Originally Posted by L32 To Go
I can’t believe you people with so many disparaging remarks. Please go back and read what nsap actually said:
1. Now GMI is hearing that the Kappa II program, successor to the current lineup of Kappa roadsters, has been pulled from the product plans.
Kappa platform is not dead. The next generation, Kappa II has been put on hold. Current Kappa platform is an excellent platform, closely similar to the Corvette platform. Kappa platform can easily continue as is for another 6 years, it is that good. The body styling may change but I don’t see why.
2. GMI has been told that when the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky came to the market, GM was losing around $10,000 per unit built.
Please read this carefully. The key part of this sentence is: when the Pontiac Solstice and Sky came to the market. It took three months to ramp-up from 800 Solstices per month to 2000. It took four months for Sky to ramp-up from 180 units to 1100. Losing $10,000 may have been true initially, especially at a starting price of $19,995 for a stripped Solstice. The price of a loaded Sky Redline has crept over 30k since then.
3. Hydra-forming is a costly fabrication method, particularly for vehicles that have such low starting prices and low volume to boot.
Hydroforming is more expensive but it is more suitable for relatively small volume production that does not justify high cost of stamping dies. The high production cost comes mostly from the fact that these cars are largely “hand built” as nsap stated. If GM is not making a bundle of money on these cars, it is at least breaking even in my opinion, at least until somebody comes up with a concrete proof of otherwise.
I would like to set this straight. Kappa is a platform. It has not been cobbled from GM parts bin, it was designed from scratch with necessary stiffness for a RWD convertible. The body shares certain parts such as door handles (a minor item), steering wheel (a corporate item shared by many GM cars), Cobalt instrument cluster, Opel seats, Grand Prix parking lights and Envoy backup lights on a Solstice and probably many unseen functional parts. What is wrong with that? It’s been done before, everybody else is doing it and we will see more of it in the future. But the turbocharged, direct injected 2.0 liter Ecotec was designed especially for Kappa cars, now shared by HHR and Cobalt SS. It has one of the highest output rating per liter and good low end torque too. How we tend to exaggerate.
Solstice and Sky generate strong feelings. People either love them or hate them. They hate them because they are jealous, because they still best sellers, because they can keep up with roadsters costing far more . The press is trying hard to demolish them, not directly, they have their subtle ways. For the last two years they have been piling accolades on Miata as the only true and best roadster.
It is sad that so much negativity is expressed on this supposedly being a GM site.
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