GM global car lineup turns to rear drive
11-05-2003, 08:46 AM
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GM global car lineup turns to rear drive
GM global car lineup turns to rear drive
Lutz says automaker to use Insignia concept as model for more rear-wheel drive vehicles
By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News
SANTA BARBARA, Calif -- General Motors Corp. plans to introduce a new rear-wheel drive vehicle platform that will spawn a new generation of cars and crossover vehicles produced in North and South America, Europe and Asia.
After moving away from rear-wheel drive cars starting in the 1970s to reduce weight and boost fuel economy, GM and other automakers are racing to reintroduce rear-wheel drive as a way to enhance performance, attract enthusiasts and boost owner loyalty.
Advances in technology -- such as traction control, anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control -- are allowing automakers to rediscover rear-wheel drive and overcome prior drawbacks, such as sloppy handling on ice and snow and mediocre fuel economy.
DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group is also planning a new series of large rear-wheel drive sedans and wagons that will go on sale next year.
GM's new rear-wheel drive platform -- the basic underpinning of a vehicle that often includes the frame, chassis, suspension and engine -- will be one of three the automaker will use to create vehicles that can be customized for virtually any market in the world, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said in an interview Tuesday.
"We'll see a real convergence in our passenger cars and crossovers and car-based utilities -- giving them a more global flavor," Lutz said. "Once the architecture is situated everywhere, any member of that family of vehicles could be built anywhere."
GM hopes to accelerate its product development efforts and lower costs by producing more unique models for individual markets, while sharing more parts and components around the world.
The new rear-wheel drive platform will most likely be based on the Insignia, a concept car GM's Germany-based Opel unit introduced at last month's Frankfurt Auto Show. It could be used as the basis for a number of vehicles, including future versions of the Pontiac GTO, which is being reintroduced to the U.S. marketplace next month, Lutz said.
With the demise of the Pontiac Firebird and Chevrolet Camaro, Cadillac is now the only GM division that currently sells a rear wheel drive car in North America -- the CTS sedan.
The 2004 Pontiac GTO is now based on a coupe built by GM's Australian unit, Holden Motors.
Due in dealerships next month, GM is limited to building 18,000 GTOs a year, in part because of sensitivity to the United Auto Workers union. GM also hopes to create demand for the GTO by curtailing volume.
But once the new rear-wheel platform is put into place in "several years," Lutz said the car could be built in North America by union workers in somewhat larger volumes.
As part of a new product strategy at GM, several regions of the world have been designated product "homerooms" that will take the lead in developing particular types of vehicles with collaboration from other arms of the automaker, Lutz said.
GM's regional operations that have a vested interest in a vehicle type or are more advanced in their development, would be assigned as the homeroom.
The upcoming Chevrolet Equinox small sport-utility vehicle, for example, has been largely developed by GM's Asian operations, though it will be built in Canada and equipped with a Chinese-built engine.
"We're going to pummel the marketplace with derivatives of current vehicles," said Jim Queen, GM vice president of North America engineering.
The "homeroom" approach started to take shape over the last 18 months and is a linchpin in GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner's so-called "one GM" strategy, said Lutz.
"It encourages GM to operate as one global company as opposed to a federation of regional companies pursuing their own thing," Lutz said.
Indeed, the GTO, developed on three continents, is the first manifestation of that strategy, according to Lutz.
Holden altered a GM European vehicle platform to create the Monaro coupe, upon which the GTO was ultimately based, with direction from GM's North American operations.
Lutz said GM is not interested in building so-called "world cars" that could be sold anywhere, but rather "global cars" that could be tweaked to match the needs and preferences of virtually any market in the world.
"It will make us better and faster," Lutz said.
You can reach Ed Garsten at (313)223-3217 or egarsten@detnews.com.
http://www.detnews.com/2003/autosins...d01-316720.htm
Lutz says automaker to use Insignia concept as model for more rear-wheel drive vehicles
By Ed Garsten / The Detroit News
SANTA BARBARA, Calif -- General Motors Corp. plans to introduce a new rear-wheel drive vehicle platform that will spawn a new generation of cars and crossover vehicles produced in North and South America, Europe and Asia.
After moving away from rear-wheel drive cars starting in the 1970s to reduce weight and boost fuel economy, GM and other automakers are racing to reintroduce rear-wheel drive as a way to enhance performance, attract enthusiasts and boost owner loyalty.
Advances in technology -- such as traction control, anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control -- are allowing automakers to rediscover rear-wheel drive and overcome prior drawbacks, such as sloppy handling on ice and snow and mediocre fuel economy.
DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group is also planning a new series of large rear-wheel drive sedans and wagons that will go on sale next year.
GM's new rear-wheel drive platform -- the basic underpinning of a vehicle that often includes the frame, chassis, suspension and engine -- will be one of three the automaker will use to create vehicles that can be customized for virtually any market in the world, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said in an interview Tuesday.
"We'll see a real convergence in our passenger cars and crossovers and car-based utilities -- giving them a more global flavor," Lutz said. "Once the architecture is situated everywhere, any member of that family of vehicles could be built anywhere."
GM hopes to accelerate its product development efforts and lower costs by producing more unique models for individual markets, while sharing more parts and components around the world.
The new rear-wheel drive platform will most likely be based on the Insignia, a concept car GM's Germany-based Opel unit introduced at last month's Frankfurt Auto Show. It could be used as the basis for a number of vehicles, including future versions of the Pontiac GTO, which is being reintroduced to the U.S. marketplace next month, Lutz said.
With the demise of the Pontiac Firebird and Chevrolet Camaro, Cadillac is now the only GM division that currently sells a rear wheel drive car in North America -- the CTS sedan.
The 2004 Pontiac GTO is now based on a coupe built by GM's Australian unit, Holden Motors.
Due in dealerships next month, GM is limited to building 18,000 GTOs a year, in part because of sensitivity to the United Auto Workers union. GM also hopes to create demand for the GTO by curtailing volume.
But once the new rear-wheel platform is put into place in "several years," Lutz said the car could be built in North America by union workers in somewhat larger volumes.
As part of a new product strategy at GM, several regions of the world have been designated product "homerooms" that will take the lead in developing particular types of vehicles with collaboration from other arms of the automaker, Lutz said.
GM's regional operations that have a vested interest in a vehicle type or are more advanced in their development, would be assigned as the homeroom.
The upcoming Chevrolet Equinox small sport-utility vehicle, for example, has been largely developed by GM's Asian operations, though it will be built in Canada and equipped with a Chinese-built engine.
"We're going to pummel the marketplace with derivatives of current vehicles," said Jim Queen, GM vice president of North America engineering.
The "homeroom" approach started to take shape over the last 18 months and is a linchpin in GM chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner's so-called "one GM" strategy, said Lutz.
"It encourages GM to operate as one global company as opposed to a federation of regional companies pursuing their own thing," Lutz said.
Indeed, the GTO, developed on three continents, is the first manifestation of that strategy, according to Lutz.
Holden altered a GM European vehicle platform to create the Monaro coupe, upon which the GTO was ultimately based, with direction from GM's North American operations.
Lutz said GM is not interested in building so-called "world cars" that could be sold anywhere, but rather "global cars" that could be tweaked to match the needs and preferences of virtually any market in the world.
"It will make us better and faster," Lutz said.
You can reach Ed Garsten at (313)223-3217 or egarsten@detnews.com.
http://www.detnews.com/2003/autosins...d01-316720.htm
11-06-2003, 09:30 PM
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Its not the RWD that is the problem... the engineering and design is!
It seems that nothing new is being originated on this side of the pond... Europe and Australia is designing North American cars...
L8es
It seems that nothing new is being originated on this side of the pond... Europe and Australia is designing North American cars...
L8es
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