Development of a Full Size Police Pursuit Sport Utility

In July of 1997, GM will introduce a Police Pursuit Sport Utility to the law enforcement market. The vehicle is based on the popular Chevrolet Tahoe full- size, four-door utility truck that was introduced in 1996. It is shorter than the Suburban and available in only a two-wheel drive version for the Police Pursuit Vehicle (P.P.V.) program. This vehicle replaced the now canceled Chevrolet Caprice, which traditionally had been developed to be a P.P.V. It created a new market niche with its unique size and features. The combination of using proven, existing components and following an aggressive testing schedule allowed GM to develop this unique new product in a 48-week time frame, a relatively short development time for such a challenging program.

The GM Truck Group used proven technology on this program. Taking the reliability, dependability, and value of an existing GM product and combining methodological and development technology, we engineered a fast-to-market, aggressive P.P.V. that meets our customer's expectations.