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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons , Sports/GTs , GM , Pontiac Click above for high-res gallery of the 2008 Pontiac G8 GT CarDomain recently sat for lunch with GM car czar Bob Lutz, and one of the topics that came up was the ever-vanishing manual transmission. Lutz explained that modern automatics are no longer the less efficient option by default, and with CAFE dictating so much nowadays, carmakers can actually improve their fleet average fuel economy more by going with automatics that can be programmed to deliver maximum efficiency (as far as the EPA is concerned, at least). He then went on to state that there will be manuals available in both the Camaro and the 2009 Pontiac G8 GT, which gets a 6-speed unit from Tremec. So if you waited on Poncho's new muscle sedan, your patience will be rewarded. Of course, your patience will also got you a price increase too, but at least those dopey digital auxiliary gauges will be gone, as well. Gallery: In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Pontiac G8 GT [Source...
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Filed under: New York Auto Show , Coupes , GM , Pontiac Click above for high-res live shots of the 2009 Pontiac Solstice Coupe A self-effacing and impeccably dressed Bob Lutz took shots at the old Pontiac during the live reveal of the 2009 Pontiac Solstice Coupe. Busting on the arrowhead's former taste for cladding and Iron Dukes in the "excitement" product line, Lutz confidently strode alongside a silver 2009 Solstice GXP Coupe as it rolled out amidst fanfare provided by the Young Lords. Strobe lights flashed, music blared - it was like catching the last act of Kimmel, complete with Pontiac Garage signage. The Solstice Coupe replaces the world's flimsiest soft-top setup with a composite targa panel. 50-Cent also made an appearance and touted the performance of the GXP-trim Solstice, saying "It's faster than a Porsche Boxster. For $30,000... pick this one, not that one," while pointing at the Porsche display. The look of the Solstice Coupe is definitely zoomy...
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Filed under: Car Buying , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Tech , GM In the fuel economy and future tech debate, the hybrid vs. diesel vs. hydrogen fuel cells vs. smaller cars and smaller engines always provokes a fair bit of discussion among Autoblog commentators. At this point, no one yet knows what's going to win since nobody knows how the volatile mix of products, timelines, prices, regulations, legislation, state standards, and gas prices will ultimately pan out. Bob Lutz's prediction is that diesels, at least as far as the US is concerned, won't be much of a factor. His reasoning is simple: "I think customers are going to say, 'Wait a minute. At equal fuel prices I'm paying $4,000 more for this." Unlike many countries in Europe, the US offers no incentive for people to buy diesels. In the States the price of a diesel vehicle is often more than $1,000 higher than that of a gasoline-engined car, and diesel fuel is just as expensive as gas (throughout California...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Chevrolet , GM Wired magazine got in the queue for some face time with Bob Lutz at the Detroit Auto Show, and came back with a quote that's raised a few brows. When asked what the target market for the car would be, Lutz said "I don't know. You'd like to have it at about $30,000 for the customer, but what I'm hearing from the team is we're not going to get there.... f it costs closer to 40 than 30, well, that's too bad." The issue is the timeline. His engineering team said that if they had more time they could cost-optimize the car, but Lutz doesn't want to wait for that. As for the recent go-round about when the Volt would appear , November 2010 is such a firm deadline in his mind that when it comes to the internal team, his only question is: "What is there about November 2010 that you don't understand?" Lutz must know how important it will be to price this car competitively...
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Filed under: Economy , China , GM Click image for a gallery of the GM China Chevrolet Spark If everyone else is going to build cars like Tata's headline-grabbing Nano, GM's going to pile on, too. The Lutz cites GM's part-ownership stake in Wuling Motors, a Chinese manufacturer of sub-$3,000 utility vehicles as a possible source of a GM Nano competitor. Lutz went on to say that one way to make an inexpensive car for the developing world is to repurpose a legacy platform that has become obsolete. The tooling and design will have long been paid off, and there'll be plenty of experience from the manufacturing side, too. This is essentially what GM China is already doing with the Daewoo Matiz/Chevrolet Spark. It might smack of dumping an old product that isn't safe or clean enough for mature markets, but is "good enough" in other parts of the world. That said, it could also be a way to maximize the life of an investment while also providing developing markets with...
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Filed under: Detroit Auto Show , Sedans/Saloons , Government/Legal , Green , Chevrolet , GMC , Pontiac , Holden It's finally (semi) official: RWD cars like a new Pontiac GTO (and Holden Monaro) and Impala are "gone for now." Bob Lutz has been making noises about it for a while, and every announcement gets more and more certain that the front wheels will be pulling more GM cars. Just a month ago, Lutz told Forbes "That's where the internal debate [on the Impala] is now -- no firm decision at this point, but my guess is that we will come down on the side of the front-drive car." By the time of last week's Detroit Auto Show, Lutz was telling GoAuto "I think the (Monaro/Pontiac GTO) is gone for now.... [T]hat's not the end of the market where we want to stimulate demand. We have to find ways to stimulate demand and desirability in cars that will get us closer to the 35 MPG average." How will that be done? Perhaps by using the Alpha midsize platform...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Coupes , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Chevrolet Bob Lutz has staked a fair amount of his and GM's reputation on the Volt. Even though he has said since the beginning that the Volt needs battery technology that isn't ready for the mass market yet, he also said that the Volt would go on sale by the end of 2010 . Rick Wagoner, though, in a 50-minute Q&A session with journos and bloggers, said that the Volt launch date is "fluid." Citing, again, the lack of battery technology that the Volt would need, he said, "We continue to put massive resources into production as soon as possible. 2010 would be great, but (we) can't guarantee that at this time. We'll keep you posted regularly on our progress." GM critics -- like the Toyota rep who called the Volt "vaporware" -- will take this as a sign that GM is waffling. GM supporters will say, correctly, that this doesn't mean the Volt won't come out in 2010 -- it simply...
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Filed under: Etc. , Hirings/Firings , GM In an interview with WunderBob Lutz , the Associated Press reported that "he wants to retire from General Motors Corp. after the company brings a plug-in electric car to market, possibly sometime in 2010." After what must have been enough phone calls and e-mails to bust a switchboard, Lutz has clarified the AP story with a resounding "I'm not thinking retirement." The AP stands by its story, which it said was a story about retirement. The confusion perhaps came from Lutz saying he wanted to retire after a plug-in electric comes out, and the AP writing that he could "possibly" retire immediately after it came out. Lutz also said, "Unfortunately, this was misinterpreted as a statement that I would retire at the end of 2010. While this remains a possibility, it is not 'a plan'! We'll just take it a year at a time!" Of course, the furor also points out just how important Bob Lutz is to GM. The General...
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Filed under: Trucks/Pickups , GM , Holden , Australia Holden just released a new version of its Australian Ute, and it's been rumored that the VE Trucklet will be US-bound. There's no doubt that GM is taking a look at the possibility of reintroducing...
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