I asked about this before, but I dont remember reading an answer and its kinda confusing to me.

Chevy is giving Caddy not only the C6 platform before the C6 gets to use it, but also LS1/6 engines for the CTS, but Caddy isnt giving Chevy anything in return? There will be the Sigma/ve platform crossbreed, but wont Holden or Chevy or whoever is going to use it have to pay for R&D?

Or is it just the case that Chevy dosent need anything that Caddy developed because its too high scale for them?

 

To understand why, first know that Cadillac is getting pretty much everything it wants at the moment. GM is absolutely hellbound to make Cadillac a premium auto brand... their exact words: "The Standard of the World".

That means Cadillac got the RWD chassis when the rest of GM minus Corvette went FWD. This means Cadillac get's their own unique engine. This means Cadillac gets to go their own direction in style. This means Cadillac gets to make a $100,000 car. And this means Cadillac gets a 2 passenger sports car.

Let me point out something. It's common knowledge that under the skin of a XLR is the C6 Corvette. How do you think the Corvette people feel seeing their car not only under the skin of a different division, but that different division gets to bring the new Corvette before you do?

I really really doubt Chevrolet let Cadillac use the C6 for the XLR with open arms.

As for the engine, the engines are from GM powertrain, and it's available to any GM division who want's to use it. There are NO engines that are unique to a division anymore......except Cadillac!

 

It could be a good thing that the XLR is getting the C6 chassis before the C6. GM will have a year to work out the bugs in the chassis and tweak it for the C6. Its confusing to me why they just don't call it the XLR chassis since its getting it first.

 

Exclusiviness, uniqueness....

I think GM is trying to make Cadillac stand apart a little more from it's bread and butter cars...

Honestly, it's a good move from one angle, even though it is disappointing that some available stuff can't be used for good elsewhere...

 

Well for one The C6 is not really all new car. The C5 corvette Is really the 6th body style On the 5th or 4th frame. Depends on how you decide when its a "new frame" The " mid year Corvettes road on a near Identical frame as the Origanal. The Corvette C6 is really a 4th Gen frame or a 7th body restyle. The C6 rides on a Revised C5 frame. Its Aluminum version of the C5 frame with differnt thickness in the frame to save more weight. So, thats why The XLR rides on the C6 frame and not the other way around.

 

Ah, good point about the powertrain. I didnt even think about that.

But regardless of the structure of the XLR's underpinnings, it does have Chevy money all over it and like you pointed out if I were team C6 Id be pissed to all hell.

Although Im all for Caddy being #1 in GM, esp because my dad lives and breaths 1902-1930 Caddy's (owns a 1913 now).

 

Yes & No on the XLR having Chevy money all over it.

Remember some time ago when GM floated the idea of turning Corvette into it's own division? Well for development purposes, Corvette IS it's own division. It makes it's own profits, it funds it's own development, and if it's anything like the C5 development, Chevrolet in all effect is just the distributor for Corvette.

In short, Chevy get's to claim it as their own, but Corvette is completely independent of Chevrolet all things considered. Therefore, Chevrolet doesn't spend the money on it.

My guess is also that the Corvette team isn't very happy with all this. I know I wouldn't be.

 

Actually, It was the C3 (68-82) that rode on a near identical chassis to the C2 (or midyear, 63-67). The 63 was very different from the 62, one of the biggest changes being the IRS as opposed to the solid axle.

 

I think the point most people are overlooking is that there are effectively no separate divisions within NAO anymore. There's platform and product teams, but no dedicated "Chevrolet" group of engineers or designers. Nowadays each of the marques is really only a marketing deparment that fights for the money and attention of Powertrain, engineering, etc. So the only "Chevrolet" people to get indignant over the C6 would be the odd marketing wonk or oldtimers who remember when there actually used to be a unique Chevrolet division.

 

I understand the Corvette is the one exception within GM.

Outside of Team Corvette (which seem to include their own platform guys), the only few people in contact with the C6 from other areas is on a need to know basis.