• The Wall Street Journal , Friday, June 20, 2008 10:15 AM

General Motors is shifting engineers from its next-generation big-truck programs to other projects as it further adapts to the current automotive environment with gasoline selling above $4 per gallon.

GM made the decision to indefinitely postpone development of the next generation of big trucks -- originally due out in 2012 -- since the annual meeting on June 3, when it announced plans to close four truck plants, increase car production and study the future of the Hummer SUV brand.

Engineers will continue to develop improvements for its current trucks, including engineering changes that will make more fuel-efficient options available, says GM spokesman Tom Wilkinson. The automaker is not abandoning the market segment. "We want to make sure we're the market leader," Wilkinson avers.

"What they're really doing is postponing the GMT 1000s," says George Peterson, president and founder of AutoPacific. "They're deferring those, and it's a smart thing to do right now. You kind of need to sit back and watch what the environment's going to do."

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