The G8, should it ever go to Chevy, will not be called "Impala". The Oshawa plant holds the right to build the Impala, and the G8 is built in Australia. The Oshawa plant isn't capable of producing the G8, so that idea is out the window.

"Chevelle" is probably the best name for it, but you know it'll have the purists up in arms like they were when the new Charger came out.

 

Got my hopes up!

 

Isn't Oshawa building the Camaro, which is based off a modified G8 platform.

 

Yes, modified to a point where they might as well be two completely different cars. It'd be like asking them to build a Ford Taurus or a Toyota Camry.

 

Let's not also forget, L_A_R_G_E.

 

Correct. The G8/Commodore cannot be produced at Oshawa.

 

Bull****. The Oshawa plant is a building (or maybe several buildings; I haven't been there). They can build whatever they want inside of it. They're just not willing to allocate the funds or the space to tool it in a way that would accommodate building G8s.

If someone said, "hey, GM, I'll pay you a trillion dollars to move G8 production to Oshawa," you can bet it would happen. Ridiculous, I know, but the point is that money is the only thing preventing G8s from being built in Oshawa.

 

JakeRobb,

You do realize they were talking about the building and equipment as it sits now isn't able to build the G8. Sure if GM had the money to spend to re-tool the plant a little and to get new supplies around the facility they could build it there, but they don't have that money to spend.

FWIW you came off a little 'bashy' in your post.

 

I come off bashy because that's how I feel about those claims.

Is there any plant anywhere that can start building a new model without spending any money to prepare for it?

The honest truth is that G8 could be built at Oshawa, no problem. So could the Z28, the Corvette, and hell, the Camry. It's simply a matter of bringing in the right tooling, and in this case, of having the money to do it.

"GM can't afford to move G8 production to Oshawa" is an entirely different claim than "Oshawa can't build the G8".

 

Your interpretation of their meaning is different than what they meant. Sure they could have been more clear about their wording but the fact remains that what they intended is true: the Oshawa plant at this time cannot produce the G8. The tooling and supply chain do not exist to build this car there.

That is what they meant.

 

That's right, GM could build the G8 on the moon or at the bottom of the Pacific Trench if they wanted as well.

 

I honestly cannot believe that both Holden's Elizabeth plant, and Oshawa were retooled within two years of each other to make essentially the same car...and yet the processes were allowed to be so different a G8 cannot be made in Oshawa. Sounds to me like someone had an agenda almost.

 

Crazy, isn't it...


I really don't think there was a hidden agenda though.

 

While I can see that attitude surviving or even thriving within GM, I think the supply network is the main blockade to the G8 at Oshawa. Simply put there are suppliers selling parts to GM for the Camaro and everything works out but GM doesn't have the money to set up the supply chain needed for the G8 right now. Whereas St. Elizabeth does have an established supply chain for the car and can produce it profitably, without further investment.

 

The supply chain may also be an issue, but the big fly in the ointment is that GMNA's build bill of process is quite abit different than Holden's.

Frankly, at this point, I just don't see why Holden would want to invest in standardization. The Camaro will be the one and only NA Zeta, and the wheels have already started turning on it's Alpha replacement. Holden would probably be better served just doing it's own thing with Zeta.