Cadillac pulling out of Le Mans race

[Jay!]

from Reuters; By Michael Ellis; Wednesday August 14, 2:24 PM EDT

Cadillac pulling out of Le Mans race

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Aug 14 (Reuters) - General Motors Corp. (GM) says the participation of its Cadillac cars in France's 24-hour Le Mans endurance race is coming to an end following three years of disappointing results.

Gary Cowger, head of GM's North American automotive operations, said on Wednesday the funds devoted to Cadillac's costly Le Mans effort will now be diverted to pay for future car and truck programs.

"The amount of money it requires...we need to use for our product programs, including our new performance series for Cadillac," Cowger told reporters at a GM seminar here.

Cadillac plans to add more performance engine variants in its cars and trucks, to be called the V Series, to better compete with BMW and Mercedes, GM officials said.

GM will still continue to race Chevrolet Corvettes at Le Mans, which won in their class at the endurance race this year. Cadillac will be involved in other forms of racing yet to be decided, Cowger said.

"Cadillac is not going to be out of racing. Racing is going to be an important part of Cadillac," Cowger said.

After a 49-year hiatus, Cadillac returned to the prestigious Le Mans endurance race three years ago in an effort to boost its image as it contemplated increasing sales in Europe. GM said when Cadillac returned to Le Mans in 2000 that they intended to compete for three years and hoped to win.

But Cadillac has posted disappointing results, finishing two of its cars in 9th and 12th place last year.

While Le Mans is widely followed in Europe, Cadillac's participation was a non-event in the North American market.

Cowger said Cadillac would have to build a complete new race car in order to comply with new rules at Le Mans, a costly undertaking.

Cadillac's competitors, including Volkswagen AG's (VOWG) Audi, which has dominated the race over the past three years, have a large advantage because they use more fuel-efficient, direct-injection engines.

Audi and others' direct-injection engines allow them to race longer between pit stops, GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said. "Races are won by he who stops the least amount of time," he said.

GM hasn't developed direct-injection engines because they emit prohibitive levels of smog-producing nitrogen oxide that are above acceptable levels for the U.S. market, Cowger said.

"We can't use that engine in the U.S. because of the emissions," Cowger said.

Cadillac sponsored the inaugural Cadillac Grand Prix racing weekend held in Washington, D.C. in late July.