3/4 or 1 ton SUV ?

Grit dog wrote:
For sure. 99% of the market would come from existing full-size truck and suv buyers. No doubt.
How to win over new buyers? Make something new that people want.
Offer a real diesel like Ford did for a few years, not the underpowered whiny 6.0 Vortec.
Offer something that people want to be seen in. Doesn’t take much. (My new work truck just because it has a 2” lift, mudders, decent looking wheels and some cool stickers and painted tow hooks has got more random complements in a week than my previous work truck which was essentially the same but not “off road.”)

Take the new Burb body, which looks killer btw, toss it on a HD chassis, give it a little lift and some bling and a 5” tailpipe that begets the fire breathing diesel under the hood and watch all the guys “justify” this for their wife’s next soccermobile that also pull their boat and camper 10x a year! Put a cool looking roof rack on it and offer an attachment for a hi lift jack and some rotopax jugs. People be mall crawlin in them just like the Jeep’s, in no time. Added benefit, those that have a real need for one now have their next family truckster tow rig back, which is what this thread was all about.
How many people “have to have” a big diesel truck that don’t need one? Answer? Most of them. Myself included.
How many wives want a fancy SUV to drive through the Starbucks in? Answer? Most of them. (Well, not the liberal ones....different topic).

I totally get what you're saying, and I personally would love a 3/4 ton, or even 1-ton class SUV. But I, and most on this board, are in the minority.

Let's say they built a killer 'Burb, on a modern 2500 chassis, 445hp non-neutered Duramax + 10 speed. Then let's say it sold well, 50,000 units a year. But...

25,000 out of those came from existing Silverado HD buyers, another 20,000 from Suburban 1500 buyers. Remember, these buyers brings NO PROFIT. So if GM is lucky, 5,000 new buyers would come from crossover buyers. But even that's unlikely, as they'll upgrade to a 1500 'Burb / Expedition first. Let's just say it happens, bunch of Explorer or Highlander buys suddenly wants a big truck.

How do we make enough profit from 5,000 units to offset the R&D cost?