I too agree that GM is missing out completely on this market. The only car they haev in it is the Vibe, a rebadged Ponitac. Oh, and forwhoever said it was supercharged, its not. Its a 180hp N/A engine codesigned with Yamaha. They use it in the Celica GTS.

IMO the Cavalier needs to be redesigned. If they could build a car with better suspension geometry, and a better engine, say 160hp base (like the RSX) chevy could really have something going. A 200hp higher model motor would also be a nice option.

And for those of you who say FWD cant be designed into a serious performance car, stop being so narrow minded. Look at the Integra Type R, its one of the best handling cars made and has good acceration as well. The RSX Type S is no slouch in its own right. The you have the Celica GTS, which is capable of 14 second ets with nothing mroe than an intake bolted on. While FWD isnt optimal for performance, it doesnt mean it cant be had.

 

I think the 180hp engine refered to was the base 1.8L with the up and coming supercharger.

I agree, GM totally lacks any small FWD performance cars--and it needs them---FWD does have it's place.

 

Anyone who thinks that it is fine for GM to avoid the FWD performance market like they are is nuts.

Young teens, young adults start with cheap cars. Why do you think they all mod Civics and such. You need to lure them in when they are young.

It's called BRAND LOYALTY!

What do you think the twenty-somethings are getting when they need to get out of their civic? A Chevy? A Ford? HELL NO, they go buy an Accord or a TL. Same for Toyota, Mitsubushi, etc.

Everyone is arguing for v8/RWD, but not many younger people can afford that therefore you may be losing them as a customer forever. You need to hook them when they are young and give them many product offerings up the line. If they do that, then when the get older, they may be looking for a nice new v8/RWD car, and this market segment may again thrive.

 

The the solution is to bring out cheap RWD platforms

 

that would be great (samll rwd platforms)--but will never happen. A resurgance of RWD is occouring but only on a very small scale.
JC 99Z---you hit the nail on the head.

 

You bring out the base model commodore from Aus and you have a cheap RWD platform starting at aprox 15 K US

 

Thats what I am assuming.. Listening to the GM propaganda, they want the Ecotech to be the "SBC" of I4's...


The way I view FWD, is people are takign normal cheap everyday pedestrian cars, and wringing out every ounce of performance...

Kinda like back in "the old days", when people took whatever they could find and tried to make it go fast....

 

Thanks for that news flash. If you'll turn to pg. 28 of the current MotorTrend, you will see that a supercharger is infact being offered first quarter this year (developed by TRD) on the base, 130-hp engine. Yes, there is a 180-hp engine from the GTS in the Vibe GT. This is not what I was referring to. The supercharged engine should provide better low-end torque, presumably. This package will be available as an automatic or five-speed manual, where as the Vibe GT is six-speed only.

FWD is not what we typically think of when we think "performance." It was not designed with this type of performance in mind. That said, there are infact cars that are sporty that depend on a FWD layout. If it's only a matter of numbers, several FWDers outrun beloved muscle cars of the past. The upcoming Neon SRT-4 a prime example, the Acura RSX-S and previously Integra Type R, are cars with respectable acceleration and handling.

Ultimately, it's a matter of driver preference and what you feel most comfortable with. Personally, FWD is not my choice. Obviously, many people do care for FWD and these are people spending a lot of money buying a lot of cars. In that sense, it is something GM should consider addressing, as I feel they are in the process of doing. Trucks are not what I think of when I think of performance either, yet it seems to not get looked down upon as much. Being performance enthusiasts, why wouldn't you want more cars offered?

 

Whoops! Please excuse my ignorance. I should have read your first post closer. I thought you were talking about the motor already in production.

 

I remember the Vibe teaser pictures. I was really hoping for an in-house two-door hatchback a la VW's GTI. I think that something like that (Civic Si, Focus SVT, VW GTI, et al) would be what Chevrolet needs.

MUST HAVE:
Rev-happy motor. All the characteristics of an LS1, scaled down in power and size and fuel economy (but not all that much, as we all know), and slightly more wired.

Stickshift. For all models. More gears on the higher end model. Don't put the automatic on the fast cars. People don't like that.

Real bucket seats. Cavalier seats suck. Malibu seats suck. R&D a whole new seat.

Solid dash with nice materials. CTS or RS-X style materials. But don't copycat an RS-X. Tasteful black gauges with white print would be fine.

Two door model. This just goes without saying.

High-power four-valve engine. Offer aftermarket parts for this engine through SPO.

Some gimmick. Something that makes it odd, but attractive. Civic Si has the shifter coming out of the dash. Come up with something. AND NOT TELEMATICS. AND NOT HUD. In fact, don't offer it with HUD. Don't offer it with onstar!

Anybody else want to add to this list?

 

like a new f-body.

 

bingo. I'm glad I'm not the only one. I think this is the ONLY thing that can revitalize GM's disposable feel lately. It's like GM is feeling the hurt but they're too busy dribbling out the mouth in a fit of cerebral palsy or something, just continuing on in their oblivion. A substantial number of abandoned GM folks out there are continuing to just re-buy the same used RWD 80s cars till there aren't any left. The more GM waits, the harder it will be to catch back up later. FWD bubblesafety commuter micro-drones?... zzzzzzz..... no wonder overpriced gas guzzler SUV's are selling. it's the only other alternative for those who are gluttonous and attention starved. wake me up when it's over......zzzz........

 

If you're referring to the cars I think GM should start looking into selling, perhaps you ought to open your eyes the next time you're out taking a drive.

 

1. Good suspension. All the good sport compacts have nice suspension set ups.

2. Make it easy to mod! Thast one mistake honda made with the new engines theyre building. Sure, theyre nice engines with potential, but a large part of the sport compact market is the aftermarket and a car's modibility, hence why the old civics are so popular. The new honda motors with their exhaust manifold on the back of the engine and other changes make them harder to mod than the old motors. Don't forget the aftermarket!

 

I'd take a 4 door mid-sized fwd CAR over a sport-ute anyday--at least a car can be fun to drive. Like Mazda 6--with the 220hp and a 5spd.