Lutz: No Beat for US, Cobalt not near EOL, CUVs on the way, Aura stalled

[FenwickHockey65]

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/07/15/l...y-insignia-st/

General Motor's car czar, Bob Lutz, sat down with the little people of the blogosphere after GM's announcement that it would be reducing white collar expenditures by 20-percent, cutting truck production and eliminating retired health care for salaried workers over 65, all in an effort to boost its liquidity by $15 billion by the end of 2009.

Hit the jump for all the details.

[Photo: David McNew/Getty]

Maximum Bob addressed questions about GM's entire brand portfolio, saying, "Pontiac will be nourished with products" and confirming that GM is in talks with financial institutions about HUMMER, and that, "If we could sell the brand, we'd be interested in doing that."

Predictably, much of the conversation centered on fuel efficiency and the General's plans to address the growing demand for miserly transport in the U.S. Lutz made it clear that "as fuel costs in the U.S. begin to resemble those in the rest of the world" it will be easier for GM to realign its products on a global scale.

So what about the Chevy Beat? The subcompact hatch is slated to arrive in Europe next year as the Spark, replacing the Chevy that shares the same name. However, GM didn't intend for the Beat (or Spark) to be offered in the U.S., so it currently doesn't meet federal safety and crash standards. It would take too much money and about two years to bring the Beat up to snuff for sales in the U.S., so Lutz conceded that it wouldn't be coming to the U.S. until the next generation arrives... whenever that is.

In more unfortunate news, the Chevrolet Cruze, set to debut in Paris and sold in Europe next year, won't be replacing the Cobalt in the U.S. anytime soon. Lutz maintains that the current Cobalt is "no where near the end of its life-cycle" and that it's "finally coming into its own" in the U.S. market. When the Cruze does debut, expect an interior that's a cross between the Cobalt and the Malibu, and powered by a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-pot that will get 40+ mpg.

When asked about Saturn, Lutz was insistent that GM "likes the brand," but is concerned that the franchise isn't generating enough volume. While earlier reports suggested that Saturn would short-cycle the Aura and replace it with the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia, Lutz says that it won't be coming forthright.

When the 2008/2009 show season ramps up, expect GM to debut several new compact crossovers that are significantly smaller than the Lambda CUVs currently on sale. Lutz wouldn't elaborate on what brands would be getting these new cute 'utes, but expect them to span GM's brands.

On a completely unrelated tangent, Lutz divulged a few tidbits about his personal rides, which include a Saturn Sky Redline, an Aura and four (count 'em, four) Segways. Go figure...

[RamJet502]

NO BEAT FOR THE US!!! Morons!!!

[FenwickHockey65]

Stupiiiiiiiid.


Screw the Cobalt, the Cruze is 200 times better than it.

[RamJet502]

No Beat or Cruze, that's lunacy!

[BigAls87Z28]

On top of his 2 fighter jets and several sports cars...
Cool that he has a Sky RL...wonder what color.

[HoosierRon]

No Beat. No Cruze. No Insignia. But lots of Pontiacs and CUVs.

This is how GM responds to America's demand for fuel efficient vehicles?

[FoMoCo Fan]

I don't think this is what the street wants to hear. "Nourishing" Pontiac? A subcompact that isn't even out yet that wasn't designed to allow to be sold in the US. The next generation Beat could be out as far as 2015!!!!!!! This was a colossal blunder. As much as I like what Lutz has done, that kind of thing is inexcusable today, and heads need to roll. We've been told for years how far GM is ahead of Ford in the turnaround process. Yet Ford is about ready to launch the Fiesta globally, including in NA, yet GM is going to continue trotting out the Aveo for potentially as long as six more years???????????

[ksr]

How can anyone say how good the Cruze will be?

[calgaryhhr]

Well, if things weren't bad enough for GM in North America currently anouncements like this are certainly going to make things even worse. GM needs to introduce new products to NA like the Beat and Cruze and such. I won't argue that this class of cars hasn't sold well in NA in the past and it might take consumers some time to adjust and start buying smaller cars but by not offering an option GM is shutting the door and turning their back on NA. The current products are weak (Aveo, Cobalt, G5) and GM needs something that will stir up some excitement and maybe even become class leaders. If they can bring out cars like the new Malibu and the Lambda's and the G8 why not do something similar for the small car marketplace. These recent new platforms and redesigns are a step in the right direction but are limited to a larger car/truck market segment.

My girlfriend and I were just shopping for a small car about a month ago. We looked at the Smart 4two, Versa, Yaris, Fit, Golf/Jetta and Mini Clubman. GM did not even have something that we could look at the wouldn't just be a waste of time. The Aveo is horrible compared to these other cars. We did have a quick look at the Saturn Astra but it came up short in the interior feel so it didn't even get a test drive. The decision ended with a Golf in the driveway.

[T-Type]

Some bad news in there. One can only hope this is just 'misinformation' for the competitors.

[wescoent]

This is insanity. Opel is taking all this time and effort to engineer what will likely be a world class family sedan, and yet, Saturn and Pontiac will enjoy none of the benefits.

The Cruze is another insane decision. Bring it here, rename it the Cobalt.

[paul8488]

Wow, GM sucks.

Cobalt's life cycle is already over... he wants to milk what, another three years out of it? Focus is outselling the Cobalt because it's a redo, not because it's 'coming into it's own'. The Cruze should be their number one priority for the US right now... instead it's going to be the last world market to get it. How much is it going to burn that it will be built but not sold in the US?

As FoMoCo fan said, the Beat should have been intended for the US from the get-go. I wonder who will get to market first with this sort of vehicle? Toyota? Honda? Hyundai? I'll be home in a few years and I'll buy the smallest, most fuel efficient new car I can buy (Smart doesn't count). Looks like it won't be a GM.

GM has spent a fortune revamping Saturn and starving Pontiac... and now they're thinking of bolstering Pontiac? Sheesh! These guys can't look more than 1 month ahead.

[Glass Half full]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

When the 2008/2009 show season ramps up, expect GM to debut several new compact crossovers that are significantly smaller than the Lambda CUVs currently on sale. Lutz wouldn't elaborate on what brands would be getting these new cute 'utes, but expect them to span GM's brands.

So no Beat or Cruze for the NA Market anytime soon, but several new crossovers !! Well why would they sell the beat and cruze here , when half-assed attempts like the cobalt and Aveo are selling in fairly good numbers. The entire objective is to make small cars as crappy as possible to divert buyers attention to trucks and crossovers.

Old habits die hard.

[TriShield]

Nobody in the US is buying SUVs, trucks or crossovers anymore. That market completely evaporated overnight with fuel prices.

So what is GM's grand product plan in response to this?

Offer MORE new crossovers rebadged across their brands! Delay new cars! Keep new compact cars in foreign countries only!

The hits just keep coming!

[windvale]

"When the Cruze does debut, expect an interior that's a cross between the Cobalt and the Malibu, and powered by a turbocharged 1.4-liter four-pot that will get 40+ mpg."

Why the hell would anybody want to cross the Cobalt interior with anything ???

GM's number one priority needs to be to get the Cruze out to the North American market ASAP, and the Volt immediately there after. Everything else is just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.

The leadership just doesn't get it...