Here is the link: www.saturnfans.com/Cars/Future/skykilled.shtml

I have seen this info also posted elsewhere by AH-HA, who has very good sources.

The sad thing is that of the three cars the Bengal is the one that should be built.

 

This can only be good news for Camaro fans. I never saw the point in building two peculiar little roadsters, especially when the products seem so out of character for Saturn and Buick. Instead of wasting resources on a couple of dubious "performance cars," GM should have been concentrating on a F5 from day one.

Anyway, the upcoming 2005 minivans will be smarter additions, and far cheaper to engineer and launch.

 

Good.

 

Ok I dont understand. Why do you guys see this as good news?

 

I didnt care for the styling of either of them, so Im not too sad to see them go.

But this makes a hard case for a Solstice platform. I cant see the sales projections for it to be higher than the FBody, which couldnt justify its own platform. Unless they're planning on putting something else on it, there's just no sales case. Is bobby's enthusiasm alone enough to push it through?

 

I'm not sure why people see this as a good thing either. After all, speculation of a Bengal-based Camaro was rampant here not too long ago. It would seem that if this platform is dead in the water, that gives us one less option....

 

Unless they are freeing up production capacity for the Camaro.......................and FIREBIRD.

 

It may be good in the fact that the fewer parts a future Camaro shares with a future Cavalier....the better.

 

Did I miss something? When was Cavalier going RWD?

 

The "tubular" architecture was to be based off of Delta components. Even though it would become an all new chassis.....it would have shared certain suspension components with Delta.

The next Cavalier will be built off of Delta.

 

I hope the Solstice is still going to be produced

 

There is no good side to this, unless it's freeing up production space for the next F-body.

It's been gone over many times that the upcomming Solstice is not based on the Cavalier or any front drive platform! This is an entirely new, low cost REAR drive chassis which is to form the basis of affordable sports cars into the future (this directly from people familiar with the project), and this is the reason why I began to think Camaro is likely to be a part of this.

The Solstice concept was assembled from parts of the J-car chassis. But, the J car will be extinct in another year or 2! Now, someone please explain why would GM use a soon to be extinct nearly 20 year old chassis as a basis of, or spend the massive amout of money to convert a FWD chassis (which would cost just as much as designing a new chassis from the ground up!) to make a RWD car?

Unless you are really hellbent on spending over $30,000 in today's dollars on your next Z28, the "tubular" chassis is your new best friend.

 

No one is going to spend a nickel on converting the J-car for RWD...as you said guion....the J-car is nearly history.

But I'd bet if you compare Tubular's struts, control arms, spindles, etc......they will appear suspiciously identical to Cavalier's UPCOMING Delta platform.

 

That's hardly the word I'm getting. Also, If I'm not mistaken, PacerX has already seen them since his gang does this sort of stuff. He's already called Solstice's suspension components top drawer pieces.

Also, Opel is still trying to get GM-NA to approve a V8 engine for their "Tubular" car, so there's no doubt whatsoever, the chassis isn't some half though out, warmed over design!

At any rate, the front struts on a Ford Mustang Cobra & the control arms of a Z28 in many ways appear suspiciously identical to a Cavalier's, but I doubt you'd call either one of them Cavalier inspired pieces, would you?

 

I remember PacerX mentioning some engineering drawings of an IRS. But as far as I've heard Tubular's front suspension would be lifted off of Delta.

Do we know anything about Tubular's front suspension??