What Do GM's Troubles Mean for the Corvette?

[AK370Z]

Posted November 27 2008 05:05 AM by Matt Stone

Between dialing for dollars on Capitol Hill, dealing with PR flaps over corporate jets, getting the Volt to market, picking up the tab for decades of mistakes, the world financial crises, and just trying to keep the lights on, I doubt Rick Wagoner and Company have had much time to worry about a little deal like the Corvette. But I have my concerns.


A few weeks ago, it was announced that several key players in the Corvette's existence will be "taking retirement" as of November 1. They are Vehicle Line Executive Tom Wallace (program director and chief engineer), Gary Claudio (Corvette marketing guy), Ron Meegan (Chief Engineer for the LS3, LS7 and LS9 engines), and John Heinricy, (serious car dude, sports car racer, former C4 Chief Engineer, etc.).

Previous VLE David Hill brought us the C5 and C6, and although the ZR1 came to market under Wallace's watch, we never really saw what he could or would do with America's Sportscar. But he sure asked a lot of questions, and the right ones: "Should we do a mid-engined car? Should we develop a dual-clutch gearbox? Should we make the car lighter? What sort of special editions should we do?" Claudio exhibited the typical, never ending exuberance you'd expect of a marketing guy, but he loved his car and his job. Meegan told me things about engines I never new, flew the flag overhead valves, and helped the latest versions of the Small-Block Chevy V-8 become as sophisticated as they have. Heinricy is a legit performance car and racing legend, surely with Bowtie logos tatoo'd on his heart.

Will the Corvette live on? Yes, but there's no question that its development will stutter, and likely be pushed back several years beyond the C7's projected 2012 launch date. Ongoing C6 technology development and such will slow, crawl, or may even stop altogether for the foreseeable future.

I remember when Zora Arkus Duntov handed the Corvette over to his replacement, Dave McLellan, everyone said the Vette was dead. But McLellan brought us the C4, impressive for its day, with a serious focus on handling that had never been achieved before.

The new VLE for Corvette is Gene Stefanyshyn, who was GM's Global Rear Wheel Drive Vehicle Line Executive, and a major player in the engineering of the 2010 Camaro. I know Gene; he's a darn decent guy and a smart engineer who knows how to bring home a development program. But does he have the heat for this assignment? Does he have the vision (and will he have the team and the budget) to take the car forward? This remains to be seen. It also disturbs me that, as I understand it, Stefanyshyn will retain responsibility for other performance nameplates, and not be focused solely on the Vette, as have been his predecessors most of the time.

While we're at it, I say the Corvette really needs to leap ahead from a design and technology standpoint. Stop copying Ferrari (360 Modena headlights, the ZR1's peek-a-boo engine window just like on the F430, except it looks down on a piece of plastic, not the actual engine or blower). Give the car a world class cabin. And don't make its butt any bigger than it already is. Celebrate the Vette's wonderful history without being beholden to it. Don't follow, Gene - lead.

I for one hope things right themselves, and the Vette can continue on the road is has blazed for 55 years. But there are bumps ahead, and the ride will be rough for a while.

Source: What Do GM's Troubles Mean for the Corvette? | Car News Blog at Motor Trend

[CrownR426]

Heh... That's what they get for making **** cars...
:<
But I'm going to be sad not seeing new vettes indeed...

[BanningZ]

they said on CNN this morning that Buicks sales are down 80% and they are the first to go, followed by Saab and Hummer.

I feel bad about the impact this will have but I will not miss Buick, Saab, or Hummer.

[nogoodname]

^^ I thought Pontiac is being thrown out also

[frost]

^ pontiac is taking the plunge. Also, I've driven a few vettes in the last couple years, including an extended test drive of an 09 last weekend. Fast yes, piece of ****? yes. That's based on the quality things I look for, such as interior quality, fit/finish, squeeks, rattles, thoughtfulness of cabin design, and so on.
PS, what did they do when the economy got tough? They raised the msrp by roughly 2K.

[SoCal 370Z]

Corvette can easily be spun-off, and easily sold as a single brand. Maybe then the new company would finally give it the interior, and other refinements the Corvette has always deserved. Still an iconic automobile, and about as Americana as you can get with an automobile.

[frost]

It can be sold as a single brand, but the car has a cult following, who quite frankly, do not like a lot of change. Doing something like, removing the chevrolet logos, or moving production from bowling green can have a huge impact on sales from enthusiast. When changes are made to corvette (and camaro as well), it goes through a whole enthusiast approval process. Quite different than how the Z is handled.

[nogoodname]

the Caddilic XLR is discontinued, just saw it on tv...

[frost]

^ isn't that their only 2-door car? If so, that would be disappointing.

[nogoodname]

yeah, it is..........so long for now

they got the beast CTS-v....which is like the Lexus ISF

[frost]

Yeah, but I don't even need 4 seats, much less 4 doors. Anyway, here is what I had read on the topic:

Source: Automotive News special email alert

Jamie LaReau - Automotive News - February 18, 2009 - 5:05 pm ET

DETROIT -- General Motors, focusing on mainstream products in a battle to survive, has scrapped a unit that produced high-performance vehicles.

GM today disbanded High Performance Vehicle Operations, which is based at the company's suburban Detroit technical center, and redeployed its engineers, said spokesman Vince Muniga.

"All high-performance projects are on indefinite hold," Muniga said. "The engineers are moving into different areas of the organization, and they will work on Cadillacs, Buicks, Chevrolets and Pontiacs."

The unit created low-volume vehicles for GM's divisions designed to appeal to enthusiasts and bolster the company's image. Products included V-series Cadillacs and the Chevrolet Cobalt SS, HHR SS and a V-8 version of the Colorado.

Muniga said there are no plans for high-performance versions of upcoming cars.

The move is in the spirit of GM's viability plan delivered to the U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday. In the plan, GM said its future-product focus is on fuel- efficient cars and crossovers. It also pledged to increase its current offering of six hybrids to 14 by 2012 and to 26 by 2014. GM also boosted its request for federal aid by as much as $16.6 billion.

The High Performance Vehicle Operations unit could be reinstated once GM regains its financial health, GM's Muniga said."

[frost]

Originally Posted by frost

^ isn't that their only 2-door car? If so, that would be disappointing.

Scratch that, looks like there will be a 2010 CTS coupe

Early look: 2010 Cadillac CTS Coupe

[BanningZ]

Originally Posted by frost

. Fast yes, piece of ****? yes. That's based on the quality things I look for, such as interior quality, fit/finish, squeeks, rattles, thoughtfulness of cabin design, and so on.
PS, what did they do when the economy god tough? They raised the msrp by roughly 2K.

This makes me think of that episode of Top Gear where Jeremy Clarkson Said he absolutely loved the ZR1 but also basically said it was a piece of $h1t.

[Lug]

Originally Posted by frost

Yeah, but I don't even need 4 seats, much less 4 doors. Anyway, here is what I had read on the topic:

Source: Automotive News special email alert

Jamie LaReau - Automotive News - February 18, 2009 - 5:05 pm ET

DETROIT -- General Motors, focusing on mainstream products in a battle to survive, has scrapped a unit that produced high-performance vehicles.

GM today disbanded High Performance Vehicle Operations, which is based at the company's suburban Detroit technical center, and redeployed its engineers, said spokesman Vince Muniga.

"All high-performance projects are on indefinite hold," Muniga said. "The engineers are moving into different areas of the organization, and they will work on Cadillacs, Buicks, Chevrolets and Pontiacs."

The unit created low-volume vehicles for GM's divisions designed to appeal to enthusiasts and bolster the company's image. Products included V-series Cadillacs and the Chevrolet Cobalt SS, HHR SS and a V-8 version of the Colorado.

Muniga said there are no plans for high-performance versions of upcoming cars.

The move is in the spirit of GM's viability plan delivered to the U.S. Treasury Department on Tuesday. In the plan, GM said its future-product focus is on fuel- efficient cars and crossovers. It also pledged to increase its current offering of six hybrids to 14 by 2012 and to 26 by 2014. GM also boosted its request for federal aid by as much as $16.6 billion.

The High Performance Vehicle Operations unit could be reinstated once GM regains its financial health, GM's Muniga said."

The funny thing is there is no profit in hybrid vehicles as of yet. I've read that even the Prius, the most successful of the hybrids is just break even at this point for Toyota. Company profitability doesn't seem to be the main drive here.

[frost]

^ The infrastructure just isn't in place yet to make these things profitable, but it will be there in time. The problem with GM, is because they pay their employees so much, they produce their cheaper cars at a profit loss, hoping that the next time the person buys, they will upgrade their GM product to something GM actually makes a profit on.