Last week, a report by AutoWeek magazine claimed General Motors had approved development of a Cadillac sedan designed to tackle the Mercedes S-Class. The report said testing of a new V12 engine for the car was "well underway" by Holden in Australia. GM product planner Bob Lutz and Holden's engineering boss have both flatly denied the report.
"It’s definitely not happening," executive director of engineering Tony Hyde told Australia's GoAuto. The AutoWeek report claimed GM vice chairman Bob Lutz stated in an interview that development had already begun at Holden for a 7.2-liter V12 made from two 3.6-liter V6s joined at the crankshaft.
"We are definitely not doing it," Hyde said. “It might be possible to join two V6s, but we are not doing it. None exist in our part of the world and we are certainly not testing anything like that at Lang Lang."
"We are not working on any Cadillacs," he continued. "Nothing. We’re full-up in terms of resources with Camaro and our own cars. The G8 is a challenge from a timing point of view."
Lutz denies
In an email response to a member of the GMInsideNews chat forums, Lutz also denied the report.
"Sadly, that article was about 90 percent pure invention," Lutz said. "We have kicked off no such program."
Baseless rumors?
It's not known how AutoWeek could make an error of this magnitude. The report was based around a purported interview with Lutz at the opening of a dealership in Europe. While Lutz may have commented on a super sedan project, it appears he didn't state anything near what the magazine claims.
The report also cited "sources" within Holden that were adamant about the Australian firm's involvement in the project.
In December, AutoWeek claimed Ford was developing sedan and station wagon versions of the popular Mustang for the 2011 model year. After the report was published, Ford was inundated with hate mail from Mustang fans. This prompted Ford to take the unusual step of issuing a press release denying the baseless rumors.
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