Comments on: Maybe GM Could Try Something Different

By: Scott

Scott — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 13:54:24 +0000

Personally I don’t believe that Caddy would have been a good selection. Some of the caddy line is actually performance based and using a badged engine isn’t a good way to promote that.

If they want to show off the thoroughbreds they make, they need to display them in their actual form, not by putting a badge on someone else’s unrelated product.

A single DTM factory team could cost less than an Ilmore badge and provide better promotional results… especially if they use ties to Indycar to get a DTM or two rolling on the track before the start of the 500.

By: Oilpressure

Oilpressure — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 04:14:38 +0000

Oops! You are correct. That’s what I get for relying on my feeble memory and not looking things up. For whatever reason, I was thinking Rick Mears won the championship in 1987, but of course I knew that Bobby Rahal won his second consecutive championship that year. My apologies and thanks for bringing it up. Brain fade on my part. – GP

By: Ron Ford

Ron Ford — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 02:58:30 +0000

I think this was a done deal as soon as Penske learned that Honda was going to develop their own V6 for 2012. Anyway, it is good to see that bailout money going toward racing.

By: A.J.

A.J. — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 21:24:19 +0000

Well… whether it’s under the moniker “Chevy (Chevrolet)”, “Cadillac”, “Ilmor”, or whatever doesn’t matter to me. It’s “GM” returning.

—-

That said: I know I should be happy – overjoyed, even – that a major manufacturer is returing to Indycar. Problem is that, to me, it feels like a “parent” (Chevy/GM) who abandoned the spouse/child (Indycar racing) a few years ago just walked back in the door, and now everything’s supposed to be all hunky-dory now. The problem is that I feel resentful that they left in the first place. Intellectually, I know that the whole problem was the split and the loss of revenue and fan support for open wheel racing, but at the same time, Honda – a manufacturer with less history than the storied Chevrolet – stuck with the IRL through the hard times. I’m a bit surprised that I have mixed feelings about this, but I do. What’s to stop Chevy from pulling itself out if the series is otherwise doing okay, but it’s not meeting Chevy’s internal goals financially? I actually have that fear that, because they left once, they can leave again right when the series would need their presence.

Anyway, I know that’s sort of raining on the parade, but still…. my feelings are mixed. And that’s just being honest about things.

By: The Lapper

The Lapper — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:40:13 +0000

Have they made the announcement yet? I hope it is Chevrolet.

By: Travis R

Travis R — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:31:23 +0000

I like the idea of Cadillac, although I think Chevy is the better choice right now based on the history and the current competition in Honda. If Honda was using the Acura brand, or if Audi or BMW jumped into IndyCar competition for 2012, then I would think GM might want to re-brand their IndyCar effort to Cadillac. On the other hand, that could just be confusing now that they’ve rolled the dice with Chevy.

Regardless, I’m excited about today’s news!

By: The Speedgeek

The Speedgeek — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:13:59 +0000

Dang! I did a whole bunch of thinking about this this morning, and thought I’d come over here and get all deep about Buick re-launching itself in a younger demographic in the US with an IndyCar program, only to find that RandyinTN wrote just about 100% of what I wanted to say, and nearly verbatim. I, too, think that the smart play might have been Chevy = NASCAR, Caddy = sportscars (World Challenge, and hopefully an ALMS/Le Mans effort when GM wises up to the fact that “Standard of the World” means beating the best in the world), and Buick = IndyCar. Oh, well. I’m more than happy to have Chevy back on board.

By: redd

redd — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 17:04:39 +0000

This is very good news–and the aero kit was a bonus. I didn’t see that coming. Guess I’d better look in the attic for my Chevy Racing t-shirt.

Wonder what Honda will do?

By: Bent Wickerbill

Bent Wickerbill — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:58:14 +0000

While I agree that Cadillac has come light years with the performance end of their product line, it is nice to see Ilmor, er, I mean Chevrolet back again…. It’s nice to see more than one engine supplier period. It’s too bad we can’t simply skip the 2011 season and fast forward to March of 2012….

By: RandyinTN

RandyinTN — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:07:49 +0000

After watching the presentation and reading GM’s press release, I wonder if Peter DeLorenzo is correct about a domestic manufacturer leaving NASCAR and racing elsewhere. NASCAR is losing market share and while there are some fans who care about the competing cars, the COT has really made NASCAR more about the drivers than the cars. Given that NASCAR is getting more expensive to compete in, but with less return on investment for the manufacturers, it is easy to see why some would want to leave.

With a return to Indycar, Chevrolet can showcase their advanced technologies and attract fans of more sophisticated vehicles. The Indycar engine will use direct injection, turbocharging and ethanol fuel, all areas that GM is interested in promoting for their street cars. As Indycar is probably cheaper than NASCAR, and allows GM to showcase their advanced technology, I can see why they would prefer to compete here than in NASCAR.

If you want to read the press release about GM, I found it at http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/article/indycar-general-motors-returns/