The real victims of the recession
Well, in my mind, anyway.
General Motors has announced that it is shutting down temporarily ceasing developments in its High Performance Vehicle Operations, the team of people responsible for the cheeky Chevy Cobalt SS, the funky HHR SS, the beastly Camaro SS, the positively magnificent Cadillac CTS-V and STS-V, and of course, the legendary Corvette Z06.
This news hurts the hearts of car enthusiasts like me, so, please, contemplate this gorgeous CTS-V in a moment of silence:
From the New York Times:
Around 5 p.m., Automotive News posted an online article that said: “G.M. today disbanded High Performance Vehicle Operations, which is based at the company’s suburban Detroit technical center, and redeployed its engineers,” said spokesman Vince Muniga.
“All high-performance projects are on indefinite hold,” Mr. Muniga said. “The engineers are moving into different areas of the organization, and they will work on Cadillacs, Buicks, Chevrolets and Pontiacs.”
For those with a soft spot for hot Cadillacs, or those ready to order a new Camaro SS, the news sounded grim. Would G.M. suddenly stop building exciting cars altogether? Would there be any hope at all for a Detroit automaker that confines its offerings to crossovers, hybrids, economy sedans and pickup trucks?
[snip]
It turns out, though, that G.M. will continue to sell those models, at least until it is time to replace them with the next generation. Vince Muniga, G.M.’s product communications manager for performance cars, called The Times to explain that High Performance Vehicle Operations, or H.P.V.O., “is responsible for taking production vehicles and adding performance accessories, or creating high-performance versions” of mainstream cars — models like the CTS-V and Cobalt SS.
“These models are going to stay in the vehicle pipeline,” Mr. Muniga said. “They are regular production cars. The design and engineering are already done.”
But, he added, “In terms of future product, we will not be making or working on any high-performance models.”
But does this heartrending news mean I’m clamoring for yet another bailout?
No. I’ll shelve my hotrod dreams for a brighter day. Ya gotta have yer principles, after all.
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