This appears to be the answer to all the riddles, like why does the Camaro have such a long wheel base and why is the car so big? An article in The Toronto Star says the Impala will be rear wheel drive to get back some of the mass market (ie fleet/police car) business and get with the current trend to RWD in some vehicles.

 

Actually it's not so big. It's only 186 inches long. It can't be nearly as wide when it sees production. But a Camaro and Impala sharing a platform is the way to go. And goodbye to the monte carlo!

 

I guess it's the wheelbase that is the real giveaway. It's huge. The car that I saw at the auto show was pretty big, not long but wide with a fairly high profile.

 

LS2 Impy SS.

 

It’s going to be the same platform but its not. Global GM RWD will be very flexible to accommodate very different cars. Don’t worry the Camaro is not going to be a boat just because the architecture is semi-shared with the Impy.

And btw this is real old news around here.

 

It may not be news here, but I sure do like reading it.

 

So Camaro will be the only midsize coupe in the Chevy lineup?

 

Does it make sense to have more than one?

 

Last I heard they are making the Zeta so the Wheel base can be changed.

Kind of like the old days on the old A body [Chevelle]. Long Wheel base for the 4 door sedans and short for the coupe.

The Camaro is planned for the short set up. Keep in mind though the new cars whill have their wheels pushed out with little overhang for styling and better ride.

I expect the short wheel base will be longer than some of the old long base cars.

There still can be a Monte but I expect with a Camaro and low sales and limited sales of 2 door coupes I would be suprised if they do come back with a rwd Monte. But Lutz did mention the car by name when talking RWD.

 

I dunno. I guess not.

So I'm assuming the Malibu wil stay FWD because that would be the only thing with it in between the Cobalt and Impy.

 

Sounds like this was moved from the forum

 

The wheelbase is long, but that's the way cars are going. The 5th gen Corvette had a longer wheelbase than the Camaro. Currently the Corvette has a 105 inch wheelbase on a 174 inch car. The Camaro concept has a 110 inch wheelbase on a 186 inch car. The first two generations of Camaro had a 108 inch wheelbase.

 

Here's a better question:
Does it make sense for Camaro to be a midsize?

Technically, the 1st and 2nd generation cars, believe it or not, were considered SMALL.

But, that's back when a Caprice was considered a midsize...

 

The width is really the only dimension that seems slightly out of place on the Camaro to me.

 

All things being equal, I'd like to see the car end up a bit shorter.

But, they don't consult me for such things for a reason.