Cadillac Weighs Making Sport Utility Vehicle

General Motors Corp.’s Cadillac division is considering developing a sport utility vehicle to appeal to customers who want larger vehicles capable of carrying both people and cargo.

“We’re really studying it quite intensely,” Joe Kennedy, Cadillac’s general director of marketing and product planning, told reporters Monday during a preview of the company’s 1995 models.

Cadillac General Manager John Grettenberger said the move would allow Cadillac to keep customers who want larger vehicles from jumping to another brand, such as Chrysler Corp.’s Jeep Grand Cherokee and Mercedes-Benz’s upcoming luxury sport utility vehicle.

“I think the sport utility market appears to be much more than a flash in the pan,” Grettenberger said. “I’m not saying that we’re going to be in it . . . but we’ve either got to combat . . . or we’ve got to join it.”

Grettenberger said sport utility vehicles appear to be attracting buyers away from the traditional luxury car market.