GM Disbands Hi Performance Operations

[rickaren]

02/18/2009

Coinciding with the release of General Motors' Viability Plan, the automaker has disbanded its High Performance Vehicle Operations team, the crew responsible for the line V-series Cadillacs, the Chevrolet Cobalt SS, HHR SS and the V8 version of the Colorado. According to Vince Muniga, a spokesman for the General, "All high-performance projects are on indefinite hold. The engineers are moving into different areas of the organization, and they will work on Cadillacs, Buicks, Chevrolets and Pontiacs." Muniga went on to say that there are no plans for high-performance versions of upcoming plans, but once (if?) GM is in a better financial position, the team could be reinstated.

LINK:

[warriorbob]

I used to work for HPVO
Left the group in October when it started getting really bad
Thank God i am working on a Military program now
Keeping our guys safe

[rickaren]

warriorbob : Thanks for your working on a Military program, now. Things everywhere are hard to figure out what the Hell is going to happen next. I found another Article that differs somewhat from the previous one, so who know?



Date posted: 02-19-2009

DETROIT — General Motors may have scrapped its High Performance Vehicle Operations unit as part of a broader cost-saving program, but it hustled to reassure Inside Line on Thursday that some of the company's crown jewels are "safe."

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.

HPVO was made up of approximately 60 engineers working out of GM's Warren Tech Center. Muniga said none of them have been laid off. Instead, they have been placed "in other areas of the organization."

"We're not going to let those talents go to waste," he said.

But, Muniga emphasized that "all high-performance projects are on indefinite hold."

"Due to economic circumstances, we are focusing on core products — passenger cars and crossover vehicles," he said. "Those are vehicles we are putting all of our resources behind."

Referring to HPVO's crosstown rival, Ford's SVT team, Muniga noted that the Dearborn automaker put SVT on hiatus for a time. "Ford SVT did the same thing a few years ago and they are back," he said, holding out the prospect that HPVO may be revived at some point. "This is an indefinite hiatus."

LINK:IL Insider: Despite Death of GM's HPVO, 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS Is "Safe"