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  • Blake Noble
    Blake Noble

    By Blake Noble •

    The Encore’s Encore: Chevy to Get Version of Buick’s Small CUV?

    G. Noble

    Editor/Reporter

    CheersandGears.com

    March 27, 2012

    If these patent drawings unearthed by French publication L’Automobile Magazine are the real deal, then it seems Buick — and by extension Opel — won’t be the only GM brand selling a new small crossover in the near future. The drawings, which unsurprisingly are claimed to come from the European patent office, clearly show what seems to be a Buick Encore-based vehicle with some changes to the sheetmetal and wearing the familiar Chevrolet dual port grille. That also means the small Chevy CUV depicted would be the same size as the Encore, would offer all-wheel drive, and would probably share an engine or two.

    L’Automobile didn’t receive any confirmation or comment from GM about the patent drawings. On a more interesting note, the L’Automobile article seems to think that this particular GM model may play a tidy role in the GME-PSA partnership, providing PSA with a vehicle which they can rebadge and use to replace the Mitsubishi-based Citroën C-Crosser and Peugeot 4007.

    If this new Chevy shows up anywhere, count on it turning up in Europe and Asia, especially China. As for us in North America? There’s a good chance we may get a crack at it as well. An Encore-based Chevy CUV could slot in below the Equinox and give Chevy a vehicle that can take the Toyota RAV-4, Honda CR-V, and Jeep Compass head-on.

    Source: L'Automobile Magazine

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    hyperv6

    I hear this is the 2025 Tahoe.

    I really don't think this one will be here. Too close to the Buick. But in this day and age they never seen to find enough SUV's to sell anymore.

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    Blake Noble

    I don't know about that, hyper. I think it'll be here. The whole reason GM repurposed the Opel Antara/Saturn Vue for the U.S. market as the Chevrolet Captiva Sport was because they felt there was an absence left in the wake of the discontinuation of the old HHR. I know the Captiva Sport is only available brand-new to fleet buyers right now, but I think that will change with whatever replaces it. Call it a hunch, but I think the CUV in the patent images will be what replaces it.

    I also wonder how much shelf life the Antara has left after the Mokka goes on sale. The Antara only rides on a wheelbase that's six-inches longer than the Mokka's and the other dimensions aren't that much larger.

    Edited by black-knight
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    David

    I believe a compact CUV for Chevy with FWD/AWD options would be the ticket for many young College graduates starting their career and wanting a solid ride to get up the mountain to play.

    This would rock for Chevy!

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    regfootball

    Encore was at our autoshow, and it looked fantastic. It's a great size also. Funny thing, the dimensions are about the exact size (the Encore) as the sx4's i try to give away every day. The Encore is an amazing styling job. It is an extremely small rig yet it has a ton of presence and looks substantial.

    The size is such that it it's on the small platform that should give nice mpg....and it looks to be space efficient. It will probably be 7-900 pounds lighter than an Equinox. Cheaper to buy also. My guess is if chevy brings it here, sales will explode, and also i bet this is why there is no Orlando here.

    One of the easiest ways to make small cars actually desirable is to raise the roof and make it a crossover so people can be comfortable, and get some ground clearance for winter. If chevy does not sell this here, one of their competition will and will take market share.

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    Blake Noble

    If chevy does not sell this here, one of their competition will and will take market share.

    Uh, the competition already have it. Let's see, there's Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Jeep, Mitsubishi ...

    The schnoze is too large. There is more to it than an Encore rebadge. Look at the encore side profile in the gallery.

    The nose appears to be a little longer, but these patent drawings always manage to come across different from the real thing somehow.

    It's not a blatant rebadge, no, but it's obvious that it appears be related to the Encore/Mokka.

    Edited by black-knight
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    hyperv6

    Chevy needs a small SUVbut I don't think this one is the ticket.

    It is just a little too close the the Encore in shape and style. GM has done a pretty good job of platform sharing and if the do this one as a Chevy and the Encore one of them will lose.

    They need to change the body more like they did on the Cruse and Verano. St least give it a little different shape. While this is different it is not enough.

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    GMTruckGuy74

    It would be better for GM to re-align the sizing of their SUV/CUV models to avoid overlap and fill in gaps that they currently do not offer a model in:

    GM: Yukon XL/Suburban - Yukon/Tahoe - Acadia/Traverse - ?/Trailblazer - Terrain/Equinox - Encore/Chevy Moka

    Ford: Expedition XL - Expedition/Navigator - Explorer - - Explorer - Escape - N/A or C-Max?

    Chrysler: N/A - Durango - Grand Cherokee - GC - Liberty - Patriot/Compass

    (and of course I won't go into the foreign brands but you have the Sequioa, CR-V, Pathfinder, X-Terra, Rougue, 4Runner, RAV4, etc to put up to each of these classes)

    This ideal GM lineup offers a balance between SUV (BOF) and today's more demanded CUV architecture, where those needing towing & payload capability can still find it and those seeking more people haulers find what they're looking for. Of course the Trailblazer has not been id'ed for sale in North America, nor has a GMC version been alluded to either. But if offered it would bring a sense of balance to the dealer's lots and offer customers more choices in vehicles that suit their driving needs.

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    Drew Dowdell

    The current Equinox is closer to the Pilot in size..a lot bigger than the CR-V...

    Keep in mind that the 'Nox and Terrain are losing some bulk on the next total redesign. They are moving to a Delta2(3) variant.

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    Robert Hall

    It would be better for GM to re-align the sizing of their SUV/CUV models to avoid overlap and fill in gaps that they currently do not offer a model in:

    GM: Yukon XL/Suburban - Yukon/Tahoe - Acadia/Traverse - ?/Trailblazer - Terrain/Equinox - Encore/Chevy Moka

    Ford: Expedition XL - Expedition/Navigator - Explorer - - Explorer - Escape - N/A or C-Max?

    Chrysler: N/A - Durango - Grand Cherokee - GC - Liberty - Patriot/Compass

    Currently as far as CUVs, the Ford/GM alignment seems to be the Traverse matches up w/ the Flex and Equinox w/ the Edge. Nothing really lines up w/ the Escape or Explorer. WIll be interesting to see how things evolve...

    With BOF SUVs, the Tahoe and Suburban line up well w/ the Expedition and Expedition EL.

    I guess the Buick, GMC, and Cadillac entries sort of map to Lincoln.

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    David

    It would be better for GM to re-align the sizing of their SUV/CUV models to avoid overlap and fill in gaps that they currently do not offer a model in:

    GM: Yukon XL/Suburban - Yukon/Tahoe - Acadia/Traverse - ?/Trailblazer - Terrain/Equinox - Encore/Chevy Moka

    Ford: Expedition XL - Expedition/Navigator - Explorer - - Explorer - Escape - N/A or C-Max?

    Chrysler: N/A - Durango - Grand Cherokee - GC - Liberty - Patriot/Compass

    Currently as far as CUVs, the Ford/GM alignment seems to be the Traverse matches up w/ the Flex and Equinox w/ the Edge. Nothing really lines up w/ the Escape or Explorer. WIll be interesting to see how things evolve...

    With BOF SUVs, the Tahoe and Suburban line up well w/ the Expedition and Expedition EL.

    I guess the Buick, GMC, and Cadillac entries sort of map to Lincoln.

    I do agree that alignment is needed as when you do research it is pretty interesting to see what some SUV's or CUV's tend to be considered competition with.

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    frogger

    Some lengths for comparison

    Fiesta Hatch: 161 inches

    Encore: 168 inches

    Focus 5 door: 171.6 inches

    CRV: 178 inches

    CX-5: 178 inches

    Edge: 184 inches

    Equinox 187 inches

    Grand Cherokee: 190 inches

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    SAmadei

    Needless to say, I found the Edge to be much more comfortable than the Nox. The current Nox is a bit too small, and am sorry to see its shrinking more. I actually preferred the 1st gens.

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    PONTIAC06

    you can tell they are related, but even the greenhouses and details are different, so I don't think it would be a blatant rebadge...I'd say go for it and see how it does...probably better than many people might think...

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    smk4565

    Chevy does need a small SUV, as they do sell, especially to female buyers. The Equinox is more of a mid-size, and the Traverse a full size. They will need that small SUV to round out the line up, especially in the future because the Suburban/Tahoe may survive, but I could see vehicles like that dying off in the 2020s.

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    David

    Chevy does need a small SUV, as they do sell, especially to female buyers. The Equinox is more of a mid-size, and the Traverse a full size. They will need that small SUV to round out the line up, especially in the future because the Suburban/Tahoe may survive, but I could see vehicles like that dying off in the 2020s.

    I have to disagree, we will not see them die off as much as they get reduced to a niche player. Way to many needs that the Suburban/tahoe line handles that smaller SUV/CUV's cannot do.

    • Agree 1
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    GMTruckGuy74

    I'd hate to see the day where the Suburban gets killed off. Surely there will always be a market for this SUV, even if it dipped to Corvette numbers I'd hope Chevy would have the sense to keep it alive.

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    smk4565

    I don't think the Suburban/Tahoe will die off totally, but the numbers will drop. The Expedition has faded away, I can see that being gone in 10 years, does Toyota even make the Sequioa anymore? These huge trucks will become a thing of the past, similar to how the Town Car and Crown Victoria's time had come to an end. I do think that the Tahoe/Suburban will survive in a niche role for those that need towing or hauling ability of a truck. But the Navigators and Escalades of the world I can see being changed to a unibody crossover in the name of fuel economy.

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    hyperv6

    The Suburban will survive but it may only get a 3/4 ton rating. The regs are more lax with the larger trucks.

    I would like to see the Travere get more Explorer sized. To me at times it is almost too long. The Nox is perfect for passengers as it has a lot of passenger room and there is no back seat in class bigger. Now they so need to address cargo space. I would like to see it get lighter and add a little more cargo room in the back. If they could move the side panels out more or make the floor deeper.

    The Edge has a good popular size but I feel Chevy could beat Ford on price since the Edge is already about $10K more than an similar optioned Nox.

    As for the Flex that one will die soon. Sales are tanking with higher gas prices, the cost to buy and the new Explorer coming out. 40K-50K is just too much for a station wagon. Unless it is the CTS V.

    GM needs to better lineup all their models to better compete. Being the odd man out sometimes works but other times hurts. The Nox and Terrain are two that worked out but too often it hurts,

    GM's Ace is value as many of their new models are class leading or near class leading and often cheaper or better optioned than the compitition.

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    David

    hyperv6 I would agree with you on the alignment of GM's vehicles to better compete with what is out there rather than being in an ackward mid spot. I do not think they actually have to change size as much as just market it to let people know what they are competing against.

    In regards to the Suburban, I think both 1/2 and 3/4 ton versions can survive, but we will have to push the use of Lightweigth High strength steel and composites. Plus I think you could better use the Hybrid technology in the Tahoe by putting it into a Suburban.

    Over all, They could realy extend the life and have a LARGE pick up in sales if thy gave us our 4.8 L Duramax with 6 speed Allison tranny in a Suburban. Ton's of people who pull RV's, horse trailers, etc would love to get a new Suburban with a diesel.

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    hyperv6

    I don't know if anyone could afford a Suburban with enough light weight materials in it to make a 1/2 ton. The one thing that will help is that they and the Tahoe are not selling like they used too as many people have down sized. At least they would not be large numbers in the past.

    As for the 1/2 ton GM will keep it around even if they have to make it out of tin foil. Too much profit and too many sales to even hint at removing it.

    While the Duramax may someday be accepted by the general buyer it has yet to spark a great desire and you can't put all the chips on that one. I agree it should be offered but I expect GM will offer the TT turbo that is coming in the trucks at some point. They have the power they have a flat strong torque curve and Ford has proven if you build it people will come and even pay $1000 more to save one gallon.

    Also the new DI V8 will improve MPG and Torque so it will still be viable but any MPG even one MPG will be taken any way they can get it.

    It will be interesting to see what GM did to cut weight on the next Gen 1/2 ton. Some are saying it will take a large drop in weight but give up nothing in towing or hauling. This should really be a help and will only ge step one to the future as they find ways to cut more weight. The Cost vs pounds will be difficult in the trucks as the price prevents ease as it can be done in a higher price Caddy.

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