOLID AXLE FOREVER,
Griff
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| Anonymous |
Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00 |
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Originally posted by: Joe Nos GMC envoy is what most SUV owners want. a 4x2 minivan with leather. 95% of all SUV owners will never go offroading. That is what the suv manufacturers base their suvs on. True hardcore offroaders can't seem to grasp this fact, or they are too dumb to. I think they are too dumb to.
Joe "Kia Owns!@!!" Nos
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| Anonymous |
Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00 |
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Originally posted by: utah I think that an SUV can be whatever the designer wants it to be. Some consumers like luxury, while others want function. So the car companies cater to different market segments.
So what does SUV of the year really mean? In this case, Motortrend is probably catering to the masses who want a car-like ride with truck like toughness. I suppose the Envoy would be a good choice for this type of customer.
But here is my point: Is that not what the Liberty was designed to do? Appeal to that customer. I find it amusing that the Liberty's shortcomings in the minds of Motortrends panel were it's rough ride, and lack of interior space. Considering all the Liberty hype that promised more interiour space.....and the great ride from IFS....it seems ironic that Motortrend considers these as shortcomings in the LIberty.
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| Anonymous |
Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00 |
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Originally posted by: Craig Schroeder Response to Utah and Jayl. Yes I admit I am a salesman. I do add an extra sentence to my reaction for a free ad. It only takes you a few seconds to read it. I do however have some constructive comments to each article I respond to. In reading your responses to this one, I was wondering what constructive comments you two have? This should not be a forum to attack other people, but to offer comments about a particlular article. Maybe these attacks should be deleted. And to Jayl, Park Jeep is the number one in sales Jeep dealer in the Minneapolis Zone year to date. The Minneapolis Zone covers the entire state of Minnesota, and part of Iowa, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas. We did not get there by not being competitive in our prices. You should have called me as I suggested. We are also a 43-year-old family owned dealership, and a Five Star Dealer. Oh here I go selling again. I'm sorry. I can't help it that I am natural born salesman.
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| Anonymous |
Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00 |
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Originally posted by: cal porter Any car that makes Motor Trend's car of the year,be it truck,SUV or Detroit boat means nothing to me as every test they do is apples and oranges stacked in favor of their preference. These people are so steeped in auto jargon they've long lost sight of the real world. I don't even bother to lift their rag off the magazine shelf. Besides I don't think they know an SUV from a John Deere Tractor!
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| Anonymous |
Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00 |
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Originally posted by: XJKen Comparing the Envoy to the Liberty is like comparing apples to oranges. I am
not a fan of the Envoy or Trailblazers for the following reasons. Price, Styling,
( a little busy for my taste) and what appears to be worse ground clearance than
the Liberty. When it comes to choosing SUV's in comparison test Motor Trend,
Car and Driver, Automobile and Road and Track almost always choose the more
car like imports over the truck based domestic choices. This is probably due to the fact that they are car oriented publications. In my mind I figured that
because of this, their choice for SUV of the year was going to be the Toyota
Highlander. Thank God, they at least choose a truck based, American vehicle
with some guts instead of another pansy ass import like Toyota, Honda and
Kia pass off as off-road capable SUV's.
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| Anonymous |
Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00 |
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Originally posted by: JayL I am sick of this guy trying to sell Jeep's in his comments as well! His posts with information are fine but any sales pitches should be deleted! I went to the Park Jeep dealership he works at just south of Minneapolis when the Libertys came out. The saleman I talked to laughed at me when I tried to negotiate a price for the Liberty below sicker. He told me that the Liberty would be the hottest selling vehicle this year and I would have to wait for one like the PT its first year. Obviously I didn't buy my new Jeep from this cocky dealership.
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| Anonymous |
Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00 |
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Originally posted by: Utah Nice sales pitch....I should call you just to smack you around. In the future, confine your feeble sales pitch to the showroom please.
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| Anonymous |
Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00 |
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Originally posted by: Craig Schroeder The Liberty is a by far less expensive vehicle than the Envoye. They start at $17,035., and with every possible option can get up to $28,785. The top end of the Liberty is lower priced than the base of the Envoye. The Liberty is by far a better value. They said the Envoye was superior to the Jeep in roominess and ride. Maybe it should be for $10,000. more money. The Envoye is in a different class. It's a mid-size SUV, and should be compared to the Grand Cherokee. The Liberty is a compact SUV, and should be compared to GM's Tracker. Which would you rather own? Maybe they should write an article comparing the Wrangler to the Suburban. But than Jeep would lose out again due to the Suburban's superiority in roominess and ride. The Liberty should have obviously won out due to it's superior value. Give me a call to check out a Liberty at (800)279-5337 or (952)890-5337. Happy Jeepin and congratulations to all you Liberty owners on saving $10,000.
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| Anonymous |
Posted: 1969/12/31 18:00 Updated: 1969/12/31 18:00 |
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Originally posted by: rich "People who want SUV's want no tradeoffs"
No, they want to pay 38,000 bucks for leather
and cup holders!
Nice quote,and the reason every Tod,Dick&
Buffy is buying a stupid-ass luxury SUV!
These guys who voted for the Envoy are the
reason we are where we are today with the
ridiculous Escalades, Navigators, and the like.
They say the SUV buyer wants a real truck that
rides like a stationwagon and not vice-versa.
I'm no Liberty buff, but it's alot more SUV
than the Envoy. I don't think the clearance on
that front bumper foil could handle the incline
to the Starbucks parking lot.
SUV,s buy nature should be affordable, tough,
yes,a bit roomier, and offer utility as the name
implies, not 12 disc cd changers and GPS systems
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