Oldsmobile’s 1999 Recon concept was an excellent fit for the compact SUV market, which at that moment was getting ready to explode. If only . . .
Hold on. We’re not saying the Recon would have saved Oldsmobile. For one thing, it came too late. The compact SUV concept was introduced at the Detroit auto show in January of 1999, while the formal announcement to cancel the division came not so long after that, on December 12, 2000. There simply wasn’t time. Besides, Oldsmobile had plenty of troubles, including with the brand itself, and it’s not likely that a single product could have reversed its fortunes.
Still, the Recon was the right vehicle at the right time. Almost. While small utility vehicles have been around almost forever, the modern compact SUV-crossover market as we know it really began with the U.S. arrival of the Toyota RAV4 (1996) and Honda CR-V (1997). With the same footprint as a compact sedan but more useful packaging and greater interior volume, compact SUVs became a major piece of the North American market over the next decade. The Motor City doesn’t even bother to produce small sedans anymore. Its entry-level vehicles are compact SUVs.
And for a compact SUV the Recon checked all the boxes, as they say: Only 176 inches long with minimal overhang front and rear. Five doors and comfortable seating for five, with a fold-down rear seat that opened up a generous cargo area. The advanced but orthodox styling fairly predicted where the compact crossover segment was headed—in contrast to another concept introduced by General Motors that year, the Pontiac Aztek.
As is invariably the case with concept vehicles, there were a number of features that probably wouldn’t have made it to an eventual production Recon. They include the front-opening rear doors with a stubby B-post for support, the dual-panel panoramic sunroof, and the Michelin PAX run-flat tires. The 3.0-liter V6 and Smart-Trac II all-wheel drive system would more likely be extra-cost options. A base model would sensibly include front-wheel drive and a 2.0 liter four (or today, a tiny three-cylinder turbo).
Through our rosy-colored glasses, it looks like GM was on the right track with the Recon, but several years too late in the execution to do Oldsmobile any good. It’s been said that if you squint just right, you can see a little Recon in the 2002-06 Saturn Vue. Oldsmobile stumbled on into 2004 producing the Silhouette minivan, the Bravada luxury SUV, and the Alero. The final car off the line on April 29 before the lights went out at Oldsmobile was a Dark Cherry Metallic Alero sedan.
I have all the positive things that the Recon would have brought in my 2009 Honda Fit. Compact external size, huge interior size, affordable price and maintenance, and economical performance. In many ways, it is the perfect entry level car.
GM needed to shed divisions. The old Alfred P. Sloan way of “stair steps” moving the buyer upmarket from Chevy through Pontiac, Olds & Buick to Cadillac was no longer sustainable in the market by then,& hadn’t been for years. The corporation was already struggling from years of dealing with the wave of imports & after effects from the previous fuel crisis issues, the idea of separate divisions had been blurred, & even with the loyalists to certain brands, (Chevy, Buick, etc), they kept losing market share. The shedding of some divisions should have commenced in the mid ’80s by the latest. If they’d done so then, a leaner GM might have been better situated to weather the continuing issues they faced, that resulted in the 2008 financial meltdown, & their subsequent bailout. And this isn’t against the government bailout they got nor would that have been a solution to the 2008 crisis, but, 20+ years of trimming things would certainly have helped. I spend years working for Freightliner, so I saw first hand the overall incompetence of American management policies. GM was too huge & bloated to be efficient by then.
MarkM, agreed.
This looks much newer than 1999. I think it could have been a winner, but it wouldn’t have saved Oldsmobile.