GM's Lutz Makes Another U-Turn

By SHARON TERLEP
DETROIT -- General Motors Co. marketing chief Bob Lutz reversed course Thursday, saying the company wouldn't keep the Pontiac G8 sedan in its model line by turning it into a Chevrolet after all.
Mr. Lutz said Monday that GM, which is phasing out the Pontiac brand as part of its restructuring, would continue offering the rear-wheel-drive sports car in the U.S. but would sell it as the Chevrolet Caprice.

A day later, GM Chief Executive Frederick "Fritz" Henderson told reporters such a move was unlikely.
On Thursday, Mr. Lutz wrote on GM's "Fast Lane" blog that GM had been studying the idea of selling the G8 as the Chevrolet Caprice "because a car like the G8 was just too good to waste."
But he added that "upon further review and careful study, we simply cannot make a business case for such a program. Not in today's market, in this economy, and with fuel regulations what they are and will be."
The reversal suggests Mr. Henderson hasn't yet worked out all the kinks in the new, leaner GM, which emerged from bankruptcy protection on July 10. As part of the company's reorganization, Mr. Henderson is eliminating a number of senior executives' positions and shuffling his staff.
Mr. Lutz, who is 77 years old and led GM's vehicle development efforts until earlier this year, was set to retire but came back to head marketing and communications in the reorganized company. In Detroit circles, he is sometimes referred to as "Mr. Horsepower" because of his love of big, powerful cars like the G8.
The G8 was designed and built by GM's Australia unit and arrived in the U.S. market 15 months ago. With a sticker price of about $28,000 and gasoline prices high, it got off to a slow start. But this year, sales have jumped. Average monthly sales through June increased 57% to 2,615 from about 1,660 G8s a month in the first nine months of sales.
Write to Sharon Terlep at sharon.terlep@dowjones.com