Bob Lutz Backs Out on Pontiac G8 - Chevy Caprice Idea...

Just a week ago we told you that in an interview with Automobile Magazine, General Motors' Bob Lutz revealed that the Pontiac G8 would live on as the Chevrolet Caprice, in spite of the fact that GM CEO Fritz Henderson had previously announced the death of the G8 for North America. Guess what? Bob Lutz took his words back on GM's official blog saying that while it seemed like a good idea at the time (a week ago...) upon further review and study (aka a talk with Henderson) the company decided that a G8-based Caprice wouldn't make much sense in today's market. Read the full statement from Bob Lutz after the jump and weep.

Bob Lutz: "OK, I have some late-breaking news for you from the world of GM, where things are indeed moving quickly, and what I'm about to say is proof.

In fact, we're moving so fast, we're going back in time to, oh, about four or five days ago, when the Pontiac G8 was going away and was not going to become a new Chevrolet Caprice.

And therein lies the news: 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.

That's all still true. 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.

I know that we'll get a lot of complaints from G8 lovers, because I'm one of them. And the product guy in me is complaining as loudly as anyone. But the marketing guy says there's no case. With budgets being what they are for the time being, the resources must be allocated elsewhere.

In no way, and this is very important, in no way does this mean we are backing away from performance, or backing away from rear-wheel drive. Look no further for proof than the Corvette, the Camaro, the CTS or many other present and future Cadillacs. We have a strong lineup of RWD vehicles already and we will continue to have it.

And we have a tremendous RWD team in Australia that gave us the beloved G8, a team that we will tap into at some point again in the future for its expertise and sheet metal. Just not right now."

Source: FastlaneBlogs

Pontiac G8 to be Reborn as the Chevrolet Caprice in the USA, According to Lutz

No sooner that we learned that Bob Lutz reversed his decision to retire from GM at the end of the year, deciding to extend his career as the firm's vice chairman in charge of all "creative elements of products and customer relationships", and the 77-year old is offering American car nuts a reason to celebrate. In an interview with Automobile Magazine, Lutz revealed that the Pontiac G8 isn't dead after all.

Despite the fact that only a month ago, in a live chat with online readers, GM CEO Fritz Henderson supported that the rear-wheel drive Pontiac sports sedan won't live in another brand, Lutz told the magazine that the G8 will be reborn in the USA as the Chevrolet Caprice.

"The last time we looked at the G8, we decided that we would continue to import it as a Chevrolet," Lutz said. "It is kind of too good to waste." Can't disagree with Lutz on that one....

He also added that other key factors in this decision were the export agreements with Australia and the fact that the Holden Commodore is already sold in many countries as a Chevrolet.

What Lutz didn't say is in what form the G8 will survive in the USA - as a Holden Commodore / Pontiac G8 with a Chevy grille or will GM prefer to import the longer-wheelbase Holden Statesman / Caprice? That's probably a good point to start the conversation in the comment section below.

In addition to the G8, Lutz told the magazine that the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe could be closer to production than we think, noting that that members of the government taskforce were quite interested in the BMW M3-challenging sports coupe during the presentation of the firm's product plan.

"When we went through design and looked at the future product, the procession stopped at the model of the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe," Lutz said. "I think that some of these guys are personally going to buy CTS-V Coupes."

Source: Automobile , Via: Autoblog.com