http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210458

http://www.forbes.com/opinions/2007/...1221flint.html

Thoughts?

 

That would suck, though it doesn't seem likely though, since the new Impala is supposed to be built along side the new Camaro. What is going to take it's place?

 

I don't buy the argument that this is CAFE's fault.

The FWD Impala large sedan is literally the only GM volume car has that's really selling well. Rule #1 is that if ain't broke, don't fix it!

People have indicated that there might be a RWD "Caprice", but IMO that sort of car has serious market positioning problems if you are also selling a Buick and a Cadillac. Plus Charger sales are really nothing to write home about.

 

That sucks...

 

GM should be putting thier efforts into a good economy car. IMO The cobalt and aveo are crap.

 

The Cobalt needs to be a lot better. I like mine for the most part but the MCE needs a lot of attention put into it.

 

Will the Camaro be cancelled next? The Impala was to share a lot of parts with Camaro and provide more volume when the sales of Camaros slow down. This may be worse than it looks.
Other than Cadillac, GM will have no rwd sedans. I think the G8 will go the way of the gto, nobody will want them. Most people dont even know the G8 exists.

 

I think the G8 will do just fine. It has four doors and can still be had with a V8 that has 360 hp so it can be a compromise with a young family that needs room for a car seat and a father who wants to retain his man-card.

The Camaro is for sure a GO, it is too far along to be cancelled now. I think Lutz said a while back that the G8 and Camaro were safe, but he couldn't say the same for the Impala.

 

I'd like to see it get a more fuel efficient engine like the 1.8L Ecotec. Honda blows Chevy out of the water when it comes to Civic vs. Cobalt fuel economy. Tables are turn on the performance end though.

 

The Cobalt with the 2.2L is rated 24 city/33 highway with the manual and 22 city/31 highway with the (4 speed) automatic.

The Astra with the 1.8L Ecotec is rated at 24/32 with the manual and 24/30 with the (4 speed) Auto. So I'm not sure that the 1.8 would be a huge improvement. I think a 5 speed auto on the 2.2 would get it up to at least the manual trans figures.

The Civic is rated at 26/34 with the manual and 25/36 with the (5 speed) auto. That's 2/1 and 3/4 MPG better per powertrain respectively, which is admittedly higher, but I would not qualify it "Blowing Chevy out of the water." Especially when a Cobalt can be had for thousands less than a comparable Civic.

I have a total stripper (2.2 auto, keyless entry, cruise, no other options or power anything) Cobalt daily driver with the 2.2 auto and average 29.9 MPG on the DIC in mixed driving.

 

Civic gets 20% better hwy fuel economy that the Cobalt. that is a big deal.

Also what is the gearing differences between the Cobalt and Astra? The Opel Astra seems to do better than the Saturn Astra with the same engine. I'd love to see a DI smaller Ecotec used in the Cobalt.

 

Isn't that closer to 16%? And that's with one powertrain combination. Yes, that's a more significant difference, but may we perform the analysis across the board rather than selecting the combination with the largest discrepency while ignoring the others? I still do not agree that the one combination equates to Honda "blowing Chevy out of the water" when calculated against the Cobalt lineup as a whole. What about manual trans shoppers? And once again, the $3,000 or $4,000 in your pocket would buy a lot of gas.

Astra is 3.73, 2.14, 1.41, 1.12, 0.89

Cobalt is 3.58, 2.02, 1.35, 0.98, 0.69

So the Astra is slightly more agressive to make up for the smaller displacement, but I think if you gave it much less gear many Americans would find it too slow.

I'd rather see one of the turbodiesels in the Cobalt and Astra. I still don't think a smaller DI ecotec would make a huge difference with existing transmissions.

 

What car will be made along with the Camaro to keep the plant in operation? Camaro alone cant do it.
Will Chevy ever get a rwd sedan?

 

I wonder what the Impy looked like.

 

Sorry the 20% was Honda's 36 vs. Astra's 30. Yes the difference is 16% for the Cobalt.

2007 #s are 30/40mpg for the Civic and 24/32 for the Cobalt. Like you have shown the 2008 #s are closer but I still think 3/5mpg is significant


Astra is only 1 mpg city away from the Civic. It would be nice if it could get a better over drive gear otherwise the 1.8L looks pretty good. I don't think Americans would find it too slow. Civic is pretty slow and sells like hot cakes because of its fuel efficiency. Maybe a 6 speed Astra would have the best of both worlds. They could always offer the 2.4L for those that want a little more muscle.