Businessweek has a nice opinion piece about GM’s plans: GM Saving $10.7 Billion Means Cash for Trucks, 2010 Profit Goal – BusinessWeek.

Overall theme?  GM has cut the budget and is spending the money on improved products (good).

I found this opinion a good sign going forward but very sad looking back:

GM has come to the realization that customers are more perceptive than the old GM used to think,” said Eric Noble, president of CarLab, an Orange, California-based automotive consultant that specializes in product planning. “The only way to win is to gain an advantage in product quality.”

Here are the details of interest to me:

• Truck redesign to include more efficient engines and lighter materials (Including Cadillac Escalade)
• Cadillac XTS planned for production, perhaps to be in showrooms by 2013
• Cadillac XTS will probably include a plug-in hybrid

All of this seems like good news that GM and Cadillac are on the right path — hopefully 2010 will be a shining year for execution — good production, good sales — that will lay the ground work for continued development and future products that we can all enjoy.

Cadillac still needs to solve the equation of how to sell their current sedans.  It is terrific that the SRX is such a hit, but it puts in even greater contrast the sales performance of the sedans.  Yes, the CTS Coupe will sell well when it arrives this summer.  BUT they need to get the DTS and CTS sales moving or it will be a long year.