DETROIT--General Motors Corp. may be seeing its biggest success story in decades as new spacious and fuel-efficient SUVs begin rolling out of a $1.5-billion assembly plant just outside Lansing, reported the Detroit Free Press.

Leading auto analysts even say the new models may help GM lure significant numbers of customers from Toyota, Honda and Nissan. The three new models — the Buick Enclave, which made its debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and the GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook — offer a combination of fuel economy, styling, passenger room and standard features that could vault GM to the lead in a market segment dominated by Japan's Big Three.

Code-named Lambda, the vehicle program is an almost exact counterpunch to Toyota's new Tundra full-size pickup plant in Texas. Both automakers reacted to a gap in their product lines, investing lavishly and spending years developing vehicles carefully engineered to direct customers away from their competitors.