Could Zeta Camaro have a short life and be replaced by an Alpha Camaro come 2014?

 

Not happy, not happy at all.

 

Definitely. But you can see the initial appeal of bringing in the wagon or ute since they're already in production.

 

Ok, 6th gen makes more sense although the only benefit I see in going with Sigma is the front suspension which as I've said before looks a whole lot like the 4th gen front suspension.

I think I'd see Alpha as more appropriate for the next Camaro than Sigma although, we don't really know that much about Alpha now do we, beyond being a small-mid-size RWD platform with Kappa DNA included in it. Unless of course Zeta II has a severe diet plan being planned, which addresses the only real downside of the platform - its weight.

 

This is simple. Dodge basically formed the entire business case (more accurately, lack thereof) for a G8 wagon when Magnum sales spiked immediately after release, then tanked.

I too am concerned about Camaro though. I'm assuming if it is a great success, we have nothing to worry about. Still, there was supposed to be so much Camaro would share with the "other" Zeta sedans. Now, there's pretty much nothing planned for production within NA.

Question: What is now going to be built at Oshawa alongside Camaro? What replaces all this volume?

 

That there is the question.

I don't think that anything else was going to be built there other than Camaro, for the first year. But now, "Impala" is dead. And the Buick and Caddy Zetas could be next. And I don't give the Commodore/G8 more than 3 or 4 years either.

 

I don't know.

But I'd guess if GM were going to start the Camaro NOW, I'm sure they'd merge it with Alpha - instead of a two ton sedan.

 

If all of that comes to pass, I may as well retire my GM fan status.

There will be nothing left for me to care about.

 

Oshawa = St. Therese II?

 

better not!

 

While that's true today, i do wonder a bit if wagons might come back into style as gas prices go up and the stigma against SUVs rises. Even as the little hybird fake SUVs get more popular, they still suffer from an aero problem that a lower wagon doesn't, and probably not even as roomy inside for the most part.

Since the general seems content to be a way back follower at this point, i guess we won't know until someone else comes out with one in a couple years

 

There's no telling how fuel efficient a big RWD wagon would be either. In addition, GM's 2-mode hybrid system is too large to fit into a car-based platform for the forseeable future, so in the interest of fuel savings doing hybrid SUVs makes more sense for the company.

 

Plus GM's suv's, Crossover or BOF have a MUCH higher profit margin than a car based wagon.

 

The only reason the Magnum sold well initially is because there was a pent up demand for a Fullsize RWD car. The 300 and Charger proved that sedans sell better than wagons stateside. Plus the Magnum was a horrible wagon, the cargo area was a joke. RWD kills cargo space. I could not put my 55lb dog back there and the rear opening was only 18 inches tall because of the sloping roof.

Things are not looking good for zeta. I guess GM thought that gas prices were going to go down and cafe would never change. Its the middle of winter and gas is averaging 3.07 a gallon. The govt expects the price to be $3.40 a gallon this spring and summer. A hurricane could put us a $4.00 easy. 3900-4000lb cars are going to be 70's dinosaurs in 5 years.

Theres another thread on here about this but I'll say it again, A malibu/aura wagon could sell. It has a favorable cargo area and it looks GOOD. Theres a link to the opel pics in that thread. It would get 26-30 mpg highway, you might be able to make a hybrid out of it as well.

Theres one more important reason for a malibu wagon. GM needs a sales winner in the car market, the malibu is a winner but a wagon would add to the overall sales totals and GM could put a car back in the top three sellers, or even the number one seller.

 

I no longer give a damn about cars I would never buy - no matter how "good" they may be.

It's very hard to support GM when they don't build what I want.