RWD Saturn? Camaro tops RWD list

[nadepalma]

Camaro tops GM's rwd list; Buick Velite concept, Pontiac GTO and Impala also possibilities

By RICK KRANZ | Automotive News
AutoWeek | Published 01/16/06, 8:37 am et



DETROIT - For General Motors Vice Chairman Robert Lutz, the Chevrolet Camaro concept car tops the list of possible vehicles in the automaker's lineup of mid-priced to premium-priced, rear-drive cars for North America.

GM will select vehicles for the program within six months. Production will begin in 2008 or 2009.

Speaking of the Camaro he drove onstage last week at the Detroit auto show, Lutz said, "I know where it fits in the overall enthusiasm ranking. If it was a question of what would you like to do, I would obviously do this one first."

But, he added, "We can't always follow our enthusiasm. We have to do what's right for the business."

GM will weigh the Camaro, as well as the next-generation Chevrolet Impala and a Buick sedan in the rwd car program. The Buick, Chevrolet, Pontiac and Saturn brands are under consideration for rear-drive models.

"We have a big plan for rear-wheel drive," says Gene Stefanyshyn, vehicle line executive for what GM now calls its global rwd architecture. GM previously called the architecture Zeta.

GM needs to fill the rwd gap between its small, sporty rwd cars, such as the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, and rwd luxury vehicles such as the Cadillac CTS, STS and SRX.

The company delayed plans for mid-sized rwd vehicles last year. Meanwhile, competitors have scored strong sales of rwd cars such as the Ford Mustang and Chrysler 300.

GM is confident that the Camaro will appeal to baby boomers who remember the original. But will it appeal to younger buyers?

Lutz enthusiastically supports the Camaro concept that he unveiled Jan. 9 during the Detroit auto show.

If produced, the Camaro would feature a standard V-6 engine and one or two V-8s, Lutz says. It would be priced competitively with the Mustang.

GM revived its rwd plans late last summer after halting efforts to develop North American vehicles on Zeta last winter. Last winter, GM executives said that the initial plan for the Zeta vehicles was not workable but pledged to develop a new strategy.

Possible Zeta vehicles included the Buick Velite concept, Pontiac GTO and Impala.

Stefanyshyn would not reveal the entire lineup under consideration but said the next-generation Impala "is a possibility."

GM's styling studio has prepared both rear- and front-drive versions of the next Impala, according to an industry source who did not want to be identified.

The engineering of the new group of vehicles will be handled by GM's Holden subsidiary in Australia, which built the Holden Monaro that is the basis for the current Pontiac GTO.

The architecture will debut in the second half of this year on a redesigned Holden model. GM also is considering a rwd model for China.

Stefanyshyn was named vehicle line executive for the Zeta architecture a year ago. After the program stalled, he canceled plans to move to Australia. Now that the program has been revived, he will relocate to Australia in February and restart the vehicle development program for North America.

GM vehicles on the global rwd architecture will have long wheel-bases and short overhangs. All-wheel drive will be available. The Camaro and Velite, a convertible concept introduced at the 2004 New York auto show, demonstrate the possibilities for the architecture.

Stefanyshyn says the global rwd architecture can be used for a wide range of vehicles. Vehicles will be assembled in Australia and North America.

But Opel no longer is considering such a car, says Hans Demant, managing director of Adam Opel AG.

Says Demant: "It is just too big" for Europe.

[nadepalma]

GM will weigh the Camaro, as well as the next-generation Chevrolet Impala and a Buick sedan in the rwd car program. The Buick, Chevrolet, Pontiac and Saturn brands are under consideration for rear-drive models.

I think that it's great that GM wants to expand Saturn and all, but I hope at the very least they'll give the other divisions the attention they deserve before moving on to give Saturn a RWD offering. I really think that Buick, Chevrolet and Pontiac should be first inline for such vehicles. Later on down the line if a Saturn variant can be worked into the picture (perhaps a large sedan to sit above the Aura or maybe a sporty coupe) then that's fine -- but the other, traditional divisions should come first.

GM's styling studio has prepared both rear- and front-drive versions of the next Impala, according to an industry source who did not want to be identified.

That's great news and shows GM is serious about getting back into the fold. No doubt that doing something like this would attract serious attention. I keep hearing stuff about a Bel-Air concept that might make it to one of the Car Shows -- I wonder if they will build it? But having something like the Impala (and Monte Carlo) go RWD would be HUGE!

The only question is, if they do go this route, where does that leave Chi? And is the architecture adaptable enough to handle a future DTS or Lucerne? I know that they need to build the Commodores and Statesmen on this new platform, and if the new one is like the old one, it certainly seems to be flexible enough to make those cars.

But Opel no longer is considering such a car, says Hans Demant, managing director of Adam Opel AG.

Says Demant: "It is just too big" for Europe.

That's too bad. I was kind of hoping that Opel would get to build the Insignia concept from a few yeas back. I can't imagine that such a car would be too big for Europe considering that they sell the E-Class and S-Class on the continent -- I mean those cars aren't too big to sell to a select market, are they?

[DuSpinnst]

If Saturn gets a RWD car it would have to be the Saturn Flagship vehicle. Preferably a 300/Charger competitor.

[genjy]

Is Zeta back on track as W-body replacement... or is it Epsilon 2 that's replacing W-body?

[lightbrotha2004]

This is shaping up to be an exciting year i hope we see some big cars come back and if they are going to do this right they need to bring back the Caprice and then bring the Impala off of that seeing as they Impala was never really its own car it always was based off of something until they brought out the front driver. And i agree a RWD Saturn flagship is a must seeing as its taking OLDS spot.

[EViL Wagon]

Great News. I personally hope Saturn gets RWD. Combine their styling trends as of late, RWD and a good power-to-weight ratio and . Imagine if Saturn got the Camaro's sister car (as GM has stated the Firebird is dead). I know, I know, Pontiac is the sporty division, but a guy can dream can't he? I think I just don't like Pontiac's split grill on modern cars. It looks unbelievable on old GTOs, Firebirds and Bonnevilles but I just don't like almost any modern iteration of it
(includes Nissan, Mitsubishi and most BMWs). That's also part of the reason why I like the Sky better than the Solstice. I think the split grill doesn't look that hot on the Pontiac. Sorry to go off on a tangent.


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[knightfan26917]

Hmmm....

Saturn gets a second RWD car (first is the Sky, of course) ... and Chevrolet's Monte Carlo does not get consideration to be revived (as in RWD)?

Interesting....

But, as Mr. Lutz said ... can't follow enthusiasm....



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What's it like to buy your favorite car brand new? Wish I knew...

[paul3230]

Rear wheel drive Impala??? Sign me up!

[plane]

Originally Posted by EViL Wagon

I think I just don't like Pontiac's split grill on modern cars. It looks unbelievable on old GTOs, Firebirds and Bonnevilles but I just don't like almost any modern iteration of it </IMG>

Agreed. Totally. It's to the point of putting the split grille on JUST BECAUSE it's a Pontiac. GM - Free yourself from this limitation. Think out of the box and make Pontiac great again.

Of course, throwing the RWD Saturn out first wouldn't hurt my feelings either.

[chadbarb99]

I thought the 08 GTO was confirmed, and NOW it's just a possibility?

[Paul]

So does this mean that the next generation GTO is still up in the air? I thought it was confirmed for a redesign, released as an '08 model.

[chadbarb99]

I wish they'd make up their mind.

[SCCA1995]

As far as I know, the GTO is still on. Possibly '09. If it comes out in 2007 as an '08 model, I'll be shocked.

[Cortazzo]

In order for them to announce these kinds of things, and for suppliers to have information, i bet they are pretty far along in the design process. They are only crunching the numbers now and making a business case. The two most important vehicles to be based off of a RWD platform are a camaro and a grand prix/gto. Buick doesn't NEED a RWD, but it would fit nicely. Pontiac desperately needs a great sport sedan at the top of its lineup to compete with lower end g35s and hemi chargers.

What I'm debating is the need for a chevy sedan, i'm afraid it would be smaller than the current impala and stepping on the toes of the next supposedly hot malibu. I just don't know if there's room in the market for a RWD impala if you're going to make a RWD grand prix. Do you sell it heavily to police and livery companies? Will it appeal to the hundreds of thousands of current impala owners?

[DuSpinnst]

Originally Posted by genjy

Is Zeta back on track as W-body replacement... or is it Epsilon 2 that's replacing W-body?

LaCrosse -> Epsilon II
Grand Prix -> Zeta
Impala/Monte Carlo -> "streached" Zeta, or Monte is killed and Impala -> Zeta
Lucerne -> Zeta?
DTS -> Sigma?