GM axes performance division

[Jeff Lee]

So long SS, CTS-V
Cadillac’s world-beating high-performance V-series CTS and STS as well as the spirited Chevrolet Cobalt SS and HHR SS are no more — all casualties of GM’s restructuring to help slow the global automaker’s downward spiral.

On Wednesday, GM pulled the plug on its High Performance Vehicle Operations in Detroit which produced the aforementioned shining stars in the company’s lineup. Workers employed at the division were reassigned to other areas of the company.

“All high-performance projects are on indefinite hold,” GM spokesman Vince Muniga told the auto trade publication Automotive News. “The engineers are moving into different areas of the organization, and they will work on Cadillacs, Buicks, Chevrolets and Pontiacs.” On Tuesday, the foundering automaker submitted its viability plan to the U.S. Treasury Department. That plan calls for as much as $30 billion from taxpayers by 2011; meanwhile, the company says it will cut 47,000 jobs, shutter five more of its plants in the U.S. and jettison Hummer, Saab and Saturn either by selling them off or phasing them out as it did Oldsmobile. What about Pontiac? Well, it won’t be John Z.’s Pontiac ever again, that’s for sure. The whole plan is here.
- By Mike McNessor
Hemmings online 02/19/2009

[Paul Merolla]

Good thing I didn't pre-order a new Camaro. This sucks. Just when they started making hi-po cars again. Maybe in 30 years a 2002 Z28 will be worth $$ like the 67-69s are now.
Hope you're happy, UAW!!!!!

[Ed Wright]

That corp is so mis-managed they should go under. I just hate it for their workers and vendors.

[Sean Kennedy]

After they ended the GMPP and AC Delco sponsorships of drag racing last year I decided I will no longer be supporting GM in any way.

In our family we have 4 Chevys. Other than the minivan stocker project, we don't own anything but GM products.

I will never buy a new GM vehicle ever , or use a GM part on any of my vehicles unless I have no other options. Not even an AC Delco spark plug or oil filter.

If I can ever afford a new truck it will be Ford, or even possibly Toyota.

[Colin Wigle]

Originally Posted by Sean Kennedy

After they ended the GMPP and AC Delco sponsorships of drag racing last year I decided I will no longer be supporting GM in any way.

In our family we have 4 Chevys. Other than the minivan stocker project, we don't own anything but GM products.

I will never buy a new GM vehicle ever , or use a GM part on any of my vehicles unless I have no other options. Not even an AC Delco spark plug or oil filter.

If I can ever afford a new truck it will be Ford, or even possibly Toyota.

Thats the way to support your brand through tough times!!!

[Ed Fernandez]

Originally Posted by Sean Kennedy

After they ended the GMPP and AC Delco sponsorships of drag racing last year I decided I will no longer be supporting GM in any way.

In our family we have 4 Chevys. Other than the minivan stocker project, we don't own anything but GM products.

I will never buy a new GM vehicle ever , or use a GM part on any of my vehicles unless I have no other options. Not even an AC Delco spark plug or oil filter.

If I can ever afford a new truck it will be Ford, or even possibly Toyota.

While you're at it hold your breath and jump up and down.

[Steve Williams]

When things were good it was everybody's friend (the big three). But when things go bad the true colors come out and people with no knowledge whatsoever about the GM problem throw rocks. Paul-What do you know about the UAW? Why is this their fault? Ed-You might get your wish and when the others fall( and trust me they will) you will be stuck driving a generic Foreign piece of crap. Tow with one of these so called trucks from the Japanese automakers and let me know how it works out. Sean-Get a grip, the cutting back was a necessary evil to save a few dollars and last that I seen KJ was still sporting their colors. Am I wrong? Jeff-thanks for the post, the article is an interesting one and something that in my town has been known for months. Their is plenty of blame to go around in this deal, so research it and then blame all guilty parties. BREAKING NEWS-Toyota is laying off people in the United States! You gentlemen (not including Jeff Lee) have not a clue about what the deal is about this GM crisis and what the consequences could be if GM falls. I see it everyday in my community and it is sad. Hope you never have to go through what people in my area live with everyday. Spend some of your time online looking at the Detroit News or the Detroit Freepress or the local Detroit television news broadcasts to get a better idea of what the real deal is.

This is not opinion, but the brutal truth.....

Have a nice day,

Steve Williams

[THE LEGEND]

Well said Steve.
I own 13 GM vehicles and 2 -68 camaro race cars. I'll keep buying GM as long as there is a place to do so.
Chip

[Don Whitmore]

Originally Posted by Steve Williams

When things were good it was everybody's friend (the big three). But when things go bad the true colors come out and people with no knowledge whatsoever about the GM problem throw rocks. Paul-What do you know about the UAW? Why is this their fault? Ed-You might get your wish and when the others fall( and trust me they will) you will be stuck driving a generic Foreign piece of crap. Tow with one of these so called trucks from the Japanese automakers and let me know how it works out. Sean-Get a grip, the cutting back was a necessary evil to save a few dollars and last that I seen KJ was still sporting their colors. Am I wrong? Jeff-thanks for the post, the article is an interesting one and something that in my town has been known for months. Their is plenty of blame to go around in this deal, so research it and then blame all guilty parties. BREAKING NEWS-Toyota is laying off people in the United States! You gentlemen (not including Jeff Lee) have not a clue about what the deal is about this GM crisis and what the consequences could be if GM falls. I see it everyday in my community and it is sad. Hope you never have to go through what people in my area live with everyday. Spend some of your time online looking at the Detroit News or the Detroit Freepress or the local Detroit television news broadcasts to get a better idea of what the real deal is.

This is not opinion, but the brutal truth.....

Have a nice day,

Steve Williams

Steve...I couldn't agree more.

Interesting to note GM has produced guns, airplanes and military engines that supported this country in time of war. What about that?

GM has an incredible technological base, but their current cost structure is prohibitive. Management has made mistakes, but this company deserves to survive.

[Ed Fernandez]

Originally Posted by Steve Williams

When things were good it was everybody's friend (the big three). But when things go bad the true colors come out and people with no knowledge whatsoever about the GM problem throw rocks. Paul-What do you know about the UAW? Why is this their fault? Ed-You might get your wish and when the others fall( and trust me they will) you will be stuck driving a generic Foreign piece of crap. Tow with one of these so called trucks from the Japanese automakers and let me know how it works out. Sean-Get a grip, the cutting back was a necessary evil to save a few dollars and last that I seen KJ was still sporting their colors. Am I wrong? Jeff-thanks for the post, the article is an interesting one and something that in my town has been known for months. Their is plenty of blame to go around in this deal, so research it and then blame all guilty parties. BREAKING NEWS-Toyota is laying off people in the United States! You gentlemen (not including Jeff Lee) have not a clue about what the deal is about this GM crisis and what the consequences could be if GM falls. I see it everyday in my community and it is sad. Hope you never have to go through what people in my area live with everyday. Spend some of your time online looking at the Detroit News or the Detroit Freepress or the local Detroit television news broadcasts to get a better idea of what the real deal is.

This is not opinion, but the brutal truth.....

Have a nice day,

Steve Williams

In an earlier post I did bash Chrysler and I still feel they deserve it.They have been building cars that aren't keeping current with real world situations.I have a 1999 Dakota I tow with and I love the truck.Their
problem is with the cars.They flat out get **** gas milage.Being taken over 3 times since the early 80s hasn't helped their image.This gas problem didn't start recently and they never worked to raise fuel milage in the cars.GM still hasnm't learned to stop the model duplication accross brand lines.Let GMC build trucks,Chevy bread and butter cars,buick more upscale cars and Pontiac sportier cars and let Cadillac be what Cadillac used to be.Hummer should have been dumped before they came out with the H3.And I wish I could get 80% of my pay for sitting on my *** when things got slow.Auto workers have known their jobs were not 12 month guaranteed,that's why they get a high rate of pay.And the Jap cars are laying off only because us poor suckers dont have the money to buy ANY new cars.And BTW I have never bought and very infrequently ridden in a Jap car and I'm 63 years old.And I race a car that parts are not the easiest to come by.They are out there,sometimes having to be either fabricated or modified.I can't go to an AMC dealer or Summit/Jegs like the big 3 for some of my stuff.The ironic part would be if a Jap or Korean co. bought a majority share into one of the big 3.
And Detroit hasn't been a suburb of Beverly Hills for a long time.


Ed F.
From the Socialist State
of New Jersey