Doubt it. As of right now, there is only one Alpha. Yes, it's bandwith will be broader than originally envisioned - but it's one architecture, with pretty well set product programs. Cadillac will get various products off of Alpha. Chevrolet will get the 6th gen Camaro. Beyond that, maybe Buick gets something.

The whole Zeta/Sigma thing is EXACTLY how not to do things. Spending billions to create two seperate architectures which are essentially interchangeable is...well... stupid. Whatever happens with Alpha, GM has certainly learned that lesson.

 

The Camaro part is still pretty speculative, isn't it?

 

If the Impala goes on Alpha then doesn't that make it a large car platform? Or is it just that flexible that they can make Cobalt and Impala sized vehicles of it? I assume it is now a V8 platform.

and what is stopping the 6th gen Camaro from being a "huge" 188-190" long?

 

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that there are indeed two RWD platforms in development...a mainstream RWD platform being developed by Holden and a luxury RWD platform being developed by Cadillac.

 

If Impala does go on Alpha, it will be on a LWB version of it.

 

No. Far beyond that now.

There is absolutely no talk of putting Impala on Alpha, NONE. Other than internet rumors. That's not to say that Chevy may or may not get an Alpha sedan at some point, but Impala is firmly on EP2 for the foreseeable future (after W-car runs it's course).

V8's are being integrated into Alpha's engineering work. But there is no assurance of how conducive the political environment will be for them going forward. We'll see on that.

I don't know what the exact dimensions of the 6th gen will be (other than in general terms), but trust me - GM is aware of what's wrong with the 5th gen.


First off, why would GM waste money on that?


Holden right now, is sticking with the VE/Zeta. There is no "Alpha offshoot" coming from Holden.


Alpha is Alpha. It is being developed the old fashioned way - in Detroit.

I've seen some unfounded rumors on the internet saying otherwise, but really nothing that I would call "evidence", let alone plenty off it. But I'm all ears, if you have a link to something.

 

I can't confirm anything about Alpha or the Impala, but head over to GMInsideNews and read a few articles...most of our information comes straight from people within GM.

 

God forbid we have the freedom of choice...

 

The story on GMI was "GM is considering moving Impala to Alpha in 2015."

Which seems to be very optimistic spin on "GM is doing nothing with the Impala except letting it run out on fleet sales."

Anyway, if GMI is correct, there isn't going to be a new Impala in this product cycle. Apparently the Ep2 Malibu will carry the load for Chevy. (And with the Buick LaCrosse slotted against the Taurus and Avalon, I'm not sure if Chevy needs a larger front-driver.)

 

Don't look at you being an *** for disagreeing with me. However, you must understand that a business is a business first and foremost. If a business does not have money, then it simply can not do anything. The absolute first thing... especially when coming out of bankruptcy... is solidifying your cash flow. It would be utterly and completely irresponsible not to.

Setting up an all new support base for a RWD sedan takes additional money. In case you missed it, GM is beyond flat broke. They are living off taxpayer money at the moment. As any responsible business and like with any loan, they want to pay that money back ASAP. You bring up the question of the path that led GM to where it is, this is exactly it.... forever borrowing money with the idea of paying it back "someday when things turn around".... till one day they woke up and no one would lend to them, and they realized they had $80 billion in debt on a company that had a market value of just $1 billion and all their assets combined were worth no more than $20 billion.

The only choice GM has right now is to get some high margin, low investment vehicles on the road as soon as possible to generate cash flow so that they can repay taxpayer loans and then perhaps move on to whatever "big" plan chasing established european luxury brands with many decades of reputation built up.

Espilon is actually a very, very good architecture. It's also a comparatively low cost chassis. If GM can take a chassis that is profitable in vehicles that cost $20K and find a way to sell it in volume at $40K+, then I say "Go for it!"

The DTS has been selling more or less on par with the CTS for years, so it's not carved in concrete that GM "NEEDS" RWD on every single Cadillac in the showroom. Lexus doesn't.

Once GM gets back into the black, THEN we can start talking about tackling gold and platinum standards.

Right now, GM needs to focus on making money and getting volume mainstream cars done right, and at a profit.

Sigma and Zeta didn't split into different platforms.

The 2 are very different.


It is.

The work is being done here, but I will vouch that Holden is contributing in no small part.

There is no current plans to place the Impala on Alpha. I will second what Charlie said about anything said in that direction is pure internet rumor.

The Espilon Impala is coming in 2012-2013 timeframe. Expect that car to have a lifespan of at least 4-5 years... minimum.

That means no replacement till at least 2017-2018.

You have already seen how vehicle plans can change within 24 months (the period before production that Pontiac's Zetas and the RWD Impala all were killed. To speculate on a car that won't come any sooner than 8 or 9 years down the road is pretty useless.

Not sure what you mean by that.

Outside the Chrysler LX cars, the V8 engine is already gone from mainstream sedans. And even in that case, you're going to pay over 30 grand for the privilege and/or be restricted to sports cars.

Again, it boils down to business just as much if not moreso than any federal regulations.

Here on this site, surrounded by gearheads who love V8s and RWD, you're going to get the illusion that is what everyone wants. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Family sedan buyers and believe it or not, a huge portion if not a majority of Cadillac buyers either don't know or don't care which wheels are moving their vehicles.

When you are talking about mainstream sedans, fuel economy and value for the dollar far and away trump any issue regarding V8s, rear drive, or beating BMWs. Most all would simply buy a BMW if that's what they wanted.

When you have tight (or next to none) resources as GM does right now, you have to put your key players where they will do the most good. Are you going to spend a billion creating a new V8 engine that will have only a few buyers, or are you going to use that billion on better quality materials, or finding ways of making better cars?

If you had a limited engine development budget and only had the funds to do only one thing all the way or both half-assed, would you spend it on technology to improve the V8 in passenger cars which is limited to the 2-5% of your total sales, or put it towards a version of V6 of which you already produce in far more massive numbers, and will sell no matter how expensive fuel gets, making fuel saving technology more affordable, or are you going to use that limited resource doing both only half-way and hope no one notices?

It's far more easier and mentally comfortable to blame everything on some so-called government mandate (which doesn't exist) banning V8s instead of the less glamourous and more factual reason that the market for V8s in the general population are pushing the traditional V8 towards the point where it's no longer economically feasible to continue investing in them.

If it wasn't for the popularity of pickup trucks and large SUVs, we'd have likely seen the V8 in passenger cars gone by now.

Going back to your statement about choice.

You have choice. Within reason and the ability of that choice being economically feasible within the marketplace, the demand is there, and it's the best way to achieve a goal.

Beyond that, you have no more right to a V8 engine in your brand new car than you do a right to have a carburetor or a 455 V8 or chrome bumpers.

We get more fuel economy and more power, and better collision protection without them.

V6 engines have closed the gap with all but the most powerful V8 engines.... and the next round of downsizings and passenger car weight shedding will even eliminate most of that advantage.

It's not a question of choice.

It's a question of simple economics, a dash of business sense... with a whole lot of progress thrown in.