Yesterday we urged GM CEO Fritz Henderson to sit down with his new Vice Chairman Bob Lutz to get their stories about the future of the Pontiac G8 straight. Now they have, and the news isn’t good.

Bob Lutz posted on GM’s corporate Fastlane Blog that the G8 will not live on as the Chevrolet Caprice. In fact, it won’t live on at all. “The G8 will not be a Caprice after all. I’d mentioned it, and said we were studying it, giving it a serious look, because a car like the G8 was just too good to waste,” wrote Lutz, who continued; “But I have to say that, with my new ‘marketing’ hat on, upon further review and careful study, we simply cannot make a business case for such a program. Not in today’s market, in this economy, and with fuel regulations what they are and will be.”

Lutz then expressed his personal disappointment, but said there was just no way to make the car happen and that the company’s resources had to be placed elsewhere.

He then tried to reassure rear-wheel drive, performance enthusiasts saying that, “in no way does this mean we are backing away from performance, or backing away from rear-wheel drive.” He applauded the Holden team in Australia and said that he would like to look to their products to bring another RWD vehicle over in the future, but not now.

Sadly, the G8 will bow out after a short stay in the North American marketplace, an emotional product that fell victim to “further review and careful study.”

How about an apology for getting our hopes up Bob?

[Source: GM Fastlane Blog]

Perhaps General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson and his newly appointed Vice Chairman Bob Lutz should sit down, have a talk and get their stories straight.

After consistently saying that the Pontiac G8 would be eliminated with the rest of the Pontiac brand, it seemed as though Henderson had a change of heart after his newly appointed Vice Chair and product boss Lutz proudly proclaimed that the G8 would live on as a Chevrolet Caprice. Calling it “too good to waste” Lutz said the rebadged G8 would be available for consumers and as a special model for police departments.

Now, according to an Autoblog interview with Henderson , it seems only the latter is true. “We’ve been looking at it for police applications. As for whether or not it’s broader than police applications, I am not a believer in re-branding and re-badging. We’ve been talking about in terms of potential police applications and we’ll leave it at that.”

So there you have it… the official word on the future of the Pontiac G8… at least until Lutz opens his mouth next.

For a company that recently emerged from bankruptcy and that is trying to promote confidence in its leadership, General Motors certainly isn’t doing a very convincing job.

[Source: Autoblog]

When General Motors emerged from bankruptcy protection and announced that it would unretire Bob Lutz, it seemed like an odd move, considering Lutz’s interest in performance cars and the fact that he’s 77 years old. Enthusiasts, however, rejoiced and with good reason, as over the weekend the former product boss and now Vice Chairman let slip that Cadillac may in fact build a high-performance “V” version of the upcoming CTS Coupe.

Yesterday on GM’s corporate Fastlane Blog Lutz addressed the issue and clearly stated that a CTS-V Coupe will in fact see production.

 ”As of now, the V package is planned only for the sedan and coupe,” he said.

As for whether a “V” version of the CTS Sport Wagon had wings, Lutz was less optimistic, stating that if there is a demand GM would most certainly build the car. Demand for high performance wagons has never been high in North America, however, as is evidenced by the fact that BMW doesn’t bring over its M5 wagon and Audi never brought over the RS6 Avant. The only automaker to offer a high-performance wagon is Mercedes-Benz with its E63 Estate.

Oddly, Lutz also sounded less sure about his earlier statement that the Pontiac G8 would remain in the U.S., branded as a Chevrolet Caprice, saying that GM was studying the “feasibility” of offering the car to the police and public.

[Source: GM Fastlane Blog]

Calling the Pontiac G8 “Too good to waste,” GM’s new product boss, Bob Lutz, has just announced that the car will live on, rebadged as a Chevrolet Caprice. The news comes as a surprise, considering GM’s CEO Fritz Henderson has been unwavering in his insistence that the car would be eliminated from the New GM.

Apparently part of the reason for the move is due to the fact that GM has an internal agreement with Holden, the Australian arm of the company that makes and sells the car as the Commodore in its home market. Currently GM sells the Comodore in markets like the middle east badged as a Chevy.

Lutz did not say if the new body style would be available for the U.S. market by 2010, of if consumers would have to wait until 2011.

So while GM looks to pave a new future full of green cars, it appears as though old-man-Lutz still wants General Motors to build cars for performance enthusiasts. He even said that a high-performance “V” version of the upcoming Cadillac CTS Coupe is still a possibility.

In addition, Lutz even commented that a “V” version of the Cadillac CTS Sport Wagon was not completely out of the question. “I’m sure we’ll build at least one,” he said.

[Source: Automobile Magazine]

Today the sun rose on a New General Motors, a move which will also see the sun set on a lot of people’s careers. GM emerged from bankruptcy protection at 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time with news of a serious corporate restructuring plan that will take effect over the next few months.

Due to leadership (and in some cases arm-twisting) by the Obama Administration, the new GM,  headed by CEO Fritz Henderson, is poised to return to its once-great status after shedding its debt and healthcare obligations by a massive $48 billion. Much of this comes as the UAW made serious concessions in accepting a new contract with the automaker. GM also hopes to significantly reduce its cash-burn after eliminating a third of it’s dealership network. Additionally, the automaker looks to profit from the sale of the Saturn, Saab and Hummer brands, as well as through selling-off much of its stake in its European operations, including Opel to Canadian autoparts manufacturer Magna International.

“Today marks a new beginning for General Motors, one that will allow every employee, including me, to get back to the business of designing, building and selling great cars and trucks and serving the needs of our customers,” CEO Fritz Henderson said in a statement.

Henderson’s plan will see 6,000 (or 20 percent of) white-collar employees lose their jobs by October, with 35 percent of all executives being dismissed. Many executives will be cut from the company’s old Automotive Strategy Board and Automotive Product Board, a complex, multi-tiered system of management which will be axed in favor of a small committee that will meet weekly to make decisions about the future of the company.

Henderson says the move will cut those making the decisions at GM in half as the automaker focuses on its four key brands – Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac.

Sales and Marketing will also no longer be under the leadership of one individual, as that part of the company is split. Sales will report directly to Henderson, who was unclear about what that meant for the current Sales & Marketing boss, Mark LaNeve. GM will also bring back veteran Bob Lutz to manage marketing, as well as design, brands and communications.

This will be a particularly vital role as GM looks to introduce a new line of vehicles into the marketplace to help re-brand the company. In total 10 new vehicles will launch in the U.S. in the next 18 months, with 17 overseas.

[Source: Automotive News]

GM Vice Chair Bob Lutz Kisses a Saturn Astra. Recently he kissed-goodbye to all his stock in the company.

In a move that should probably be illegal (but isn’t) six General Motors executives recently sold off all their shares in the company. That’s right, those same guys who helped drive GM into bankruptcy traded in all their stocks when a trading window opened.

The move signifies that GM will most likely file for Chapter 11 and while it does seem unjust that these executives are permitted to jump ship, smart investors will see this as a sign. (You know what they say when the rats start to leave a ship).

GM’s Vice Chairman Bob Lutz (pictured above) sold off all of is 81,360 shares at $1.61 each, cashing in on $130, 969.60. The North American President of GM, Troy Clarke, dumped his 21,380 shares for just $1.45 each for a total of $31,001.

The remaining executives involved in the sell-off were VP Thomas Stephens, as well as Group VPs Gary Cowger, Carl-Peter Forster and Ralph Szygenda.

The move prompted the stocks to continue their slide, dropping 17 cents (or 11 percent) to just $1.44 by days end. In the past year GM’s stock value has declined by 92 percent.

General Motors is facing a June 1st restructuring deadline by the Obama administration or else the federal government will pull the funding plug on the automaker. As it stands a bankruptcy scenario seems unavoidable.

[Source: Bloomberg]

Bob Lutz with the Cadillac ConverJ at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show

Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman of Global Product Development at General Motors, is stepping down from his current position at the company and will retire at the end of 2009. According to a press release posted on the company’s website, Lutz, one of the best known names in the auto industry, will continue on at GM as Vice Chairman and Senior Advisor.

In his transitionary role, Lutz will give, “strategic input into GM’s global design and key product initiatives until his retirement at the end of 2009,” and will report to CEO Rick Wagoner until that time.

Tim Stephens, the current executive vice president of Global Powertrain and Global Quality, will replace Lutz. Stephens will also continue to oversee quality issues at General Motors.

Before joining GM in 2002, Lutz held many key roles at many major manufacturers including being a VP at Ford, an Executive VP at BMW and an executive at Chrysler.

“Bob Lutz was already a legendary automotive product guy when he rejoined GM in 2001,” Wagoner said, “and he’s added to that by leading the creation of a string of award-winning vehicles for GM during his time here. His 46 years of experience in the global automotive business have been invaluable to us.  I’ve personally learned a great deal from Bob and have very much enjoyed the time we’ve worked together. I’m looking forward to Bob’s continued contributions to GM for the remainder of 2009 – and I know the impact of his efforts leading GM global product development will continue for years to come.”

Tom Stephens discussing the future of hybrid technology at General Motors

As for Stepehs, Wagoner had this to day: “Tom Stephens is the perfect guy to take the reins of GM’s global product development. “e’s had extensive experience in virtually every aspect of our global product development activities. With his 40 years at GM, Tom has an extraordinary understanding of our products and our organization, and is highly respected worldwide.  I’m confident that with Tom’s passion for great products and vast knowledge of advanced propulsion, he will continue to raise the bar in executing outstanding GM cars and trucks.”

Official release after the jump:

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According to a report in Automotive News, General Motors is looking to sell Saab but no one is looking to buy.

Apparently Saab was put under “strategic review” by General Motors as part of its bailout proposal to Congress. The article quotes GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz as saying that “strategic review” is “’code for we realize they’re not working and something needs to be done.’”

Saab’s sales were down 34.7 percent in 2008 and the auto manufacturer has never sold more than 50,000 cars. In fact, the highest recorded sales year was 1986 with  48,181 units.

Recently Volvo secured bailout money from the Swedish government and it is expected Saab will attempt to do the same in the near future.

[Source: Auto News]

With almost 8,000 out of 25,000 votes, Dana Roberts of Gilroy, CA was chosen as the “cheeky” winner of Saturn’s “Kiss my Astra” photo contest. As the Grand Prize Winner Dana was awarded a brand new Saturn Astra.

Several other prizes were also awarded, with $300 gift cards going to the first five runners up, and all remaining finalists receiving a $100 gift card.

The contest was kicked off earlier this year with Vice Chairman of Global Product Development Bob Lutz submitting the first photo.

See Bob Lutz kissing Astra, after the jump:

[Source ImSaturn.com]

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