It's been a while.....another G8 resurrection thread
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Lutz says Pontiac G8 to survive as Chevy Caprice in U.S.; Camaro Z28 reportedly dead
http://www.autoblog.com/2009/07/11/l...u-s-z28-likel/
Added this here as well for those who have already read the first page....
What I dont understand is Lutz can see this is a great car and they need to find a way to get it here as a Chevy & everyone else at GM including Fritz see it as just another vehicle that would "compete" with the Impala they already sell....Do they not realize how boring the Impala is?
I stopped by my local dealership yesterday with my girlfriend to look at a couple Camaros and as we were leaving she said "If I was old I would probably buy one of those" pointing to the Impala.
Bob Lutz is back, and after what seems like five minutes into his job as GM's new marketing kingpin, he's doing what he does best: making headlines. Rest assured that this is a good thing, as El Generalissimo Roberto Maximo told Automobile Magazine that yes, the Pontiac G8 will live on in the United States as the Chevy Caprice. So much for Fritz "I'm not a fan of rebadging" Henderson's statement to the contrary a couple of weeks ago.
"The last time we looked at [the G8], we decided that we would continue to import it as a Chevrolet. It is kind of too good to waste," Lutz told the mag. As for the G8 being "too good to waste": Amen to that, Bob. This also makes us wonder if law enforcement-grade models will be part of the deal with Holden to continue production. Chevy Caprice police cars? That's got a very familiar ring to it. The next question is whether a U.S. Caprice would mimic the Middle East-market Caprice, which is based on the long-wheelbase Holden Caprice/Statesman, or whether it will simply be a Chevy-badged version of the standard-wheelbase Holden Commodore/Pontiac G8/Chevrolet Lumina. Frankly, as long as there's ultimately a Caprice SS that is identical to the Pontiac G8 GXP in every critical way, we don't care.
In his conversation with Automobile, Lutz also essentially confirms that next year's Cadillac CTS coupe will be joined by a V-series variant, saying that the CTS-V coupe was the car that had most of the Presidential Task Force members' tongues wagging during the product-pipeline tour they were given by GM. Lutz even hints that a CTS-V wagon is not completely out of the question. (We'll take the wagon in brown, with the stick, Bob.)
On the bad news side, in a separate blog post, Automobile reports that Lutz kind of throws dirt on the idea of an LSA-powered Camaro Z28 (though he doesn't specifically state that the program's toast). He says that for "mainstream" sports models like the Camaro, powerful sixes (like the one in the Camaro LS and LT) and turbo fours (like the one used in the now-dead Cobalt SS, HHR SS and Solstice GXP) are more indicitive of the automaker's future direction in that regard. Hmmm. Well then, how about bolting a blower to the direct-injected V6?
Welcome back, Bob. This sounds like it could get pretty fun.
"The last time we looked at [the G8], we decided that we would continue to import it as a Chevrolet. It is kind of too good to waste," Lutz told the mag. As for the G8 being "too good to waste": Amen to that, Bob. This also makes us wonder if law enforcement-grade models will be part of the deal with Holden to continue production. Chevy Caprice police cars? That's got a very familiar ring to it. The next question is whether a U.S. Caprice would mimic the Middle East-market Caprice, which is based on the long-wheelbase Holden Caprice/Statesman, or whether it will simply be a Chevy-badged version of the standard-wheelbase Holden Commodore/Pontiac G8/Chevrolet Lumina. Frankly, as long as there's ultimately a Caprice SS that is identical to the Pontiac G8 GXP in every critical way, we don't care.
In his conversation with Automobile, Lutz also essentially confirms that next year's Cadillac CTS coupe will be joined by a V-series variant, saying that the CTS-V coupe was the car that had most of the Presidential Task Force members' tongues wagging during the product-pipeline tour they were given by GM. Lutz even hints that a CTS-V wagon is not completely out of the question. (We'll take the wagon in brown, with the stick, Bob.)
On the bad news side, in a separate blog post, Automobile reports that Lutz kind of throws dirt on the idea of an LSA-powered Camaro Z28 (though he doesn't specifically state that the program's toast). He says that for "mainstream" sports models like the Camaro, powerful sixes (like the one in the Camaro LS and LT) and turbo fours (like the one used in the now-dead Cobalt SS, HHR SS and Solstice GXP) are more indicitive of the automaker's future direction in that regard. Hmmm. Well then, how about bolting a blower to the direct-injected V6?
Welcome back, Bob. This sounds like it could get pretty fun.
Added this here as well for those who have already read the first page....
What I dont understand is Lutz can see this is a great car and they need to find a way to get it here as a Chevy & everyone else at GM including Fritz see it as just another vehicle that would "compete" with the Impala they already sell....Do they not realize how boring the Impala is?
I stopped by my local dealership yesterday with my girlfriend to look at a couple Camaros and as we were leaving she said "If I was old I would probably buy one of those" pointing to the Impala.
Last edited by 95redLT1; Jul 11, 2009 at 04:45 PM.
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What I dont understand is Lutz can see this is a great car and they need to find a way to get it here as a Chevy & everyone else at GM including Fritz see it as just another vehicle that would "compete" with the Impala they already sell....Do they not realize how boring the Impala is?
I would say the Impala does more to hurt GM's image than it does to uphold its core values. If you want to look at things another way, the Impala has failed to bridge the gap to front runners like Camry and Accord, which have continued to attract a newer and younger audience.
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i too believe impala does more damage than good. especially compared to newer more modern camry and accord. offering more space in tidier packages with a much superior driving feel and higher quality feel in design inside and out. compared to those, impala seems yesteryear. taken on its own, and for someone who is uninformed, which makes up some significant chunk of chevy consumers, it's highly competent. it's when they get out and get informed that they get religion. however, malibu probably has a big effect in that way as well.
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If it was up to me I would refuse to use an old name such as Chevelle after the fit everyone threw about the GTO.
Caprice & Lumina are both fine with me. Weren't great cars but this one will improve on the name.
I'm sure GM is waiting for the refresh before bringing it over which will put it 9 months to a year away at the earliest. I'm sure police depts are fond of the Caprice name & I think a big reason this car will be made is to fill the gap left from Crown Vics going out of production next year.
Caprice & Lumina are both fine with me. Weren't great cars but this one will improve on the name.
I'm sure GM is waiting for the refresh before bringing it over which will put it 9 months to a year away at the earliest. I'm sure police depts are fond of the Caprice name & I think a big reason this car will be made is to fill the gap left from Crown Vics going out of production next year.