GM disbands unit that creates high-performance vehicles

[Oracle of Delphi]

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.

"These guys are pretty good at what they do," Muniga said, "They are moving into different areas to work on core products."

Link: http://www.autonews.com/article/20090218/A...paign_id=alerts

Edited February 18, 2009 by Pontiac Custom-S

[gm4life]

This means no Z28 Camaro, oh well if me or my son got one it would only be an SS anyways.

[Camino LS6]

Huge Mistake

[gm4life]

I agree Camino but it will look good to all the dead beats in DC that GM is working on "green cars" and not performance ones. Stupid f*ckers.

[Camino LS6]

Pander and grovel, pander and grovel...

[deftonesfan867]

Pander and grovel, pander and grovel...

Not a forever thing.

[Camino LS6]

Not a forever thing.

Yeah sure - heard that before...

[deftonesfan867]

Yeah sure - heard that before...

Maybe I should drive to your place and buy you a drink.

[pow]

Sounds good... performance division engineers moving in to engineer normal cars. If that means John Heinricy is going to Nurburgring the next Malibu, how bad could that be?

[G. David Felt]

While I do not like it, mothballing the dept for the time being to secure the $ for the survival of GM is the right thing to do since they do already have various performance models. So do this to get your survival and then turn it back on and kick ass there again. All Good in the long range plan of things.

[Satty]

Heinricy retired. No big loss, its not like they're canning the engineers, they're keeping them in the company, so they can come back if GM becomes financially viable.

[hyperv6]

I would think most of us here are informed enough and understand well enough what is at play here.

First off it is not a forever thing GM hints at that right in its statment wink wink.

Second when youre asking for $16 Billion on top of 14 Billion from DC it is best to appear PC while your asking.

Third these cars are great cars but they were not going to save GM. GM needs to get it's house in order before they play.

Fourth. We still have some performance vehicles to carry till GM is in a better way to bring the fun cars back.

Five GM pulled out performance and racing in the late 50's and in the 70's only to return a few years later. Both front door and back door performance was avaiable.

Sixth This should not have been a suprise when John Heinrency retired last month and unce Bob made his anouncment.

Seven How many times when Ford was hurting for money did SHO and SVT nearly vanish only to return with even better cars.

Eight Having the folks from GMPD building the volume cars may not be a bad thing. Who better? They have been building some of the best sorted GM cars in years if ever. A little of that on the high volume cars may just give up regular cars we don't hate.

Nine If you want to worry about performance you had better worry about what you're elected officals are doing. A lot of Evro Zelots are in line for pay back for getting many elected this year. In Oregon right now they want to pass laws that will prevent you from putting on larger, sticker tires and wheels on your car. They also want to prevent any upgrades that they deem could effect mileage and CO levels. This is more a danger to your performance needs and your own personel freedom.

Ten We will still see performance in the next few years not just in the Camaro but other well placed option boxes that will provide suspensions and engine combo's that may lack a SS emblem but will provide the fun you look for in driving.

I know this new sucks but we know what this game is and it has to be playes out. GM needs to get its house righted and then they can play again. Lets just hope those elected just don't make us all out laws with their eviro legislation as that is the true danger.

Edited February 19, 2009 by hyperv6

[wildpaws]

Unfortunately the way the fools at Disney on the Potomac are running things and passing laws that continue to infringe more and more on our personal freedoms, I can only see the overall picture for all US citizens getting worse, not better. And I don't think there will be any significant change in that direction unless and until the US population at large gets fed up enough to finally say enough is enough. And it is a terrible thing that the country would ever have to reach that point, but I certainly have not seen anything in my almost 6 decades of life in this country but less freedom year after year.

Clyde

[Robert Hall]

<sarcasm>

Well, Toyota doesn't do performance cars..and the public loves Toyota, and GM wants to emulate them...

</sarcasm>

[gmcbob]

So does this mean there will be no V8 Camaro?

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

This means no Z28 Camaro, oh well if me or my son got one it would only be an SS anyways.

The z28 is done... GM just needs to produce it. (Not that I think they will) But there is no engineering work left.

Re: GM disbanding high performance.

I appreciate that the engineers will be used other places.

But.

Not surprising... It's just one more reason for me not to care anymore. GM now is what GM was in the 90s... half-assed mainstream crap that will fall flat on it's face.

[Intrepidation]

GM is going in to Toyota mode. :wink:

But seriously, the little money they have has to be spent on more important, mainstream stuff so they can actually make money. Perhaps teh normal cars will be more sporty now. They can always regroup...as said, teh engineers aren't leaving.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

Sounds good... performance division engineers moving in to engineer normal cars. If that means John Heinricy is going to Nurburgring the next Malibu, how bad could that be?

Thought he was retiring...

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

While I do not like it, mothballing the dept for the time being to secure the $ for the survival of GM is the right thing to do since they do already have various performance models. So do this to get your survival and then turn it back on and kick ass there again. All Good in the long range plan of things.

Ford mothballed SVT and it never returned (despite the cute badging trick on the new Shelby)

[hyperv6]

So does this mean there will be no V8 Camaro?

Other than the Z28 that is on done but on hold the Camaro program is a go and will be around till 2016. V6 and V8 intact.

And before it is also asked yea there is going to be a Vette and G8, A HHR SS, Cobalt SS and V series CTS next year. They are just not developing a new Chevy Cruze SS, Volt SS or Orland SS.

Give it time and this will pass as long as Washington does not take your rights to own such car away.

Too many people today freak out at the smoke and completly miss the fire!

[FloydHendershot]

Sounds like a holding pattern. For now; prudent. Look whats going on with all these guys.

This too will pass.

[CSpec]

I think this is OK. The high performance cars were kinda hit or miss, IMO. For example, the Trailblazer SS had great performance for an SUV, but who really cared? I think their efforts would be better spent improving the driving response of the more humdrum products. How many people buy the HHR SS?

[pow]

I'd rather see performance "baked" into all of GM vehicles - not just the specialty, low volume cars.

They could sink into Toyota mode, or look at Honda (and Ford Europe) - regardless of power, all their vehicles are quite sporty and handle well.

[Blake Noble]

This too will pass.

Yeah, like a kidney stone.

[daves87rs]

And so it begins.....sad, really.

I'm going with Camino on this one......

[PurdueGuy]

I'd rather see performance "baked" into all of GM vehicles - not just the specialty, low volume cars.

While that's nice on some level, there are always some performance cars that cannot be a trim level of a mainstream car. Corvette, Solstice, cars like this appeal to people that won't buy a regular car with a performance suspension & drivetrain.

[hyperv6]

Besides most of the new cars coming out in the next couple years are not really ones we need as a SS or V series.

The Volt, Cruze, Orlando, Colorado, all did not really need a SS version. The Caddy coupe does need a V series model but the parts are already on the shelf to make it if needed.

The Camaro is already done and coming to market as is the GXP G8.

The HHR and Cobalt have a couple more years and the stage kits are out for 08'scoming for the 09's to make them 13 sec runners.

Buick is going to get a Turbo V6 and do they really need seperate performance model. They would do better if it was just part of the normal package.

If you had to pick a time to lay low this is one of the best accept for the C7 This will not hurt GM for a good 3 years or so.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

I'd rather see performance "baked" into all of GM vehicles - not just the specialty, low volume cars.

They could sink into Toyota mode, or look at Honda (and Ford Europe) - regardless of power, all their vehicles are quite sporty and handle well.

True...

I really don't understand why we need a seperate division to do SS and V vehicles anyway... Why not make those a part of the package from day one?

As for Pontiac; HSV and OPC can take care of them.

I do think GM needs to go ahead and green light a CTS-V and the Z28 though. (They're done... Why not make a profit on the work? Then again... Zeta and the UV8 were done too, so go figure )

Edited February 19, 2009 by FUTURE_OF_GM

[hyperv6]

I have always said a upgrade suspension should be standard on all models. It cost so little more to put a better unpinnings on a car.

It was always a joke to offer the S10 and other trucks with no front sway bar standard years ago.

[daves87rs]

I have always said a upgrade suspension should be standard on all models. It cost so little more to put a better unpinnings on a car.

It was always a joke to offer the S10 and other trucks with no front sway bar standard years ago.

Different choices for different people....

[MyerShift]

Sad, sad day.

At least perfomance ought to return someday.

It always does as things go from swing to swing.

[deftonesfan867]

Like it has been said already, this is NOT a forever thing.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=142386

[Camino LS6]

I'm having a hard enough time believing that GM itself will survive, let alone that performance cars (and a performance division) will ever return.

I hear the fat lady warming up in the wings.

The real tragedy is that GM no longer believes in itself, so they display absolutely no backbone.

[hyperv6]

Different choices for different people....

Come on they can at least have made a front sway bar standard? I added it from the dealer in 1988 for $30.

I don't mean they have to make it a full SS but the base GM packages are pis poor and always have been. Tires too small and just enough spring to get by.

The Cobalt dealer loaner I am driving now is sorry.

[hyperv6]

I'm having a hard enough time believing that GM itself will survive, let alone that performance cars (and a performance division) will ever return.

I hear the fat lady warming up in the wings.

The real tragedy is that GM no longer believes in itself, so they display absolutely no backbone.

Bud they can't afford a back bone right now.

Just read their statment carefully. It is in Settlmire speak.

They note the division will return and the people are still there. They noted they were spread around to different division.

That is a big wink wink to let us know the name may be gone but the the same people are still on the job.

I could care less if it has a SS emblem if it handles well and and a sortted drivetrain.

Look for opton codes that will make these cars into more than the average family truckster.

Performance has not alway been high profile. You should know that from what Pontiac did in the 60's.

[Camino LS6]

Bud they can't afford a back bone right now.

Just read their statment carefully. It is in Settlmire speak.

They note the division will return and the people are still there. They noted they were spread around to different division.

That is a big wink wink to let us know the name may be gone but the the same people are still on the job.

I could care less if it has a SS emblem if it handles well and and a sortted drivetrain.

Look for opton codes that will make these cars into more than the average family truckster.

Performance has not alway been high profile. You should know that from what Pontiac did in the 60's.

Oh I know all of that, I just don't believe anymore.

They should have just told GMPD to keep quiet, and not made a big deal out of it.

As for backbone, that's been missing for years.

[Satty]

As for backbone, that's been missing for years.

Substantial profits have been missing longer.

[Camino LS6]

Substantial profits have been missing longer.

And they are related factors in my view.

[FUTURE_OF_GM]

The real tragedy is that GM no longer believes in itself, so they display absolutely no backbone.

Bingo...

And that's why all of the "strong" or "alpha" leaders are leaving the company through retirement or hire through another company.

[Dragon]

Ford mothballed SVT and it never returned (despite the cute badging trick on the new Shelby)

there's also the new SVT Raptor coming out