GM To Launch 70 New or Refreshed Models Worldwide by 2014

Just the Facts:

• GM says it will launch 70 new and refreshed models around the globe in the next four years.
• The Chevrolet brand will boast 13 of those models worldwide.
• Eighty percent of all GM vehicles will be based on global platforms by 2014.

DETROIT — Look for a slew of new or updated models in the coming years and less reliance on trucks, General Motors said yesterday in a marathon meeting with the bank and investment-community analysts. GM hopes to convince Wall Street that it is ready to have another go at being a publicly held operation — rather than the "Government Motors" of today that is 60 percent owned by the U.S. Department of Treasury.

GM spoke about future product broadly in relation to how the new metal will boost the company's bottom line, but was short on specifics, saying mainly that GM plans to launch 70 new or refreshed models around the globe by 2014. And perhaps unfortunately for American shoppers, a lot of those will be in markets outside the U.S., where GM projects most of its growth in the next four years.

In the U.S., though, expect GM to devote less to trucks ("We cannot rely on the large truck business to carry us in the future," said Vice Chairman Steven Girksy) and put on a major push to make midcycle refreshes (the term "face-lift" is falling out of fashion) more "impactful," according to product-development boss Tom Stephens.

And are low-volume, strange-brew cars like the now-defunct Pontiac Solstice in danger at the new GM? Stephens said 80 percent of all GM vehicles will be based on global platforms by 2014. What that means for the development of niche cars — or low-volume, dedicated-platform stuff like the Corvette — remains to be seen.

Stephens did say that there currently are 16 individual models riding on the single global midsize-car architecture often referred to as Epsilon or Epsilon II.

GM execs said Europe will see 14 new Opel/Vauxhall launches between now and 2014, while the Chevrolet brand, which GM is boosting worldwide, will run with 13 launches in the same time frame.

The GM brass was more sketchy about future new models for the U.S., though attendees were shown a concept version of the next-generation Chevrolet Impala (which will continue with front-drive architecture) and the production version of the Cadillac XTS, along with sketches of the next CTS.

Mainly, though, company executives were keen to emphasize to the Wall Street crowd the importance of Chevy's two big pending launches: the Cruze compact car and the Volt extended-range electric vehicle.

Also coming on stream right now are the Buick Regal and Cadillac's CTS coupe. Mark Reuss, president of GM North America, said the first batch of 600 CTS coupes just left the Lansing, Michigan, factory this week.

Inside Line says: GM attempts to woo Wall Street with big talk of its big future plans. — Bill Visnic, Senior Editor, Edmunds' AutoObserver