GM: RWD on hold?
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GM: RWD on hold?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/classi...i-business-hed
It's all due to CAFE and CO2 emissions. Is it the 70's all over again? This article was published on April 10, not April 1, so I don't think it's fake...
Originally Posted by Chicago Tribune
General Motors has put a hold on future rear-wheel-drive vehicles.
"We've pushed the pause button. It's no longer full speed ahead," Vice Chairman Bob Lutz revealed in an interview.
Two of the most important RWD cars in the works are the Chevy Camaro sports coupe due back late in 2008 and the full-size, RWD replacement for the Chevy Impala sedan for 2009. Both are expected to be huge sellers and contribute major profits to a GM till burdened with IOUs the last few years.
"It's too late to stop Camaro, but anything after that is questionable or on the bubble," said Lutz, noting that also means Camaro derivatives -- along with a big Impala sedan, "if we call it Impala."
The RWD cars, you see, would be larger and heavier than front-wheel-drive cars or are high-performance models.
So it comes down to the matter of fuel economy. Or as Lutz says: "We don't know how to get 30 percent better mileage from" RWD cars.
"We've pushed the pause button. It's no longer full speed ahead," Vice Chairman Bob Lutz revealed in an interview.
Two of the most important RWD cars in the works are the Chevy Camaro sports coupe due back late in 2008 and the full-size, RWD replacement for the Chevy Impala sedan for 2009. Both are expected to be huge sellers and contribute major profits to a GM till burdened with IOUs the last few years.
"It's too late to stop Camaro, but anything after that is questionable or on the bubble," said Lutz, noting that also means Camaro derivatives -- along with a big Impala sedan, "if we call it Impala."
The RWD cars, you see, would be larger and heavier than front-wheel-drive cars or are high-performance models.
So it comes down to the matter of fuel economy. Or as Lutz says: "We don't know how to get 30 percent better mileage from" RWD cars.
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Yep, I personally was looking forward to the G8, to put in the driveway next to my GTO. I don't see why they'd pull the plug, since they just need some tooling for the fascia/hood as well as the rear spoiler, and some NHTSA-compliant crash testing. Assembly was supposed to begin in 5-6 months... seems kinda late in the game to be pressing the pause button...
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I don't think this would effect the G8 in any way. He mentions that this would effect RWD cars scheduled for after the Camaro, and the G8 is scheduled to arrive a full year before the Camaro. He also mentions how cars built outside the USA do not count for or against the domestic fleet CAFE, which is where they need help. And as we all know, the G8 will be built in Australia, just like your GTO. I think the "midsized Pontiac" that the author refers to would be the GTO or the possible RWD G6 replacement on the Alpha platform.
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http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/04/02/sc....ap/index.html
http://www.cnn.com/2007/AUTOS/04/09/...une/index.html
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Bah. I'm not too worried. Zeta was "scrapped" once before.
EDIT: This directly contradicts Lutz' comments about studying a small RWD architecture....unless, the study of this architecture is coming about to replace the larger RWD cars in the pipeline.....
EDIT: This directly contradicts Lutz' comments about studying a small RWD architecture....unless, the study of this architecture is coming about to replace the larger RWD cars in the pipeline.....
Last edited by Z28Wilson; Apr 10, 2007 at 11:02 AM.
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Read the article. It has NOTHING to do with marketing, and everything to do with the government pressure to increase fuel economy by dramatically raising the CAFE requirements, and the recent supreme court decision regarding the EPA and greenhouse emission regulation for cars. These current events are well documented.
Or, if you are right and they are just figuring out the regulatory impact, GM really doesn't know WTF it's doing.
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Unfortunately, I think the definition of "domestic" includes vehicles built anywhere in North America, including Canada and Mexico. I don't know for sure but I believe this is the case.
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No it isn't. Imported vehicles may not count toward a manufacturer's fleet numbers, but they still have gas guzzler taxes. BMW and the other importers of low fuel economy cars pay millions in penalties every year.
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G8 is definately not affected, Camaro is definately not affected. Both have been officially announced, both are fully funded, neither are going anywhere.
The RWD sedan we know as Impala is "on a bubble" but I'd also consider it relatively safe. The machinery making that happen is very far along, and the profit potential is too big to ignore IMO.
There is a strong contingent at GM who look at the sales numbers of the current FWD Impala and want to keep the formula and name on a FWD platform, while calling the upcoming Chevrolet RWD sedan something else. It's not news, and has been talked about for at least a year if not since the whole program started. It's just now that the program's closer to production, a decision needs to be made. Basing the next Impala on a streched Espilon 2 and having it ready by 2010 or 2011 would be relatively easy. The RWD sedan could also be called Impala, Caprice, even Chevelle or Monte Carlo. All are good names with a bit of history behind it and would likely be equally fitting given the "heritage" design it's said to have. It doesn't have to be called Impala... though it would be nice.
I'd venture that Cadillac's DTS replacement is also very safe as well.
As mentioned in the article, it's the derivitives of the 2 that could be seeing difficulties. I reddened the word "could" because Mr. Lutz seems to be communicating some of the concerns of some people (board &/or product planning members) about what seems to be a rapidly changing automotive landscape, not some actually decision to review and possibly kill products coming off of Zeta. In this they mean derivitives of the Impala and Camaro due post 2009. Bob Lutz's remarks (when he isn't spilling beans about some upcoming model's current position in development) tend to reflect GM's general collective thinking at that moment.
"On a bubble" means the cars aren't a shoo-in, and outside events can cause them to be cancelled. Something most everyone realizes.
Blame the government's intrest in upping fuel economy standards 30% (wouldn't start to kick in till at least 2011, and rise gradually over the decade). Now that fuel usage is a national security issue and no longer the domain of the greenies, automakers are starting to think these standards will actually pass. Even if new standards are negotiated, it's still destined to go up sharply next decade.
Then there's the continued feeling by just about every American large business that the economy is going to tank big time in the near future, and every large company running on small profit margins (especially the US auto industry) is at risk of going under when that happens.
The RWD sedan we know as Impala is "on a bubble" but I'd also consider it relatively safe. The machinery making that happen is very far along, and the profit potential is too big to ignore IMO.
There is a strong contingent at GM who look at the sales numbers of the current FWD Impala and want to keep the formula and name on a FWD platform, while calling the upcoming Chevrolet RWD sedan something else. It's not news, and has been talked about for at least a year if not since the whole program started. It's just now that the program's closer to production, a decision needs to be made. Basing the next Impala on a streched Espilon 2 and having it ready by 2010 or 2011 would be relatively easy. The RWD sedan could also be called Impala, Caprice, even Chevelle or Monte Carlo. All are good names with a bit of history behind it and would likely be equally fitting given the "heritage" design it's said to have. It doesn't have to be called Impala... though it would be nice.
I'd venture that Cadillac's DTS replacement is also very safe as well.
As mentioned in the article, it's the derivitives of the 2 that could be seeing difficulties. I reddened the word "could" because Mr. Lutz seems to be communicating some of the concerns of some people (board &/or product planning members) about what seems to be a rapidly changing automotive landscape, not some actually decision to review and possibly kill products coming off of Zeta. In this they mean derivitives of the Impala and Camaro due post 2009. Bob Lutz's remarks (when he isn't spilling beans about some upcoming model's current position in development) tend to reflect GM's general collective thinking at that moment.
"On a bubble" means the cars aren't a shoo-in, and outside events can cause them to be cancelled. Something most everyone realizes.
Blame the government's intrest in upping fuel economy standards 30% (wouldn't start to kick in till at least 2011, and rise gradually over the decade). Now that fuel usage is a national security issue and no longer the domain of the greenies, automakers are starting to think these standards will actually pass. Even if new standards are negotiated, it's still destined to go up sharply next decade.
Then there's the continued feeling by just about every American large business that the economy is going to tank big time in the near future, and every large company running on small profit margins (especially the US auto industry) is at risk of going under when that happens.
Last edited by guionM; Apr 10, 2007 at 11:54 AM.
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From: Mack and Bewick
I'll hold back the rant which deals with the absurdity of attempting to make 3400 pound cars "safe" in an impact with 5000 pound SUVs, while increasing fuel economy...
Honestly Im not all that worried about this... This will just give them more incentive to get a smaller nimbler platform on the way and its not like they're going to jettison years of work on RWD and the global production, cost savings, and technology that derived from it...
I was more worried about them putting all their eggs in a RWD basket, Buick is evidenced that killing off half a brand even if to replace it with fewer superior models is not a great idea. If the plan has now changed to put in some big RWD sedans without abandoning the grocery getters its fine with me...
Honestly Im not all that worried about this... This will just give them more incentive to get a smaller nimbler platform on the way and its not like they're going to jettison years of work on RWD and the global production, cost savings, and technology that derived from it...
I was more worried about them putting all their eggs in a RWD basket, Buick is evidenced that killing off half a brand even if to replace it with fewer superior models is not a great idea. If the plan has now changed to put in some big RWD sedans without abandoning the grocery getters its fine with me...
