Should GM Fold Corvette, Camaro and V-Series Into New Division?

2015_Hennessey_HPE800_Corvette_C7_Z06-1We love the “Autoextremist” aka Peter M. DeLorenzo. If we looked up “Curmudgeon” in Webster’s, we wouldn’t be surprised in the least to see his mug staring back at us.

Grumpy or not, when it comes to calling it right about the current state of the auto industry, he rarely misses. His wit and writing style are always good fun as he weaves ascerbic tales of “weasels, suits, and the the “True Believers” that inhabit the storied halls of Detroit–and the world’s–auto fiefdoms.

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What’s more, he grew up in the Detroit area in the golden years of GM.

According to the AE website, “To say that Peter has lived a charmed and at times crazy automotive life is an understatement. The son of Tony De Lorenzo, the legendary GM PR chief who ruled from 1957 to 1979 – GM’s glory days – Peter was exposed to the business and the legends of the business from a young age.

As he likes to say, “The legends that you read about in books today were either hanging out in our driveway or interacting with our family all the time.” People like Bunkie Knudsen, Ed Cole, and Zora Arkus-Duntov, just to name a few, and there were countless others as well.”

Bill Mitchell lived a few doors down from the DeLorenzo home.

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To say that he’s seen it all might be over-the-top, but when Mr. DeLorenzo talks, we listen.

Recently, he wrote a dissertation of all car brands in the US market and he had some very interesting suggestions regarding Cadillac and Corvette. You may or may not agree with him, but set calcified notions about GM divisions aside for a moment and give this your consideration.

First off he had this to say about Cadillac. “As an enthusiast, the superb Cadillac “V” cars are noteworthy and highly desirable, but they’re wasted in Cadillac showrooms because they have no context there, despite all of the money GM is pissing away on Cadillac’s so-called racing program, which is another foray into the Audi-ness of it all that isn’t working. (Now, take those “V” cars and remake them into Corvette coupes and sedans as part of the new Corvette Performance Division, and you’d have something, but that’s another column.)”

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Hmmm.

We remember when the XTS was introduced, it was sort of a place holder until the CT6 showed up. In the meantime, it’s enjoyed fairly robust sales as it has attributes most people associate with the brand; whip cream smooth ride, crisp styling and quiet competence.

The V-Series cars definitely have their fans but we concur that the rush to tranfuse Audi’s DNA into Cadillac’s has always seemed to be steeped in embarrassment of  GM’s most durable and recognizable global star.

A lesson from Harley-Davidson would do GM and it’s indentured German servants well here.  America’s motorcycle guru didn’t reclaim their throne by duplicating Honda’s or Suzuki’s playbook, the bucked up and spit out Fatboys, V-Rods and Electra Glides.

Commensurately, Cadillac would do well to make CADILLACS with no shame or excuses and watch customers, especially the Chinese, snap them up in droves.

escaladeamazon

For proof, look no further that the biggest cash cow currently in Cadillac’s fleet, the yuge, flashy, chrome laden boat called the Escalade.

Case closed.

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What does this have to do with Corvettes???

Well, here’s what he says about our hallowed American sports car; “Once upon a time, the Corvette was the quintessential definition of a “halo” vehicle for Chevrolet. The notion that “there’s a little bit of Corvette in every Chevrolet” was used to great effect back in the day. Not so much today. Despite the fact that the Corvette is one of the best high-performance cars in the world, with an impeccable and accomplished record in racing, GM – and Chevrolet – really doesn’t do much with it.

Grand Sport

Oh sure, the enthusiast press and enthusiasts in general are well versed in the goodness of the Corvette, but you’d barely notice it exists at GM. It’s very strange in fact. It’s as if they’re afraid to talk about it too much or admit that it represents the very best thinking of GM’s True Believers. Why? Well, why ask why? It has been like this for the Corvette for decades. Despite this cloud of negativity, the Corvette name and image shine through. In fact it shares the top tier in our AE Brand Image Meter with five other brands.

I am not kidding when I say that I would form a completely new GM Performance Division with the Corvette as the foundation. As long as Chevrolet marketers continue to squander the image of an American icon, why associate the Corvette with that relentlessly clueless marketing mediocrity? As I suggested five years ago I would take the Cadillac “V” cars and remake them as Corvette models, and I would add the outstanding Camaro into the mix too. If Mary Barra wants to be truly “visionary” she could start by shaking up GM’s “we’ve always done it this way” mentality and let GM’s exceptional performance cars have an arena that they can call their own.”

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Whether you like that idea or not, such a division would formidable and unrivaled in the automotive world.  Corvette, Z06, Grand Sport, ZR1, Camaro SS/ZL1/1LE, ATS-V, CTS-V all in one place–plus the C8 and an SUV– would be darn near unbeatable.

Corvette SUV

What to do with the leftovers of Cadillac and Chevrolet remains a roadblock. We think halo cars still have a role in car companies and culling the high profile versions from each divisional herd could had negative results.

What would you call this new GM division? Corvette? Corvette Performance Division? Or?

Let us know down in the comments section.

 

About the author

Dave Cruikshank

Dave Cruikshank is a lifelong car enthusiast and an editor at Power Automedia. He digs all flavors of automobiles, from classic cars to modern EVs. Dave loves music, design, tech, current events, and fitness.
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