Cadillac prepares to lop its own head off

I never trust General Motors to act in its own best interest. The company's history—at least the past four decades or so—is riddled with tales of doing the wrong thing too long and the right thing not long enough.

In one of my earliest posts on Cowl Shake, I applauded Cadillac's rebirth as a meaningful world player. Near the end of the piece, I wrote "Though history is less than fully encouraging, let's hope GM leaves the division alone."

Wishful thinking, it seems. According to this Jamie Kitman column, Cadillac is going to kill its signature Northstar V8 without replacing it. So, having steadily rebuilt Cadillac's credibility with a steady stream of sound product decisions, GM is now content to march the division out back and lop its head off.

I'm certain that thoroughly reasonable people have made this decision. After all, a V8 is not a necessity, and we're in the days of $4 gasoline. But luxury cars are not about reason. Moreover, the effect of its presence in the lineup is more subjective than objective. It need not be a high-volume engine to have the desired halo effect. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Lexus, Infiniti—all have V8s (or larger!) in their respective lineups, but all make their volume on smaller engines.

I suppose Cadillac will still have it over Lincoln, small victory though that is.

One hopes Kitman's assessment is overly pessimistic. After all, if Cadillac kills the Northstar and doesn't replace it, it doesn't mean they can't continue to commandeer a corporate V8 when needed. Surely they're not going to try to pitch us a turbo V6 Escalade, for example?

Do the right thing, GM. Perform above expectations. Keep the Cadillac V8.