Rumors of next gen Impala, Silverado upgrades

[mkaresh]

I'd love to see the Maxx come back. With decent steering and a well-done shifter, I'd likely buy one. Of course, those are two areas where GM often drops the ball. The shifter in the Saturn Astras I drove the other day was awful.

[Smoothcat]

Originally Posted by chevydlrmn

If Buick is to be geared towards Lexus, although it will take great patience, an Avalon competitor makes more sense as a Chevy. Like jkr2106 said.

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that one. I just don't see how there's that big of a market for a Chevy "luxury" car. And while I think Buick has the *potential* to one day be where Lexus is, I think there are still far away from that point in consumers' minds. For the forseeable future, they will hold the near-luxury market in the GM stable, and I don't think they need any more competition.

If GM has to have an Avalon competitor, I actually thinking making a stretched Epsillon to fit above the Saturn Aura would be a better idea. I guess that's a whole 'nother thread though.

[JBsZ06]

The rwd with a 6.2 430hp v8 sounds awesome.

Thats what an impala should be.

I'd say the chrysler 300 c proved its a viable product platform in the segment..

The malibu is more than enough vehicle to cover the fwd chevy sedan banner..

Can't wait to go over and test drive one..

JB

[GMusa]

I hope the next gen Impala is RWD!!! it would be awesome if it had an AWD option!

[Hitman1970]

I gotta give GM credit on the security of new Impala information. With a concept due to hitting an autoshow soon we have not even seen a sketch or anything leaked of this vehicle.

[gmmerc5]

Originally Posted by chevydlrmn

Also, I was out driving a Goldmist Malibu LTZ yesterday. I managed 2nd gear rubber in tapshift mode. Then, cruising along the Mississippi river had a guy in a brand new Lexus ES350 speed up to catch me. Still had the dealer tags and I had my dealer plate. He was staring me down and kept trying to get in front of me so I would let him and pass im. A little cat and mouse is always fun.

To chevydlrmn and anyone from Chevy dealerships out there, could you give us an update on how well or not well the sale pace of the new Malibu is doing? Thanks.

I know the EPII is a longer and a little wider as well, I am however wondering isn't the current new Malibu long enough with a roomier back seat then all of its competitors out there, and with a good side of trunk room, how long does it need to be? This will added weight and reduce MPG..........Just wondering out loud.

[chevydlrmn]

the last time I checked, Wednesday, there were only 3 within 150 miles of Minneapolis. We have had 5 in. 4 of the 5 have gone to Chevrolet execs and 1 still in stock. They are pulling them all out of the SUV's and pickups. This is a good to get some on the road and recognized early. There have been at least as many if not more people coming in get a first look than the Silverado. I don't think many sales are expected until there is more inventory.

[gmmerc5]

Originally Posted by chevydlrmn

the last time I checked, Wednesday, there were only 3 within 150 miles of Minneapolis. We have had 5 in. 4 of the 5 have gone to Chevrolet execs and 1 still in stock. They are pulling them all out of the SUV's and pickups. This is a good to get some on the road and recognized early. There have been at least as many if not more people coming in get a first look than the Silverado. I don't think many sales are expected until there is more inventory.

Thanks for the info, I am disappointed to hear your dealer only have 5, and 4 went to GM exec, we are making them as quick as we could, 80% of our production went to the Malibu, 10 hour day.

Please keep us up to date on the sale number.

[jkr2106]

Originally Posted by Smoothcat

See, I don't think Chevy needs a competitor for the Avalon. Yes the Avalon is big, but the other half of its purpose is to be a "luxury" Toyota. Chevrolet does not need a faux-luxury car at its top end - that's what Buick is for. The RWD Chevy needs to be an Impala, but it needs to exemplify what the Chevy brand is supposed to be: value. In this case, a large, powerful RWD car for a good price (i.e., do what the Charger has failed to do). There doesn't need to be any other car above the Malibu.

I think that Buick is a Lexus-fighter. It shouldn't have the full lineup Lexus does (ie- suvs-GMC and rwd excitement-Pontiac G8+alpha) but it should have the Chinese Park Avenue to fight the LS460, but more importantly a LaCrosse that will clobber the ES and an Enclave that demolishes the RX (imo it already does). Thats the essense of Lexus (RX and ES). Thats where all the volume comes from, etc... So really, there is no place for a huge fwd Lucerne type car to fight the Avalon. There should only be cars that are near-luxury. So bump the big fwd car down to Chevy.

I actually just read what DuSpinnst said about them doing both and not having decided which to carry the Impala name and thats probably right. I hope the Impala stays FWD because it has a name in that segment as a FWD family car with very high awareness which translates to very good sales. The RWD sedan really should have its own image; i think the Impala name has come to be associated with a tame family car.

[chevydlrmn]

there are 50 LS's in 330 miles, 50 LT's in 317 miles, and 50 LTZ's in 320 miles. I searched in Dealerworld for a max results of 50 in 3000 miles. So my previous post was incorrect of 3. That was LTZ's in 150 miles. There are decent amounts in the North Central region. I know I would like more for inventory, but this is the best way to get them on the roads, not in fleets. I think it says, "our bigshots drive these instead of our trucks" and that says how good they are. Prior to our Merger, I had sold our first Cobalt SS Supercharged, Trailblazer SS, Impala SS and Monte Carlo SS, I would enjoy selling the first again. Poppin the cherry!

[gmmerc5]

Originally Posted by chevydlrmn

there are 50 LS's in 330 miles, 50 LT's in 317 miles, and 50 LTZ's in 320 miles. I searched in Dealerworld for a max results of 50 in 3000 miles. So my previous post was incorrect of 3. That was LTZ's in 150 miles. There are decent amounts in the North Central region. I know I would like more for inventory, but this is the best way to get them on the roads, not in fleets. I think it says, "our bigshots drive these instead of our trucks" and that says how good they are. Prior to our Merger, I had sold our first Cobalt SS Supercharged, Trailblazer SS, Impala SS and Monte Carlo SS, I would enjoy selling the first again. Poppin the cherry!

That is more like it, with the rate we're building them, and 2 Saturdays production are scheduled for the month of December, I am glad to see where our hard work went to and more to come.

I hope you will continue with your past sucess and will be the first one in your dealership to sell the first Malibu and many more to come.

[rueben44]

Originally Posted by Smoothcat

See, I don't think Chevy needs a competitor for the Avalon. Yes the Avalon is big, but the other half of its purpose is to be a "luxury" Toyota. Chevrolet does not need a faux-luxury car at its top end - that's what Buick is for. The RWD Chevy needs to be an Impala, but it needs to exemplify what the Chevy brand is supposed to be: value. In this case, a large, powerful RWD car for a good price (i.e., do what the Charger has failed to do). There doesn't need to be any other car above the Malibu.

You are totally right that is called product over lap and that is what GM has been doing. Thing is if Buick builds product like Enclave it does not take that long to be a Lexus competitor. The issue is Gm has not being doing that and has be rebadging Chevy's and Pontiac's in essence. Chevy should have a top tier RWD sedan that starts around 25K and Holden has then right now with Chevy badges that is the sad part about it. Buick is FWD and I am fine with that as long as they do it right. Pontiac is sport and I am fine with that. That mean we need a rwd sedan that is more middle of the road as a Chevy.

[racy]

Originally Posted by JBsZ06

The rwd with a 6.2 430hp v8 sounds awesome.

Thats what an impala should be.

I'd say the chrysler 300 c proved its a viable product platform in the segment..

JB

That sounds fine and dandy....until $5.00/gal fuel prices hit. Then what? GM had better have a damned good plan "B".

I am the loudest cheerleader for a 6.2l RWD Impala and a Blown Camaro. But the fact that oil last week closed at just under $100/barrel makes me very nervous. I haven't read a single source who believes oil prices will ever go down. Furthermore, its a bad sign when the Chevron CEO declares oil a "scarcity" in the near future and announces that by project, alternative fuels is single largest funded R&D project inhouse.

BP now likes to call themselves "Beyond Petroleum". Hmmmm.

So yes, a trick 400 hp Impala is great - but $5/gal fuel suddenly makes it not so cool anymore. At $5/gal, there will be two great lines in this country: (1)Those lining up to fill up their V8s with gas, and (2) Those lining up to buy hybrids. I just hope that by then GM has a worthy product for those in the second line.

P.S. Will a single bottle of Torco added to 92 octane pump gas, bring up the octane level enough to run 13.5:1 SCR ? I am about ready to pull the trigger on a high CR engine to run E85 - but until they start selling it within a 10 mile range, I am planning on running gas+Torco. The nearest E85 pump is 20 miles out.

[mkaresh]

Originally Posted by racy

That sounds fine and dandy....until $5.00/gal fuel prices hit. Then what? GM had better have a damned good plan "B".

I am the loudest cheerleader for a 6.2l RWD Impala and a Blown Camaro. But the fact that oil last week closed at just under $100/barrel makes me very nervous. I haven't read a single source who believes oil prices will ever go down. Furthermore, its a bad sign when the Chevron CEO declares oil a "scarcity" in the near future and announces that by project, alternative fuels is single largest funded R&D project inhouse.

BP now likes to call themselves "Beyond Petroleum". Hmmmm.

So yes, a trick 400 hp Impala is great - but $5/gal fuel suddenly makes it not so cool anymore. At $5/gal, there will be two great lines in this country: (1)Those lining up to fill up their V8s with gas, and (2) Those lining up to buy hybrids. I just hope that by then GM has a worthy product for those in the second line.

P.S. Will a single bottle of Torco added to 92 octane pump gas, bring up the octane level enough to run 13.5:1 SCR ? I am about ready to pull the trigger on a high CR engine to run E85 - but until they start selling it within a 10 mile range, I am planning on running gas+Torco. The nearest E85 pump is 20 miles out.

What's the S in SCR? And which engine is going to be available with such a compression ratio? Sounds like I missed some bit of news or rumor.

[JBsZ06]

I don't believe the 6.2 liter 430 hp v8 is necessarily a gas guzzler..

With DOD, Direct Injection and a good six speed automatic or better yet dual clutch sequential clutch...25 mpg real world is more than possible..

My 99 C5 A4 with 380 hp that ran 12.90's @ 109mph in the quarter mile averaged over 26000 miles 22 mpg..

Thats without the benefit of Direct Injection, DOD or a six speed automatic or better yet DSG..

Yes the impala may weight an additional 900 lbs than a C5 but I still think with the technology advances over the past decade the 6.2 liter can not only out power but get better gas milage as well...

Call me an optimist but at 100 dollars a barrel it won't be much longer when biofuel will allow gas to brought back down to a dollar a gallon..(5 years tops)

The bigger threat for V8's is this nonsensical emissions requirement that is totally uncalled for..

At this point in time.. environmentalists should go after stationery emissions producers if they really care about the environment..

I'll pay for the gas and enjoy the 30 grand V8 impala SS and pass on the 60 grand Audi S5 or S6....

Or better yet Mercedes benz C63 which I love but gets 10 mpg?

Originally Posted by racy

That sounds fine and dandy....until $5.00/gal fuel prices hit. Then what? GM had better have a damned good plan "B".

I am the loudest cheerleader for a 6.2l RWD Impala and a Blown Camaro. But the fact that oil last week closed at just under $100/barrel makes me very nervous. I haven't read a single source who believes oil prices will ever go down. Furthermore, its a bad sign when the Chevron CEO declares oil a "scarcity" in the near future and announces that by project, alternative fuels is single largest funded R&D project inhouse.

BP now likes to call themselves "Beyond Petroleum". Hmmmm.

So yes, a trick 400 hp Impala is great - but $5/gal fuel suddenly makes it not so cool anymore. At $5/gal, there will be two great lines in this country: (1)Those lining up to fill up their V8s with gas, and (2) Those lining up to buy hybrids. I just hope that by then GM has a worthy product for those in the second line.

P.S. Will a single bottle of Torco added to 92 octane pump gas, bring up the octane level enough to run 13.5:1 SCR ? I am about ready to pull the trigger on a high CR engine to run E85 - but until they start selling it within a 10 mile range, I am planning on running gas+Torco. The nearest E85 pump is 20 miles out.