From the Horse's Mouth: Lutz says Pontiac G8 won't spawn Chevrolet Caprice
General Motors' newly-appointed Vice Chairman, Bob Lutz, has penned a post on GM's Fast Lane blog that can be boiled down to two words: My bad.
A flurry of reports spurred on by Lutz' comments that GM was considering adapting the Pontiac G8 into a reborn, rear-wheel drive Chevrolet Caprice have been downplayed by a number of the General's generals, including CEO Fritz Henderson. In Lutz' post, he put the final nail in the G8-cum-Caprice's coffin saying:
"The G8 will not be a Caprice after all. I'd mentioned it, and said we were studying it, giving it a serious look, because a car like the G8 was just too good to waste.Lutz is quick to point out that the decision to kill the G8 will have no effect on GM's future rear-drive vehicles, and he went on to say, "... we have a tremendous RWD team in Australia that gave us the beloved G8, a team that we will tap into at some point again in the future for its expertise and sheet metal. Just not right now."
"That's all still true. But I have to say that, with my new "marketing" hat on, upon further review and careful study, we simply cannot make a business case for such a program. Not in today's market, in this economy, and with fuel regulations what they are and will be."
So... nothing to see here people. Move along...
[Source: GM FastLane Blog]
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
wolfe44 7:42PM (7/16/2009)
Obama is a bastard
Reply
Venom 8:28PM (7/16/2009)
You are so correct.
He should not have given them a penny and let the entire company close down and then there be no more GM cars at all.
That would have been awesome.
Torrent 12:53AM (7/17/2009)
Obama didn't do this. Did you even read the blog?
ya dumb bastard
Sean 10:28AM (7/17/2009)
I bet Wagoner would have thought the caprice was a good idea...
JasonLP 7:10PM (7/16/2009)
Sounds like the old GM, always letting us down again.
Reply
cdwrx 7:42PM (7/16/2009)
Look at the bright side. He could be wrong again.
Judy Zik 9:31PM (7/16/2009)
No it's just Lutz again. The guy had no business shooting his mouth off as usual. The only thing bigger than his ego is his mouth. He is a PR nightmare that makes New, Old, Whatever GM look bad.
airswingman 11:32PM (7/16/2009)
GM should let more front-line engineer work in the management layer instead of just hiring someone from top ranking business school with some charming face.
John 5:53AM (7/17/2009)
Sounds like the new GM to me. Internal management discussed it. Wanted to do it. But the Car Czar and Obama said NO!
Get used to it.
Spiel 7:43AM (7/17/2009)
Sounds like Old GM will eternally live on as New GM, don't bring politics into it, this is the only way American car manufacturers know how to operate, though there has been a sign of hope from Ford for the past year or two.
Cornelius 9:55AM (7/17/2009)
These kinds of decisions are precisely why GM went bankrupt in the first place.
010111 10:39PM (7/18/2009)
"But the Car Czar and Obama said NO!"
i'm sure this is a statement you can back up with facts. right?
oh it isn't? then shut up.
Mike7 7:12PM (7/16/2009)
Give us the Z28 then.
Reply
Thomas 7:13PM (7/16/2009)
Let the griping begin!
For those of you who might have forgot about the contradictory nature of many of Maximum Bob's media comments... he's back!
Reply
Robert O 7:16PM (7/16/2009)
too bad
Reply
nardi 7:14PM (7/16/2009)
Why does this tool still have a job, and why are my tax's paying him to do it!
Reply
Protzenegger 9:15PM (7/16/2009)
Because your "tax's" apparently didn't pay for grammar school.
BoxerFanatic 7:14PM (7/16/2009)
Maybe they had better get their crap in order.
So much for "new" in New GM.
Plus it is a bonehead move. It is a good platform that fills a segment, and does it far better than the lump that is the current Impala.
As I said the other day. If the auto industry is like a medical patient, the heart has stopped, and the brain is dying. Only thing left is a little bit of twitching in the extremities.
I wonder if Lutz's government-sanctioned snuggie was tight enough to hurt, having to come back and re-cant what he just said the other day.
Reply
Aprime 7:29PM (7/16/2009)
"Plus it is a bonehead move. It is a good platform that fills a segment..."
This argument holds no water - there's a segment for everybody.
Just because a vehicle 'fills a segment' doesn't make it profitable, we're talking about the running of a company here, a charity. Do you want your loan money back or not?
"This is a pretty dumb decision.
I don't like too many GM cars other than the CTS, the Vette and the Camaro, but the G8 is a very good car."
No one [other than enthusiasts like myself] cares if it's good or not, we care if it will sell or not. A crappy car can sell well and return your tax dollars, I mean, just look at how the Corolla's doing.
Rich 7:40PM (7/16/2009)
@Aprime: the Corolla is not a crappy car. It's just not a performance car built for enthusiasts. Get your definitions right and I'll agree with you.