V-6 Popular

General Motors Corp. underestimated demand for the Cadillac SRX cross/utility vehicle equipped with the all-new 3.6L DOHC V-6 producing 260 hp, as well as other options.

In order to reduce bloated inventory of SRX models featuring GM's 4.6L 320-hp Northstar V-8, Cadillac recently began offering $1,500 in dealer incentives, in addition to $2,000-$3,000 in promotional money already available.

“It'll take us another three to four months of product to smooth everything out,” says Cadillac General Manager Mark LaNeve. “We sold 2,000 (SRXs) in December, which we thought was a pretty good performance. We're thrilled with where the car is from an acceptance standpoint.”

“But we screwed up some things marketing-wise. It's the first car we've ever had like this — V-6, V-8, all-wheel (drive), rear-wheel (drive) — all these combinations. We warned the dealers, “You've really got to be on top of this. And in the end, (Cadillac) made a couple of blunders.”

Slightly more than 5,000 SRXs were sold in 2003. Pricing for the RWD V-6 begins at $37,995 and $46,995 for the RWD V-8.

Cadillac thought V-8 demand would run higher because of Northstar and the brand's heritage, says LaNeve.

The V-6-equipped SRX currently accounts for 70% of sales but makes up only 30%-40% of inventory.

Cadillac also is trying to adjust for the 80% demand for SRX's UltraView sunroof, which was pegged at 40%.