General Motors is postponing nearly all of its spending on product development, engineering, design and r&d in 2009 and 2010. One of the victims is the next-gen, C7 Corvette. All development on the new version of GM's flagship sports car has been put on hold.
That bombshell was followed in short order by the announcement that Corvette chief engineer Tom Wallace, a 42-year GM veteran, was retiring Nov. 1. Cause and effect? One can only speculate, but not having a next-gen product to work on seems like a good reason to call it a day.
Chevy's new Cruze and next-gen Malibu also be delayed. The Chevrolet Camaro and the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid are protected from the cutbacks. Like the restyled Buick LaCrosse, the Chevrolet Traverse and the Cadillac CTS wagon, they are far enough along to still make it to market as scheduled.