Ok maybe i havent been paying close enough attention to things or maybe im just a dumb*** or something...but when yall talk about these Zeta and Torana and whatever else there is platforms, what the hell are yall talking about? Whats the difference between the platforms and everything? And yes i know this might be a stupid question, but ive been wondering about this forever.

 

I don't think many people on here know exactly what all the differences between these new platforms are and why one is better for a vehicle than another (other than measurements they've seen and stuff like that) save for Guy and maybe two or 3 others.

Torana isn't exactly a platform. I guess it shares tidbits from the Kappa platform (which is going to underpin the Pontiac Solstice). And if they ever get serious about that project, they can base it completely off of the Kappa. It would need to be stretched out to be bigger than the Solstice though. We've seen many concepts based on this so far (Saturn Curve, Vauxhual Lightning (I think?) and that one Chevy wagon coupe ugly thing)

Zeta is the new RWD chassis that I believe GM can base many coupes and sedans off of. It apparently is somewhat flexible (can be stretched, shortened, blah yada). I think maybe some speculation about the next Impala being on this platform?? Zeta will be used all over the world, not just in our market.

Velite is another RWD chassis that has been said to fit a # of coupes and sedans. I believe its pretty well known that the next GTO will be based off of this as well as maybe the Monte Carlo? There has been a lot of speculation about the next C-word being on this platform also.

Sigma is what the CTS and STS are based off of. Sigma-Lite is another new platform that is a cheaper version of Sigma I believe.

Delta is what the new Cobalt and HHR are on.

G6 and Malibu also share the same platform but I forget the name of it.

There is probably a little bit of misinformation here, but this is how I understand it so far.

 

Mecca..few things there.
Velite is on Zeta.
Zeta was known as Sigma-Lite or Sigma-Mass.
Zeta is also known to our Aussie friends as VE.

One thing to remember is that all new GM chassis are named after Greek letters.

Now Torana is a concept car made by Holden, which as you may or may not know, is a part of GM. Holden has been making RWD V8 powerd cars for some time, while here in the states we are forced to drive FWD 4 and 6 bangers....but thats another story.

Now Zeta is a chassis designed by Holden. GM North American thought it would be nice to have that chassis as well, and other parts of the world also want this chassis. Its RWD and has the ability to be very flexable, as said already. It can make a large 4dr sedan, to a mid sized 2dr coupe.
This is the chassis said to be the basis for the next GTO and Camaro.
Now here comes the wrench into the gears....
There is also a chassis called Kappa. It is a small RWD chassis originaly desigend to make small roadster sport cars, and its first car will be the much anticipated Pontiac Solstice.
Now, apparently Holden has taken this Kappa chassis and has morphed it into a new RWD chassis. This unknown and unnamed chassis is what sits under the Holden Torana Concept car. For agruments sake, lets calls uknown chassis "Beta". The Torana pictures can be found around this section of the site. Its RWD, and powerd by a Twin Turbo 3.6 DOHC VVT V6.
Now, news is that Zeta cannot get small enough to become a Camaro, so the idea is that GM is now going to go ahead with this Beta chassis for the Camaro.
No one knows anything for sure...well, im sure some know more then others, but as of right now us here on this section are having a fight between which would be the better chassis, this Beta chassis or Zeta.

As far as other GM chassis, here is the list
Kappa= Small RWD: Pontiac Solstice
Delta= Small FWD: Chevy Cobalt, Pontiac Pursuit(Canada only), Pontiac G4(Mexico only)
Epsilon= Mid Sized FWD: Chevy Malibu and Malibu Maxx, Saab 9-3, Pontiac G6 sedan, coupe and hard top vert, Opel/Vaux Signmum and Vectra.
Theta= SUV FWD/AWD: Saturn VUE, Chevy Equinox.
Zeta= Mid sized/Large RWD/AWD: No known cars yet, but Pontiac GTO, Chevy sedan, Pontiac Sedan, Buick Sedan, Buick Coupe, Chevy coupe
Sigma= Mid sized/Large RWD/AWD: Caddy CTS, STS, and SRX.

Y body= small RWD sports car: Corvette and Caddy XLR
W body/Mid-Lux= large midsized FWD: Pontiac Grand Prix, Chevy Impala, Chevy Monte Carlo, Buick LaCrosse, Buick Regal.

 

can they not use the Y-body platform or is that too small for a 4 seater?

 

Skyhawk, I think the Vette platform is deemed to expensive. Oh and WAR EAGLE!

 

Y body is for Corvette and XLR only. They dont have the capacity nor does Corvette or Caddy want to share the chassis. Bad enough Corvette has to share with the XLR.

 

GM platforms > fraternities and sororities.

 

Why is it bad enough? Its actually a good thing. Their filling up what would be empty production space and their taking advantage of the platform by selling it more upmarket so they make more profit per vehicle sold. Its a really good plan IMHO. I haven't heard of any issues with the XLR putting the plant at overcapacity

 

Its the point that no car ever no matter what company has shared the chassis with the Corvette. Just one of thoes things that bug me.
I drove the XLR, it is a very awesome machine, dont get me wrong. Its a much better car compared to the SL500.
If it wasnt for the XLR, the C6 wouldnt be such a bargin.

 

As far as other GM chassis, here is the list
Kappa= Small RWD: Pontiac Solstice
Delta= Small FWD: Chevy Cobalt, Pontiac Pursuit(Canada only), Pontiac G4(Mexico only)
Epsilon= Mid Sized FWD: Chevy Malibu and Malibu Maxx, Saab 9-3, Pontiac G6 sedan, coupe and hard top vert, Opel/Vaux Signmum and Vectra.
Theta= SUV FWD/AWD: Saturn VUE, Chevy Equinox.
Zeta= Mid sized/Large RWD/AWD: No known cars yet, but Pontiac GTO, Chevy sedan, Pontiac Sedan, Buick Sedan, Buick Coupe, Chevy coupe
Sigma= Mid sized/Large RWD/AWD: Caddy CTS, STS, and SRX.

Y body= small RWD sports car: Corvette and Caddy XLR
W body/Mid-Lux= large midsized FWD: Pontiac Grand Prix, Chevy Impala, Chevy Monte Carlo, Buick LaCrosse, Buick Regal.[/QUOTE]
you missed a couple. latest whispers are zeta will also donate architecture to Opel/Vauxhall Omega and Saab 9-9 large AWD V8.
It has also been designed with light off-road ability in mind, like Ford's Territory and more serious than Holden's existing Adventra.
Also, most european enthusiasm for Torana (or, as you've so neatly summed it, Beta) architecture is as an X3-sized light SUV...

 

Actually, Corvette has been running at or near capacity since the C5 debuted, so essentially, there is no empty production space at Bowling Green.

Also, GM did a study of that very possibility about 7 or 8 years ago (basing a f-body replacement on a Y-body), and decided that the price the car would have to be sold to make a profit would be too high.

I think Branden actually did a story of it back then for Blue Oval News.