GM should also consider all the sales to police departments they would gain over Ford’s ageing crown vic if they went to a modern RWD platform.

This is a very complex issue…..I do think the styling is more important to nail then the drive wheels….one reason I don’t think the ‘06s are selling so well…

 

RWD Impala SS: 400hp LS2 That is what I would like to see, and have been waiting since 1996. Lots of Impala SS folks have been waiting for the return, a lot longer than we've been waiting for our 5th gen. At least they got the V8 back this year to tied them over, even though it is FWD.

Chevrolet was king of the police market in the 90s selling 50K+ Caprice 9C1s in some years. With the Crown Vic slowly drifting off, and the Charger not being very suitable for most police work there is going to be a big hole in that market in a few years. But a RWD Impala will not be able to surive on police and performance model sales alone, ie: the old Caprice.
If GM goes RWD, I hope they have learned there leason, and bring a real contender to the fight.

 

I know that there's snow in the good ol' US of A... but I believe that car buyers from both USA and Australia have similar tastes. Both countries have huge land mass. Fuel is relatively affordable and the large vehicles tend to be the best sellers.

Therefore, it's always amazed me that Camry/Accord continue to be the best sellers in USA. In Australia, Camry is quite cheap (base model sells at $25K AUD) and Commodore is far more expensive (base model sells at $33K) yet Commodore sales are almost double that of Camry and Toyota are quite aggressive in their sales and marketing (as are Holden). So what's my point?

Camry will never be a serious contender to the bigger RWD Commodore so long as Camry remains FWD. Australians have traditionally bought large RWD vehicles. I'm surprised that the most popular US vehicle is F-series yet Camry tops the car sales charts?

 

I've always wondered where the domestic auto industry would be if had stuck to (which they really couldn't) or get back to traditional American cars, i.e. RWD. I'm not THAT old, but I do remember when American cars were one way, and imports were small, fwd econoboxes. Then the imports got bigger, the American cars got smaller and more importish, and now we have many Camrys to choose from, both import and domestic.

I just can't help but believe that the car buying public would respond to a car that just feels good for our driving environment, and that is a decent sized car (not necessarily large) that is at least not a bore to drive, but dare I say, actually fun? The Austrailian preferences would seem to support that theory. Also, the success of the DCX RWD Hemi cars would seem to support it further.

Certainly all American cars wouldn't need to be RWD, just the ones that could support the architecture. Impala, Malibu maybe, all trucks of course, and the performance cars obviously. Cobalt ect....no need at all. The CTS we had certainly had a noticably different feel than our Impala does, and I believe even the layman driver would notice it, and appreciate the benefits of the driving dynamics of RWD.

 

 

The article is moot. Chevrolet WILL be getting a large RWD sedan.

The issue is this:

1. Do you call the car "Impala" and move the Malibu up (Espilon 2) to fill the void? Or..
2. Do you give the car a different name, keep the Impala on the new FWD structure (Espilon 2... the "W" is dead) and keep the Malibu at the same position?

To us here, we hear the word Impala, and we think a large mid 90s Chevy sedan. But the other 99% of the buying public think of a high content, bargain priced, more stylish than Camry or Accord, FWD Chevrolet sedan.


GM is known for having backup plans for their backup plan's backup plan. That's why they don't like to talk about future models till the fat lady sings (usually about a year or so before production).

GM is making the decisions by mid this year that they made a year ago that sent Zeta line back for more thinking. Expect 3 sedans and 2 coupes out of all this.

 

GM needs to stop all the name changing , thats whats confusing the public more than anything . Impala is a instantly recognizable name . Whether its a FWD or RWD . If a RWD Impala is hot enuff I think it would transition nicely , just like the FWD to RWD move on the 300 . Likewise with the Malibu . Make it good enuff that the FWD crowd will come in droves to see the new Malibu without a FWD Impala thought in their head I doubt there would be too much confusion . Caprice I think would be a little polarizing , when I think Caprice I dont think of the cool Impala SS , I think of the big whale gerotal looking spaceship car of the 90's . I think about all the plain Caprices of the 80's that even then looked like old people cars , can you say "Hunter" the old cop show . Can u say mint green metallic , wire wheels and a matching vinly top .....crush veluor anyone

Impala and Malibu names should stay .

 

The names aren't going anywhere. The question is how will the names be used.

You hit the problem on the head, though I don't think you realized how you have.

The problem is that the Malibu and Impala ARE selling in droves...... as FWD high content sedans.

GM is agonizing on changing these cars. Impala to a top level, RWD performance sedan, and Malibu as a quasi-full sized FWD sedan.

GM.....correctly.... is concerned that changing these cars positions will confuse the public.

You are 100% right. But I suspect it's not the way you intended.

 

Guy,
Did you see my page one post on this topic? If you did, I'm wondering why that idea won't work, or would it. Will GM consider this seemingly win-win option?

 

A hot looking and performing rwd Impala would do wonders for Chevrolets image. Just compare Chryslers previous image with the front drivers, to what they have now. Night and day difference.

 

I'd suggest leaving the names alone. Find a new name for the RWD sedan (I hope it's not traditional "full size"). Maybe Chevrolet Commodore. Or perhaps Chevelle. Back in the day, the Malibu was the high content version of the Chevelle. But now people only remember the Chevelle SS. The name is important, but the car is more important than the name.

I don't like Caprice, because that implies a big boat of a car -- at least to me. It would be a good name for the lwb version (isn't Holden Caprice one of the lwb models down under?).

 

Impala and Caprice cant be two totally different cars. They are trim levels of the same car. Same goes for Malibu and Chevelle. Its just wrong.

 

There's always the name Bel Air....

 

Well if GM do decide to leverage off the name Impala, they'd better make a song and dance about the fact that it's "RWD Impala".

It's probably an unfortunate legacy of the Zarella era that GM thought it could fix bland product lines with marketing solutions... in this case, GM thought it could give a mundane FWD sedan the marketing impetus it needed by calling it Impala... even though its nameplate had RWD origins.

 

...and the Charger was a 2dr coupe. Everyone seems to be reivinting everything these days.