GM Cutting Build on Profitable SUVs

General Motors Corp. is preparing to trim production of its full-size SUVs - the company's signature vehicles - during the first quarter of 2005. Gary Cowger, President of General Motors North American Operations, confirmed that GM will cut production of the full-size sport-utility vehicles that have been at the heart of the GM's comeback since the mid-1990s. GM won't slow down specific assembly lines at plants but it does plan to take more down weeks during the first quarter. "We're continuing to adjust inventory levels," he added. "We've adjusted inventory all through the year. You generally do it through down weeks," he said. Sales of the Chevrolet Suburban, despite record levels of incentives, have dropped 26 percent in November and are down 10 percent so far this year. Sales of the GMC Yukon XL also dropped 26 percent during November and sales of both the Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon also have fallen dramatically. In another disturbing sign for GM, sales of the Cadillac Escalade also dropped last month by more than 17 percent. The decline in the big SUV sales fed a 10-percent decline in GM's truck sales last month.