General Motors had been working on a gasoline-electric luxury car, the Cadillac Converj, with an eye toward producing a vehicle based on the drive system that will power the Chevrolet Volt. It showed a concept version of the Converj in January at the Detroit auto show. The car was shelved when some members of management and the U.S. Treasury Dept.‘s auto task force questioned the economics of such an expensive model. But now some of the Converj’s opponents have been pushed out in the wake of GM’s bankruptcy reorganization, and Lutz—GM’s powerful vice-chairman, who is in charge of design, marketing, and communications—and other executives are trying to find a way to get the car engineered and funded.
The Volt, which is supposed to go on sale late next year, is expected to lose money even after GM ramps up to its projected annual production rate of 10,000 cars. It may not break even until it reaches its third generation later next decade. GM had originally discussed making a car like the Volt for Cadillac and Buick, not to mention a small crossover sport-utility vehicle for Chevrolet, but some of the ideas were killed when budgets got tight.
As Opponents Exit, Converj Plans Revive
The Converj idea was effectively dead last spring. Former GM North America President Troy Clarke and Mark McNabb, who ran Cadillac, Hummer, and Saab before leaving the company in May, both opposed the idea. Clarke was squeezed out when CEO Frederick A. “Fritz” Henderson slimmed GM’s management ranks.
With some of the opponents now gone, others still inside the company—especially Lutz—are pushing to find a way to build the car, say three sources familiar with GM’s planning. The vehicle has not been approved for funding yet. Lutz declined to comment.
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