Say what you will about General Motors, but they have made some very respectable performance vehicles over the years. To think that there will no longer be new performance models coming from GM is very sad news for any enthusiast...

Source: http://www.leftlanenews.com/general-...-division.html

 

If the Eco freaks have their way we won't have ANY cars that run on gasoline in five years.

 

Has nothing to do with "eco freaks." It's about what sells and what doesn't. GM needs to make cutbacks wherever they can, and the performance division is an area where a lot of money is spent and not a lot is seen in return.

 

It's ashame - some very bright, hard working folks there.............

 

I just hope and pray they dont axe the Corvette. If they did, then i would loose all hope in GM. The ZR1 should be a limited production run but the Corvette is an American icon!

 

I can't imagine that this would be a permanent thing. They still have to keep improving the performance/handling of their future models, so they are going to need a performance division in which to do so. Ford got rid of SVT, but then brought them back. Its sad, but I guess its necessary for the short term.

 

The Corvette isn't part of the performance division, only the ZR-1 is. The Corvette is part of the regular Chevy catalog and I can't imagine a situation where they'd get rid of it. Now, I can imagine them doing unholy things to it to reduce the price and sell more, such as offering a 6cyl base engine, but it won't go away.

 

thats sad but i still feel the worst is yet to come. besides y would they only close up the performance division after they already closed how many plants and put how many of there workers out of jobs. i think this should have been done first.

 

I understand this. All im saying is if it GM got to the point of getting rid of the Corvette as a money saving measure so it could try to build a Prius clone i would lose it! True though i could see them making a V6 base (I hope they dont). Anyone hear if the new Camaro will be affected by this mess?

 

The global warming myth is a part of all car manufacturers woes,it might not be the only reason GM is in trouble but is a significant part.

 

what a shame. they have a different philosophy to gain power than the evo, but those are some nice cars.

 

Whoa, Hold on

I'd normally leave this one alone, but in my thread I cannot.

Global warming is very real, and the auto industry is going to have to adjust.

Automobiles account for only a fraction of greenhouse gases, but they will still have to improve. Very fast cars can adhere to stringent emmissions regulations.

CAFE standards on the other hand have the potential to cripple high performance car manufacturers. Mercedes Benz pays huge fines every year as a cost of doing business. Companies like Porsche and Ferrari could be in big trouble in the coming years as they fall farther below the mandated mpg standards. That is why we are going to see Cayenne Hybrids in the not too distant future.

 

It was reported several months ago that the next Corvette would most likely be a light weight model carrying a V-6

 

I don't think GM will make it in any case - not in its present form. Its liabilities in terms of retired employees' support is just too high (something like $2k per vehicle they sell). It's a corporate dinosaur too big to adapt. It will have to file for bankruptcy and truly reorganize into a much smaller company - perhaps several smaller companies.

 

It's not to big too adapt I hate when people say things like that. Does anyone know why GM is in the mess they are in?

Bottom line is 1st and foremost is retirement costs for retired workers. This is the fault of management from decades ago when GM was the car industry. When every Cadillac made could be sold 100% utilization......management at that time beckoned to the unions call and current management is paying the price. At that time no one thought healthcare would rise at the rate it did. Any company that made 100% healthcare w/pension deals back then is bankrupt or close to it (GM). I love Nissan and Toyota, but if either would have had deals like that they would be in the same boat today.

2nd reason is $$/hr of current employees and that number is shrinking rapidly, but still favors the imports by 18% -ish.

3rd is sales. GM has sales 2nd only to Toyota!! Think about that for a second and they were number 1 for the last 50 years.

The only way out for GM is bankruptcy and that is the sad truth.