A Chevrolet Traverse LT, seen on a car market in south Beijing. The gigantic American SUV was in a fine overall shape but a bit dirty and dusty and clearly in need of a little work and some love.
Color was an odd mix between gold and silver. It looked like gold in the sun and like silver in the shadows. Rear windows were darkened to the absolute max, no way to see through. Sporty 6-spoke wheels were factory standard.
The interior was in a slightly better shape than the exterior, with luxurious leather seats, a boat-like steering wheel, and a center stack with enormous air vents and a shipload of buttons and dials.
The first generation Chevrolet Traverse was manufactured from 2008 until 2017 with a facelift in 2013. Our Beijing car is an original pre-facelift car. The Traverse stood on GM’s Lambda platform that also underpinned several other SUVs like the Buick Enclave, the GMC Acadia, and the Saturn Outlook.
The Chevrolet Traverse was not officially sold in China but some cars arrived via the gray market or diplomatic channels. This car was originally sold by Dueck on Marine, a large GM dealer in Vancouver, Canada. Somehow, it later made it all the way to Chinese shores.
LT was a trim level. Power came from a 3.6 liter v6 engine with an output of 281 hp and 361 Nm. The motor was mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission sending all horses to the front wheels.
Triple seven license plate is very special.
There might have been a market for the Traverse in China, where big seven-seat cars are very popular. But heavy taxes on cars with large engines would have made it very expensive, so that’s probably why GM didn’t sell it here.