Camaro Gear Basis for Gm's Big Caddy

It is still not clear whether General Motors will use the same rear wheel drive platform used for the new Chevrolet Camaro or an all-wheel drive for its ultra-luxury Cadillac. GM Vice Chairman and product guru Robert Lutz recently told journalists at the Chicago Auto Show that it was a possibility. And if ever it does push through, one thing is for sure, quality auto parts and accessories such as GM carpet kits are going to be utilized for the ultra luxury Cadillac.

Lutz also noted that as part of their global product strategy, the automaker would have lesser but more flexible platforms that would accommodate a much wider range of vehicles and designs. And an example of which is the new Camaro platform which could be used for other vehicles. Lutz has also given a hint why the launching of the new Camaro is delayed but he also added that the Camaro is scheduled to appear in 2009. The automaker has extended the utility of the fundamental architecture of the new Camaro so that it could be used as the platform for other vehicles.

According to Lutz, “What you’ve got to understand is that we’ve got this modular product architecture kit where we have 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. 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.” He also added, “Its like a Lego set-you weld them together anyway you want.”

But for now GM has not yet released any official statement whether they are going ahead with their plan of producing an ultra-luxury Cadillac. However, Mark LaNeve, GM Vice President of Sales, Service and Marketing said that they would like to push through with the plan of creating an upscale Cadillac that can compete with cars such as the new Lexus LS460 or the BMW 7-series.

Lutz remarks shows one of the new realities that will have a significant influence on the automotive industry in the coming years. Capital is becoming scarce and except for Toyota, the cost of borrowing has gone up dramatically for automakers all over the world which lead them to explore various options that would help them in conserving capital like for instance spinning off more products from one basic investment which has become the trend among automakers today.

Lutz also mentioned that General Motors is continuously pooling all of its product resources from around the world. He said, “It doesn’t matter where it is. It’s all one organization. We’ve finally realized not every region has to do its own product.” He further added that even the decisions on the engines to use in which products that traditionally been the responsibility of the regional managers are being shaped by global forces now. “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 turbocharged them. You could envision (the Pontiac G8) with 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. Trouble is that it costs about $1400. Nothing is for free. I think we found with direct fuel injection is we found it boosts power faster that it boosts fuel economy; I think we would have preferred the opposite.”