Rear drive for Impala? Better think it over
It's a critical decision for GM's top-volume sedan

Rick Kranz
Automotive News / February 6, 2006 - 6:00 am




General Motors executives are trying to determine the drive system of the next Chevrolet Impala.

Specifically: Should the next-generation Impala continue as a front-drive sedan? Or should it switch to rear drive to try to capture some of the sales success of the rwd Dodge Charger and Magnum and the Chrysler 300?

How important is that decision? The Impala is GM's best-selling sedan.

Chevy dealers sold 290,259 Impalas in 2004, up from 267,882 the previous year. The tally is remarkable because in the buyer's eye that car was essentially untouched for five model years. Sales slipped to 246,481 last year, but some of that drop was due to changeover for the restyled 2006 model.

GM can't afford to misjudge the public, make the wrong decision and lose, say, 100,000 potential Impala sales.

The Impala is one of several models GM is considering for its new global rwd vehicle architecture. The architecture is being developed by Holden's, GM's Australian subsidiary. The architecture previously was known as Zeta.

Within four or five months, GM will determine which U.S. brands will be tagged for rwd and which rwd model or models those brands will receive. The first car is expected to go on sale in late 2007 or early 2008.

GM insiders say the Chevrolet Camaro concept is at the top of the rwd wish list based on the overwhelmingly favorable reaction at the Detroit and Los Angeles shows. Among the other models being considered is a flagship Buick sedan. Cadillac already markets rwd cars and is not part of the plan.




Rwd and fwd versions of the next-generation Chevrolet Impala have been finalized. All that's left is for GM to decide. A 2006 Impala is shown.


Simple? Not really
As for the Impala, GM's design studio is prepared for the decision -- both rwd and fwd versions of the next-generation Impala have been finalized. All that remains is the decision.

You might think that with the success of the Chrysler group's rwd cars, GM's decision for the Impala would be simple -- just select rwd, right? Here are four of the issues GM executives must consider:

1. Does size matter? The base 2006 Impala is a spacious sedan with a cavernous trunk and comfortable seating for six. It has a sizable presence on the road -- 200.4 inches from stem to stern.

A sedan based on GM's rwd architecture will offer a large passenger compartment, the result of a very long wheelbase. But short front and rear overhangs are expected to result in a car that is somewhat shorter overall than today's Impala.

If size matters, potential buyers might feel shortchanged and shop elsewhere.

2. Does this car have a Hemi? The Chrysler group's rwd 300, Magnum and Charger have done extremely well. A lot of that success is attributed to one word, "Hemi."

The Hemi V-8 accounted for more than 30 percent of Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger sales in 2005.

Does GM have a Hemi? No. Could it achieve similar success if it placed a slightly lower horsepower Corvette engine under the hood of the Impala? Maybe. It offered a Corvette engine in the rwd 1994-96 Impala SS. That car is an icon.

But if gasoline prices jump beyond $3 a gallon and stick, the likelihood of huge sales is greatly diminished.


Snow tires, awd are costly
3. Rwd vs. fwd, who cares? Do most buyers know whether they are buying a front-drive or rear-drive car? I don't think so -- unless they live in the Snow Belt and unknowingly switched from fwd to rwd and discovered the consequences.

I've heard a few stories about Cadillac owners who loved their CTS and STS cars until the first snow fell. They had to adjust their driving style because of the car's rear tires, which were slipping and sliding sideways under winter road conditions.

There was nothing wrong with the cars. It is just the nature of rwd and the cars' all-season or performance tires, issues that also can be found with a BMW or Mercedes-Benz.

Solution: Buy a set of snow tires. Cost? About $450.

But is that a reasonable solution for an Impala owner who embraced the car's value but lacks the discretionary income to buy a second set of tires? Then, do you risk losing that buyer next time around to a fwd product?

4. The price is right -- or is it? GM's rwd global platform is being engineered with an awd option. That solves issues related to driving on snow-covered streets. Chrysler's rwd cars offer a very good awd system. But the sticker for that option is about $2,000 or more depending on model.

How many value-conscious Impala buyers would be willing or financially able to tack $2,000 on to the sticker?

Until GM's product planners sort out those issues, rwd for the Impala is not a slam-dunk.

 

No, I think they need a larger model RWD sedan to compete with DCX, Charger/300c. A new model, a sorta "Chevelle" type vehicle, new name is fine too. The key is Full sized RWD, should eat into the niche, and maybe even shift some truck/suv sales that direction.
They still need a catchy engine "name"...rpo's are for enthusiests.

 

It seems so simple. Impala is the large rwd sedan. Malibu is the midsize fwd sedan. Right now the two cars overlap each other. Chevrolet has to have a large rwd sedan and Impala is the obvious choice.

 

Gotta love the enthusiats who think it's so simple.

As much as I prefer and would like to see a RWD Impala to compete with not only the 300 but maybe offer a real value alternative to a Mercedes or BMW (unless Pontiac get's a RWD V8 sedan as well), I remember scott once said that the Impala covers the widest audience spectrum of any car in Chevy's lineup; from young(er) familes to retired folks.

This is a VALUE based product, and having grown up where 180+ inches of snow a year is pretty common (i.e. not Chicago), I'd hedge my bet that the next Impala will be RWD.

 

Tough decision for sure. There is danger of swinging the pendulum too far to the RWD side and/or trying to cover the market with both and ending up with an even more bloated product portfolio. I don't think leaving the Impala FWD and going with a RWD G8 would be a bad idea.

 

Impala and Impala Classic.......

 

The Impala cant cover the market for both the Camry and 300 crowd. A stunning new rwd Impala would be a great alternative to BMW and Mecedes sedans as well. The Malibu should cover the value priced fwd sedan market just fine for Chevrolet.

 

IMPALA64 you are correct, it cannot cover such a wide base. And I know this has been said, but the next gen malibu is supposed to be a really nice car, I think the big problem now is people looking at a camry won't even consider a Malibu even if they were somewhat comparable in price and features. As the Malibu gets better, the Impala can start to differentiate and move up the ladder... I think it should be RWD... but there are probably many reasons why it can't....

 

Chevy is probably better off with a large FWD sedan if they can't have one of each. Make the RWD sedan midsized -- the same size as the Commodore -- if we only get one RWD sedan.

Or make the Chevy large and the Pontiac midsized. I think Chevy does need a large FWD sedan to compete with the Avalon and the Fivehundred. Not that I would ever buy it -- I think the people who would tend to buy those cars will want FWD. Make the large RWD sedan a Buick.

Or something . . . .

GM sure has a lot of brands!

 

Impala really has been a sales success, especially given it's age.

Malibu is mid-size. The two cars don't overlap any more than an Avalon and Camry. If Chevy needs a RWD sedan maybe they should just add a Caprice. Or just leave a car like that to Pontiac and make it a value based BMW 7-series type car.

 

RWD... well Chevy definitely need one. Whether they should call it Impala, I don't know. What I do know is that America's lost passion for some of its famous nameplates - how a car can take on the same nameplate when its not true to its past is beyond me. Wasn't Impala originally RWD?

Anyway, snow has never worried the likes of BMW, Merc as real driving machines will always have RWD. Nuff said!

Yes we Holden fans are passionate and that's why we choose to drive RWD V8s!

 

C-a-p-r-i-c-e.......

 

It definatly is a tough descision. I think the best scenario is to have a new model that is a large rwd sedan above the current Impala and Malibu. I would like that large rwd sedan to be called "Impala". The old Impala sized vehicle will remain and be called something else (maybe move Malibu up to this spot). That leaves the smaller fwd sedan that would remain and be called Malibu or something new. Damn, it's a tough choice.

 

A big, well styled Impala covers the middle aged, gangster (DUB), enthusiast and fleet (cop and taxi) markets.

 

Of all GM divisions, chevy has the most room for a wide array of models. The current FWD Impala is a huge seller and shifting it to RWD is supremely risky. I would lean toward keeping the current car and introducing a Holden Commodore sized RWD sedan built on the same global RWD platform that will be used for other GM RWDs around the world. A much smaller gamble in my book. As things evolve and the market begins to embrace RWD/AWD, the transition could follow the market.