Packaging is a relative term depending on what a kappa 4 door is defined as. Could kappa with minimal investment be the basis for a Torrana or a BMW 3 Series sort of vehicle, No.

But could the Solstice be stretched and produce a Mazda RX-8 2+2 4 door, likely. Kappa might not be able to produce a conventional sedan, but it could produce something that is a little outside the box in a cost effective, timely fashion.

A funky 4 door could have a lot more appeal and give the brand some breathing room without stepping foot on the other divisions. It might not be a Pontiac 1 Series but it would be a start. The secret would be the number of doors. It would have to be a 4 door for practabitliy reasons.

 

That's interesting, kind of like the Kabura concept. Built off the Miata platform, Mazda calls it a 3+1. The glove box has been deleted, in order for the passenger seat to move forward, thereby giving a full passenger seat behind it, with a third door. Behind the driver seat is a less roomy seat, intended for small children or packages.

 

Espilon 2 is a revised version of the current Espilon whose main difference is that it can be configured as all-wheel-drive, and that's it.

Espilon is already an extremely versatile chassis as far as different lengths and configurations.

Sorry, RWD isn't part of any of this, but then again, why would anyone want it to be? It's a FWD structure.

 

I actually had two vehicles in mind off of the current Solstice that might be doable with some creativity, minimal investment and a short lead time.

1) The RX-8 idea and call it a Firebird.

2) Another was a true 4 door 2+2 with a quasi hatch. (Torrana/1 Series ideas/Maxx) Just trying to think outside the box.

With a little bit of luck and creativity, because of the added weight associated with the above ideas, there might be a way to shoehorn in the 2.8 V6.

I am not even opposed to keeping the current Solstice front clip the same, assuming there is not a huge cost in the current hydroformed body panels. (productivity/cycle times)

I think the above is doable in 18 months from time of kickoff. Key would be to keep as much of the front end from the front seats forward as possible.

 

What I would do is probably very close to the real plan:

Give Pontiac Two 'halo' models -- the Solstice and a midsized RWD "BMW-fighter" (well, not really) sport coupe/sedan @ maybe around $27K (Camaro platform). Both these cars would actually sell "excitement".

Badge-engineer the rest of the Pontiac lineup, and cut marketing support. Do a dash refresh on the Grand Prix, but nothing else. Let the diehards and the fleets keep buying as long as they want to, but don't put any effort into the volume business.

Meanwhile, introduce a new entry-level midsized FWD Buick with less traditional Buick styling to capture the Grand Am/G6 buyers still coming into the showroom. The end goal is (A) Make everything Pontiac sells profitable, and (B) position Pontiac & Buick with zero overlap.