Lutz: Camaro Gear Could Spawn Big Caddy

[JBsZ06]

Lutz: Camaro Gear Could Spawn Big Caddy


A Cadillac with more than eight cylinders still possible, Lutz says.
by Joseph Szczesny (2007-02-25)



Could the same rear-wheel-drive platform General Motors Corp. plans to use for the new Chevrolet Camaro also be used for a new rear-wheel-drive and/or all-wheel-drive ultra-luxury Cadillac?



GM vice chairman and product guru Robert Lutz recently acknowledged it was a possibility during a conversation with journalists earlier this month at theChicago auto show.



Lutz noted that as part of global product strategy, GM would have fewer but more flexible platforms that would accommodate a wider range of vehicles and vehicle designs. Specifically, the new Camaro platform could be used for other vehicles. Lutz also hinted part of the reason for the delay in moving forward with the Camaro - it's now set to appear in 2009 - has been the need to extend the utility of the fundamental architecture so it could serve as the platform for other vehicles as well.



"What you've got to understand is that we've got this modular product architecture kit where we have two different lengths of center underbodies, two different lengths of front rails and two different lengths of rear overhang. So we can modify those elements any way we want. In the case of the Camaro, it's long short, short. If, for instance, we wanted to do a very large rear-wheel-drive Cadillac with more than eight cylinders you could do long, long, long," Lutz said.



"It's like a Lego set-you weld them together anyway you want," he added.

So far, however, GM hasn't said publicly it plans to go ahead with an ultra-luxury Cadillac. However, executives such as Mark LaNeve, GM vice president of sales, service and marketing have said they would like to move forward with an upscale Cadillac that could compete with cars such as the BMW 7-Series or the new Lexus LS460.

Lutz' remarks reflect one of the new realities that will have a profound influence on the car business in the years to come. Capital is in relatively short supply and with the exception of Toyota, the cost of borrowing has gone up dramatically for automakers all over the world. Thus, finding ways to conserve capital by spinning off more products from one basic investment has become essential.

Lutz also noted that GM is continuing to pool its product resources from around the world. "It doesn't matter where it is. It's all one organization. We've finally realized not every region has to do their own product," he said.

Even decisions on which engines to use in which products, which have traditionally been left to regional managers, are being shaped by global forces now, Lutz said.

"One of the answers, which is being increasingly adopted in Europe and we plan to use it too, is to use engines in cars that are fundamentally way too small and then turbocharge them. You could envision (the Pontiac G8) with a four-cylinder Cobalt engine but turbocharged to 270 to 280 horsepower. That's a formula that works great for fuel economy because when you're not in the acceleration game you're cruising along on a tiny, little engine," Lutz said. "Trouble is that costs about $1400. Nothing is for free."

"I think what we found with direct fuel injection is we found it boosts power faster than it boosts fuel economy; I think we would have preferred the opposite," he said.