New Cadillac GM Pondering the Diesel Equation
August 18, 2009
WARREN, MI - Bryan Nesbitt has been on the job as Cadillac's new general manager less than a month, and at a recent media event here, the former vice president of General Motors Co.'s North American design isn't afraid to admit he's still getting up to speed on direct product issues for the company's premium-vehicle division.
One, he told AutoObserver, is diesel engines.
GM product-development higher-ups are adamant that diesels are too costly for the U.S. market. They require complex and expensive exhaust aftertreatment ("onboard chemical factories" is one term repeatedly employed) to comply with the world's toughest diesel-emissions standards - and U.S. diesel fuel is not taxed advantageously, as it is in Europe, where diesels have captured more than half of the region's light-vehicle market.
That includes an outsized presence in Europe's premium sector, where diesel has made distinct inroads because of its combination of efficiency and primary technical advantage: huge torque output, the perfect attribute for engines used in heavy and large luxury models.
As new general manager of Cadillac, Nesbitt acknowledges Cadillac's European competitors are establishing a beachhead of sorts for diesel in the U.S. BMW AG has an impressive inline 6-cylinder diesel in its mainstream 3-Series and X5 crossover and Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz offers diesels in the E-Class and three crossover models.
But, "Diesel is tough," Nesbitt said. He acknowledges diesel is a card Cadillac's European competitors can play and admits today's high-tech diesel "does fit" into a prestige brand image - thanks largely to the efforts of the Europe-based automakers.
But Nesbitt said he's still too new to have formed a definitive opinion about whether Cadillac should look at diesels in the U.S. market.
At least one problem: GM earlier this year cancelled an all-new V6 diesel earmarked for Cadillacs in Europe that might also have been used in the U.S. market.
The new V6 diesel, shelved prior to GM's bankruptcy, was developed with and was to have been built by Italian diesel specialist VM Motori S.p.A. The global economic downturn has caused other automakers - most prominently Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s upscale Acura division - to also scuttle plans for diesels in U.S. passenger vehicles.
Nesbitt admitted diesel seems to be gathering an environmentally friendly perception in the U.S., but says the European automakers enjoyed an advantage introducing diesel in the U.S. because of their ability to leverage the diesel investment already made for European models and their much longer history with diesel.
Nesbitt also said he believes the European makers have done a credible job of "segregating" diesel as the premium engine choice in premium cars - an excellent marketing position that allows them to command a price premium for the technology.
Although Nesbitt will not give an absolute "no," for diesel-powered Cadillacs, he is noncommittal - and the future does not appear promising. GM's product-development brain trust is not giving supportive signals, and Cadillac this week announced it is ceasing production of the Saab-based, front-wheel-drive BLS, a European-market Cadillac that was the brand's only model to offer a diesel engine. - Bill Visnic
Photo courtesy of GM
Cadillac ceases production of the BLS, a Saab-based European model that was the brand's only vehicle to offer a diesel engine.
Posted by Bill Visnic at 12:13 AM under Business , GM , News , Technology | Comments (2) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
This is so "Old-GM". A bright mind gives rational and clear reason as to why it may work but the execs and bean-counters just point at the company spreadsheet's cost column and say "Yes, you're right, but if you look here at this number, you're wrong."
Don't let commonly held ideas fool you into thinking it was the entire company that sank GM. There are good, bright, capable people in that company, but they are ultimately under the thumb of the Big Wig executives at the top who quash any idea that looks even remotely costly.
Posted by: honorsystem | August 18, 2009 at 10:51 PM
GM can save LOTS of money by simply converting one of their current gasoline engines. It was such a boon to the industry in the late 70s!
Posted by: gearcat | August 21, 2009 at 3:16 PM