The winds of change are blowing in Detroit. Power is fashionable again. Rearwheel-drive is fashionable again. But there is something subtly different this time around. Domestic automakers are getting wise in the ways of the global market. Lessons learned at the hands of the Japanese and Europeans are forming product plans, and that's a good thing. For years, executives ensconced in high-rise offices looked down at a sea of domestic vehicles and convinced themselves that the threat from overseas wasn't real.
If you've ever been to Detroit, you know what I mean. Thanks to deep discounts for autoworkers (not to mention censure from peers and employers who frown on import buying) there's not a Honda or BMW in sight. But that's not the way it is for the rest of the country. The Average Joe in Phoenix or Miami or Tulsa has no such inducement to buy domestic, other than his own predilection.
When the lights finally came on, GM realized that a consumer wants transportation which reflects his unique lifestyle-or at least doesn't insult his intelligence. The old mentality that you can build 500,000 "B" or "G" cars from the same mold and badge them and stripe them differently doesn't fly anymore. The new business model is to build more niche models from a flexible set of architectures. Mixing and matching powertrains, corner modules and chassis components across vastly different vehicles is the new bogey. In the future, GM could take a heavy-duty truck center section, mate it to truck half-shafts, drive it with a fuel-efficient displacement-on-demand V8, place it all in a mid-sized unibody platform and equip it with luxury (i.e., performance) platform corner modules. These parts are more expensive, but if you build enough of 'em and design 'em up front for platform flexibility, the cost is lower.
Sounds like a stretch, but it is possible, even probable. Lately, GM has managed to avoid many of the problems to befall Ford (recalls, lawsuits, program delays) and Chrysler (talent defection, management rifts, thin profits). The only thing that can stop GM now is an entrenched management culture known for its lack of product savvy and its penchant for over-branding otherwise indistinguishable products.
For the moment, Cadillac seems to be blessed with the mandate that the sky is the limit. Three years from now, you won't recognize the top division anymore. The ground-pounding XLR two-seater will be here. A truly potent version of the CTS (called the CTSi) will be eating M3s like Jeffrey Dahmer after a hunger strike. And an all-new rearwheel drive STS will be making mincemeat out of anything with a Lexus badge. There's even the possibility that the 750-hp V12 Cien supercar could get built. There's no lack of product savvy at Cadillac because they have gotten the "nod" from above.
GM brass is also "loosening its tie" on a case-by-case basis for other divisions. The Chevy SSR is on, as is the Buick Bengal (not a true performer but close enough for the blue-hair golf set), and even the affordable pocket rocket Pontiac Vibe GT (180 hp, a 6-speed trans and a price under $20,000). Buick will also get a premium rearwheel drive LaCross-type vehicle built from the Sigma-platform's table droppings.
But exactly how far will GM go for performance enthusiasts of average means? The key to this is tied to the success or failure of Cadillac. The name of the game is getting access to Cadillac's chassis, suspension, powertrain, brakes, and platform engineering. We've compiled a list of cars in our "maybe" section which rely heavily on the sharing of key technologies and suppliers.