a little bit of corvette in the rest of the GM products?

One of the things that I heard from Dave Hill when I was speaking with him at the launch of the C6 in Detroit was how the Corvette brand was going to be working it's way into the rest of GM. Many of the other offerings from GM would have a “little bit of Corvette” in them moving forward. This is turning out to be, quite literally, the case.

The 2005 Corvette introduced the LS2 small block V8. This is now the fourth generation of GM’s small-block engines. The LS2 raises the bar for standard performance in the Corvette, delivering 400 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 400 lb.-ft. of torque at 4400 rpm – an increase of 50 horses and 40 lb.-ft. of torque over the previous Corvette’s LS1 engine. Impressive indeed.

GM has shown a lot of faith in this power plant in the last year. It has been “injected” into numerous vehicles across GM’s lineup. GM has always been known for “badge engineering” or sharing of platforms and design cues across their brands, but this has been a truly successful exercise I think.

The 2005 Pontiac GTO is a good example. It has been criticized for a bland design, but no one who has driven one would complain that the power and capability of the car is bland. In my personal experience driving the car, it provides a thrill very close to that of the Corvette. This has been a very successful deployment of the Corvette spirit. It has infused passion back into the Pontiac lineup. The LS2 makes this car a thrill, and for approximately $15K less than a Corvette, it is truly a performance bargain.

Recently, the 2006 Trailblazer SS has started to ship to dealers. For those of us who loved the 1994-96 GMC Typhoon and Syclone, this is another great thrill. In this recent iteration of performance truck, instead of strapping a turbo onto a V6, the GM team has again inserted a rip-roaring LS2. I have yet to drive one of these vehicles, but I am sure it is going to be impressive. Again, at a mid $30K MSRP, this is sure to be another hit.

The Cadillac CTS-V uses a Corvette engine, although not the LS2, instead it is the LS6 from the C5 Z06. While this is a very impressive performance machine, I think it would sell better with an automatic transmission, something not offered in the LS6 application, but absolutely achievable with the LS2. With a redesign due soon, this is a very real possibility and I think the sales numbers would reflect another success after integrating the LS2.

Corvette has also bled into the designs of GMs cars and trucks. The taillights of the Cobalt coupe are obviously a clear call out to the Corvette. More subtly though, the improved build quality, new designs, and performance gains that we are seeing across the entire GM lineup also seem reminiscent of the feeling of Corvette and the values that the Corvette has always had as a brand within GM. It is a welcome change.

So, it appears that Dave Hill was right. We are seeing Corvette across the GM lineup. I think that is a very good thing. As I am sure many of you are, I am looking forward to what comes next.

Oh, and on a side note, thanks Dave Hill for everything you did for our beloved Corvette. I hope you have a great retirement and you certainly are going out on top. The 2006 Z06 is an incredible car, but that is another topic. Here’s hoping you are going to spend the rest of your years driving in your creations and their descendents.