Bob Lutz, a man who has seen the insides of Chrysler, Ford and General Motors to name a few, took a break from predicting the future of the automotive industry and instead looked back at the past. In a new article published by Road and Track this past Monday, Lutz gave readers insight into why automakers kill potentially successful projects.
Many cars met their demise over the years and Lutz said he personally gave a few the red light. They ranged from an extended Saturn Vue with third-row seating, a Dodge Ram-based SUV, and a couple of sedan proposals. Normally, the death of potential products or successful cars is due to one thing: the market went in a different direction. It’s why the last Chevrolet Trailblazer died and the Camaro met its end in the early 2000s.
Sometimes, Lutz wrote, business reasons give some of the best cars the ax. He noted the Dodge Viper and recalled a report that stated the Chevrolet Volt, Buick LaCrosse, and other GM sedans that may meet their end. If the cars can be replaced with something more profitable, the automaker will normally move ahead.
And, of course, some projects die because of financial situations. Lutz recalled work on a mid-engine Corvette just before the 2008 global financial crisis. Cadillac also began work on a radically different XLR. As GM approached bankruptcy, the automaker killed the money-chugging programs. Nothing personal, just business.
Comments
Mr. Bob Lutz is a smart and successful man. And an awesome former decorated fighter pilot dude that owns his own fighter plane…and is like 85 years old!!!
– the rest of my comment was removed by moderators (Alex) because I attacked the writer of this article for no apparent reason… lesson learned –
I’d like Cadillac to come out with a redesigned XLR . That would be a boost for Cadillac , just a niche car but with style . Even the old ones still look upscale .
GM brings in student designers to work at Warren to see what these young people see for the future of GM’s divisions .
They go from sketches to CAD to working with clay models for the wind tunnel and some aspects of these designs could very well make it to a vehicle for the top designers ti incorporate in future products .
And I bet Bob Lutz has seen many vehicles that were great cars but they have to pass so many levels of red tape from one floor to the next at the Ren Center before it gets the green light .
Cadillac will get to sports cars when the time is right.
Investment of money and man power right now is dedicated to the money makers.
I expect Cadillac may do a small roadster first to earn trust before they go more expensive.
The XLR as cool as it was never lived up to expectations. It never sold well and resale was horrible for the original owners. My buddy got a low mileage XLR V for only $30,000.
This the big picture stuff we have to look at.
Companies need to pick and choose what is going to make the greatest return on investment. Just making money anymore is not enough. Some times that is not always the most cool choice.