GM chairman Rick Wagoner said on Thursday that the
assembly line producing the new 2007 Chevy Suburban and Tahoe will slow down the rest of the year to cope with softening demand for the big SUVs. “We had planned to go all out with overtime this whole year, but we are dialing that back,” said Wagoner.

The CEO isn’t worried about the segment falling too far, he said, because GM has been increasing share in the category with its new models, and it has dialed in flexibility to the plant so GM can shift some of the production to pickup trucks.

Wagoner also said that estimates that it can sell 100,000 Chevy Camaros a year when the new rear-drive muscle car bows in 2009 are correct. He wouldn’t, however, say that a Pontiac muscle car will be built off the same rear-drive platform. But GM insiders say it is in the works because Lutz is transforming Pontiac over time to a rear-drive division, made up entirely of rear-drive cars, with some having all-wheel-drive options.