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Van replacement will try to shed 'soccer mom' image
DETROIT - General Motors will drop the word minivan and give the Chevrolet Venture and Pontiac Montana a different look when they are replaced for the 2005 model year.
GM intends to create a taller vehicle that will resemble an SUV but retain the cargo-carrying and people-carrying features of a minivan. GM insiders say the vehicle will be billed as a "crossover sport van," or "CSV."
Buick and Saturn will add versions for the 2006 model year.
In making the move, GM hopes to shake an image that equates minivan owners with "soccer moms." It also hopes to make a mark in a segment in which it has had little success over 14 years.
The front end of the vehicles will feature a tall, prominent grille, combined with tall fenders to house the headlights. It will be several inches higher than the 2003 Venture, whose base version is 67.4 inches tall.
By comparison, the styling signature of today's minivans is a short, sloping nose with a short, wide grille. Minivans typically have a ground clearance of about 6 inches.
"We think there...