Topic: GM's HPVO on hold

[Canada]

I just found out that GM's HPVO division will be placed on an indefinite hold, as per GM spokesman Vince Muniga.  I am very sorry to hear this!  I am a big fan of the Cadillac CTS V-Series and I was hoping to see the upcoming new Camaro SS / Z28 !!  I hope at least that they will coninue to build the V-Series CTS for a few years before giving it the axe.  I do not think we will see the Camaro SS / Z28 at all now.  I wonder if this will affect the Corvette ZR1 ?  I hope not!  I wonder if this is the right decision for GM?  I realize that they have to cut the fat but I am not sure this is the right move.  I wonder if Mercedes / BMW will scale back or kill AMG / M-Series?  I feel like I did back in the late 70's early 80's when Ford / Chrysler / GM all of the sudden decided that front wheel drive cars were the way to go.  I am not a fan of FWD cars.  I hope they reinstate their performance division sooner rather than later.  If not then we will all be driving cars resembling go carts powered by sewing machine motors.  I guess it will not be so bad if we are all driving the same or close?

[Mitlov]

Not as big of a deal as people think:

When asked if the demise of HPVO meant the end of the road for such vehicles as the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS, company spokesman Vince Muniga said: "No. You've got the Camaro SS coming out. It is not threatened at all."

"Camaro SS, Corvette ZR1 and Corvette Z06 are all regularly engineered cars," Muniga explained. "They did not go through HPVO. Most people did not realize that. They are safe."

HPVO created such products as the V-Series Cadillacs, the Chevrolet Cobalt SS and the HHR SS.

"The [Cadillac] CTS-V is a regular part of the CTS lineup, and that will stay for the foreseeable future," Munigan said. "The CTS-V will continue through the life cycle of the product. If they are regular production cars, they will continue through the model run, whether it's an SS Cobalt or an SS HHR." He would not give a timetable for when such vehicles would be eliminated or when the regular production run is scheduled to end.

http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=142386

Since the CTS-V is new, this won't affect it for years.  Really, the only tangible loss we'll feel in the next five years is no Cruze SS.