From LS1.com - Lutz says no new Camaro

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#121
I can get a non-mystic '04 Cobra Vert for $37,000.00 here in Tampa loaded out the door. Only one option on the '04 Cobra...Chrome wheels. Everything else is standard. Mystic paint is NOT an option, just a special colored paint job that gives dealers the option to raise the price of those cars by $5000.00+. Everything else said about future models is pure rumors and wishes. Ford is more worried about the '05s coming off the assembly line in one piece then giving SVT the go ahead to produce the next upgraded Mustang (Cobra/GT###). I guess we'll just have to wait. Patience is a virtue. (It also sucks!)
 

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#122
GM hasn't impressed me at all lately. No Camaro, a bland GTO, a barely powered, (and barely styled, IMO) Solstice, the SSR (only interesting one of the bunch, but not my style, and still underpowered) and about 5 identical minivans. GM wants to make a distinct van, that's fine, but copying it through all their marques is just cheap. Why does Pontiac even need a minivan? aren't they supposed to be the performance division? It's kinda like how they have four (at least) variants of the Trailblazer. The only positive I've seen is Cadillac's rebirth as a premium brand.
 
#126
Exactly. I can see a Chevy van and a more upscale Buick, but beyond that, it's redundant. The new Saturn variant is incredibly bland. I always saw saturn's new direction as kind of a cool, funky, youth-oriented brand. If they were gonna do a minivan, i would expect it to fit in with that, not just the generic GM badge engineering.
 
#127
I don't see the need for so many vans either, I guess the story is dealers wanted Minivans to sell. I was told the reason they all look so simalar is because GM wanted to spend the money on more important projects other than styleing vans.

Why are we talking about FWD vans?
 
#131
Nazgul said:
It goes beyond vans or the Camaro to GM's deeper problems.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of Bob Lutz.
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Bob Lutz is a performance guy, if it wasn't for people like him evey car would be 200HP and FWD

Of course he promised the next Z06 would be faster than the Ford GT so maybe that is why you don't like him. :D
 
#132
The General Motors Product Lineup, shorthand:

A good portion of their stuff is either based off the V6 FWD Impala (and the like) platform, or it's a modified Silverado 1500.

GM's top sellers probably involve about 3 or 4 distinct platforms.

Great idea from a business point of view. It's great from an enthusiast's standpoint as well...........if they're awesome platforms.

Basing everything off the Corvette. :banana: :drool:

Basing everything off the Impala and Silverado.......:sleep: :notnice:
 
#133
Z28x said:
Bob Lutz is a performance guy, if it wasn't for people like him evey car would be 200HP and FWD
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200 hp and FWD, hmm, sounds like the rest of Chrysler's lineup besides the Viper. Lutz came in, introduced the Viper to revitalize the company, and ten years later they had...the Viper. Don't get me wrong, I love the Viper, but one or two great niche cars is not enough to carry an entire company on its shoulders.

GM does seem to be doing a better than 90s Chrysler, but still, I'd like more attention to be spent on making their brands strong, and less on niche cars.
 
#134
GinoGT said:
Basing everything off the Impala and Silverado.......:sleep: :notnice:
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Actually the Impala and Monte Carlo and a few buicks are the only thing on the Impala platform. There are a lot more platforms than you think.

Nothing wrong with Plaftorm sharing, you can build more models for less money. One of the main reason the Camaro was canned was because it didn't share a platform. By 2007 GM north America will have 4 different RWD platforms just for cars.


Nazgul said:
GM does seem to be doing a better than 90s Chrysler, but still, I'd like more attention to be spent on making their brands strong, and less on niche cars.
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Those things take time, give him 5 more years for the new cycle of products, remember pre-2004 cars were OKed and designed before Lutz got there. Maybe when he is done he can head over to Lincon and Mercury, they need help more than anyone.
 
#135
I don't mind platform sharing, because people can take one platform and go a million different ways with it. Just look what SVT's been able to do with an old Fairmont platform, BUT when I hear the head of a company say they can achieve the same effect as different sheetmetal by changing the grilles and other trim, red flags go up in my head. I was also hoping for a new Camaro within four or five years, but apparently not now. With all the new RWD platforms coming out by GM, there is no excuse for this. They're the world's biggest automaker, and they don't seem to know how to use it to their advantage.
 
#136
just as a side note I sent a very long letter to GM Canada President Michael Grimaldi about my disappointment with the direction they are going and in the raping they do to Canadian consumers with their unfair prices. I sent it registered yesterday...I am only a drop of water in a big pond but if enough people did the same maybe they would listen. I told him I WAS a GM loyalist of 25 years and they lost me to Ford because Ford seems to be the only company left that sort of listens to the buying public. I doubt I will get a responce but if I do...I'll let you guy have a laugh at it.
 
#137
Z28x said:
Those things take time, give him 5 more years for the new cycle of products, remember pre-2004 cars were OKed and designed before Lutz got there. Maybe when he is done he can head over to Lincon and Mercury, they need help more than anyone.
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One of GM's big problems is being able to overcome their own inertia. This is not a comapany that can turn on dime. Give Lutz credit for being able to bring the GTO to North America in only 18 months, in a car company that has the biggest bureaucracy and the longest development cycles in the industry. You can't underestimate what a feat that was.

Under Lutz, Chrysler managed bring the viper to market in record time and re-vamp their entire car and truck line in less than 4 years. I think it was after the new truck or minivan was intorduced and someone asked me "what the oldest current dodge vehicle" was. I couldn't think of it. Turned out to be the dodge Viper! Not bad for a company that spent over a decade dreaming up new and exciting variations of the "K" car chassis.
 
#139
Nazgul said:
I don't mind platform sharing, because people can take one platform and go a million different ways with it. Just look what SVT's been able to do with an old Fairmont platform, BUT when I hear the head of a company say they can achieve the same effect as different sheetmetal by changing the grilles and other trim, red flags go up in my head. I was also hoping for a new Camaro within four or five years, but apparently not now. With all the new RWD platforms coming out by GM, there is no excuse for this. They're the world's biggest automaker, and they don't seem to know how to use it to their advantage.
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I agree, badge engineering sucks, Ford is just as bad as GM and DC with the minivans. I was disappointed to see the new Ford 500 and Mercury Montego will be clones, when will they learn. The new Malibu, SAAB 9-3, and Pontiac G6 are all off the same platform and look nothing a like, they don't even share interiors. THat is the way platform sharing should be.
 
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