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General Motors Vehicle Platforms Explained

63K views 34 replies 22 participants last post by  DmitryKo  
#1 ·
General Motors Vehicle Platforms Explained from the Gamma to the All-New GM Omega Platform
Auto Evolution
by Mircea Panait
31st March 2015

As an automobile manufacturer, General Motors is well aware of the building blocks to production success - lesser vehicle platforms than before. In addition to that, GM higher-ups also know that to be competitive in this day and age, they need to offer the neatest platform technologies currently available without increasing production costs.

GM Delta platform (aka Global Compact Vehicle architecture)
- Description: this compact front-wheel drive car and crossover SUV platform debuted on the 2003 Saturn Ion. It replaces the old-school platforms like the GM T, GM J and the GM Z platform of the Saturn S-Series.

GM Theta platform
- Description: introduced in 2002 for compact/mid-size crossover SUVs. What is known as the GM Theta Premium is a variant of the platform that was used by the 2010 - 2015 model year Cadillac SRX and the 2001 Saab 9-4x compact luxury crossover SUV.

GM D2XX/D2UX platform
- Description: this is where it gets interesting. The GM D2XX/D2UX architecture replaces the GM Delta II. It was introduced in August 2012, and it allegedly cost $220 million to be developed. This metal skeleton is also replacing the crossover-only GM Theta platform.

GM Alpha platform
- Description: put simply, the GM Alpha platform was developed to replace the old as socks GM Sigma. It was reportedly engineered to be as light as possible in order to deliver “world-class driving dynamics.”

GM Epsilon platform
- Description: from 2002 to this day, the GM Epsilon played the role of compact, mid-size and large car platform for the Detroit-based manufacturer. Certain reports suggest that Opel developed it in Germany.

GM E2XX platform
- Description: currently under development, the E2XX will replace the GM Epsilon II architecture. The GM Lambda platform will be phased out in favor of the GM C1XX (Chi) platform, believed to be derived from the E2XX. The 2016 Chevrolet Malibu (and next-gen Opel/Vauxhall Insignia) are underpinned by the E2XX.

GM P2XX platform
The longer variant of the GM E2XX is believed to be the backbone of the 2016 Buick LaCrosse, as well as the next-gen Chevrolet Impala full-size sedan.

GM C1XX platform
In a nutshell, the C1XX is believed to be the mid-size and full-size crossover architecture derived from the GM E2XX.

GM Omega platform
- Description: Introduced at the 2015 New York Auto Show on the 2016 Cadillac CT6 full-size luxobarge, some voices claim that the GM Omega platform is an extension of the GM Alpha platform. The platform is modular enough to be adapted for full-size SUVs.

*Full Article and Complete Platform List at Link
 
#4 ·
In algebra if you have a bunch of x's on both sides of the equation, you get to factor them out. And a double xx? WHY?

When I saw the K2xx designation I thought it was pretty dumb, but then thought maybe the next generation would be like K2yx or maybe K3yy. That way they get really granular about the generations.

Now I find out the next one's going to be TKxx. So they could have just called it "K" and the next on "T" since the 2 and xx's really meant nothing.

I'm actually kind of glad they are getting rid of the greek jargon and just going back to letters.
 
#14 ·
I can see why GM is developing a single highly modular/scalable platform. This is just down right confusing.

Maybe it just me, but the old GM platform nomenclature seemed simpler.
A-Body (Midsize)
B-Body (Full Size)
N-Body (Compact)
M-Body (Subcompact)

Etc...........
i miss those names, so much easier lol
 
#17 ·
GM needs more flexible architectures like what VW has. They seem to be on the right track and far gone from their days with too much duplicated effort.
 
#21 ·
1st Position is the platform:
A - Alpha
D – Delta
G – Gamma
E – Epsilon
P – Premium Epsilon (XTS)
Y – Corvette
L – Lambda
K – Trucks

2nd Position is platform Generation

3rd Position is body style:
A – Convertible
B – Coupe
S – Sedan
J – Hatchback
K - CUV?
L – Long Wheel Base Sedan
U – Crossover
Y – SUV/Truck


4th Position is brand:
C – Chevrolet
L – Cadillac
B – Buick
O – Opel
G – GMC
H - Holden
 
#24 ·
From what I can find, "J" cover wagons/hatchbacks. I haven't been able to find or verify anything for a LWB wagon. In fact, I haven't found anything beyond the "S" for sedan and "L" for LWB sedan for any of the other vehicles. That was designated to differentiate between the Alpha ATS (A1SL) / CTS (A1LL) and Omega CT6 (O1SL) CT8? (O1LL).

If Cadillac or Chevy get a second Alpha based coupe (we have A1BL and A1BC), there would need to be a second coupe body style code used.
 
#23 ·
To really muck up the conversation, there is a new platform in the works called 9Bxx and 9Cxx. The B and C are for segment, not platform. WTH the 9 is for, I don't know for sure, but I do know that this will be replacing the Gamma platform around the end of the decade. ;)
 
#28 · (Edited)
Dude,

Corvette is "Baby Jesus" at Chevrolet. What do you expect? REALLY?

"We ALL LOVE BABY JESUS, and wish we could drive one like that..."

I jest, but, Corvette does their own thing. REALLY.

And, thank God for that, or we could have ended up with some Roger Smith-designed-Berettavette with an Iron Duke in it. Lovely, eh? N-O-T!!!! Considering what GM could have done to make things worse can be fun at times - though they already found the fences in many areas ...

- D
 
#29 ·
Alpha is the end result of what started off planned as Kappa.

When Bob Lutz came to GM, he championed the idea of a small, RWD, 4 cylinder-centric platform that would be the basis of coupes, sedans, sports cars, and the like. It would be conventionally made (stamped structural pieces), lightweight, and he visioned it as the basis for a new "Mustang", in that it would be made in high volume, fun to drive, and sporty (the "Kappa" concepts from GM....Nomad, Curve, etc.. were based on this idea). We know today, GM was essentially broke, and didn't have the money to do the platform. This idea was put on the shelf as a "someday" platform, as GM didn't have the cash to do something like this, and what essentially was a lower cost version of Corvette's structure served as the basis of the 2 passenger Solstice and it's variations, but the structure was grossly impractical for any other vehicles.

The platform we know as Alpha moved to the forefront again when GM was looking to rebuild Pontiac about a decade ago. The Australian Zeta platform was going to handle large cars both there and in the US (especially at Pontiac), and the Alpha was viewed as the basis for replacement for the Pontiac G6 and potentially shared with Buick. That was put on hold when GM started looking at turning Pontiac into a niche brand, essentially selling Holden Zetas out of Buick showrooms under the Pontiac badge.

Alpha again came to light immediately as soon as GM came out of bankruptcy. Selling off both Opel and Holden was seemingly a certainty, and GM would be left without a volume RWD platform, nor a modern midsized platform. Also, Zeta wasn't weight effective below a certain size, and CAFE standards were headed up again. This time, GM couldn't afford not to make Alpha. But instead of the role of a small RWD vehicle, the platform was engineered to have parts easily added for usage in larger vehicles as well. The same platform under a small 3200 pound 4 cylinder ATS is under the 2 ton supercharged, mega-powered CTSv. The platform is adaptable enough (like Zeta) to play around with the front wheel to passenger compartment distance for the Camaro. And you'll see an awful lot of Alpha looking parts (in aluminum as well as the HS steel) in the Omega.

Epsilon was developed in Germany by Opel (no maybes about it). At the time, GM was spreading platform development across the globe via what was then called "homerooms". Australia had the responsibility for volume RWD, Korea for small FWD, Opel for FWD midsized, and US had trucks and the center for engineering changes for global platforms sold in North America.
 
#34 · (Edited)
From my post in a 2012-era thread, GM to launch new global platform with next Chevy Cruze, sources say:

FYI, trying to make sense of Future GM cars and trucks, it looks like the old GMX/GMT internal model/program designations have been replaced by new four-letter codes, which explicitly include platform, body type and brand:

1st position - platform: A - Alpha (rear-drive compact), D - Delta (compact/crossover), G - Gamma (subcompact/crossover), E - Epsilon (mid-size/full-size car) , P - premium (super) Epsilon (full-size), Y - Corvette (Y-body), L - Lambda (mid-size crossover), K - Kappa (full-size truck/SUV, ex-GMT900)
2nd position - car model generation
3rd position - body type: S - sedan, J - hatchback, L - long wheelbase sedan, U - crossover (CUV), Y - SUV/truck, A - convertible, B - coupe
4th position - GM brand: C - Chevrolet, L - Cadillac, B - Buick, O - Opel/Vauxhall, G - GMC
5th position - optional qualifier: -N - North American version, I - electric hybrid


Thoroughly Googling through LinkedIn.com job profiles results in the following list of valid product codes:


  • D2XX - global Delta platform (Delta II) (jobs span US, Korea and China)
  • E2XX - global Epsilon platform (Epsilon II) (current vehicles still use old GMX system)
  • K2XX - 2014 successor to the GMT-900 platform

  • D1SC-N - 2010 NA Chevrolet Cruze
  • D2SC-N - 2016 NA Chevrolet Cruze

  • D1JCI - Chevrolet Volt
  • D1JOI - Opel Ampera
  • D1SB - Chinese Buick Excelle GT sedan
  • D1SB-N - NA Buick Verano
  • D1BLI - Cadillac ELR coupe

  • G1JC - Chevrolet Sonic hatchback
  • G1SC - Chevrolet Sonic sedan
  • G1UC - Chevrolet Traxx
  • G1UO - Opel Mokka

  • E2SC - 2014 Chevrolet Malibu refresh???

  • P1LL - 2013 Cadillac XTS

  • A1SL - 2013 Cadillac ATS
  • A1LL - 2013 Cadillac CTS
  • A1AL -2013 Cadillac ATS convertible
  • A1BL - 2014 Cadillac ATS coupe

  • Y1BC - 2014 Chevrolet Corvette C7

  • K2UC - 2014 Chevrolet Tahoe
  • K2UG - 2014 GMC Yukon
The article cited in this thread does provide some new information, which can be used to look up LinkedIn.com job profiles for some new codes.

New GM platforms (1st character): C - Crossover (full-size/mid-size, based on Epsilon) , O - Omega (rear-drive full-size, based on Alpha), M - Micro-Gamma (sub-compact), T - next-gen full-size truck?
New body types (3rd character): X - SUT?, C - crew cab?, K - crossover (micro-van)
New optional qualifiers (5th character): Z - EV (electric vehicle), -S - China (Shanghai-GM)


New vehicle program codes (only those that can be confirmed on LinkedIn):


  • D2UX - global Delta platform (Delta 2) , crossover vehicles
  • G2UX - next-gen global Gamma platform (Gamma 3), crossover vehicles
  • M2XX - next-gen global Micro-Gamma platform (Gamma 3), micro-vehicles
  • T1XX - next-gen Truck platform
  • 9BXX - next-gen small car???

  • Y1AC - 2014 Chevrolet Corvette C7 convertible

  • G2KCZ - 2017 Chevrolet Bolt

  • O1SL - 2017 Cadillac CT6
  • O1LL - 2020 Cadillac CT8

  • A1BC - 2017 Chevrolet Camaro
  • A1AC - 2017 Chevrolet Camaro convertible

  • D2JCI - 2016 Chevrolet Volt
  • D2LC - 2017 Chevrolet Cruze LWB sedan
  • D2LC-N 2017 Chevrolet Cruze LWB sedan (North America)
  • D2SC - 2016 Chevrolet Cruze sedan (International/Europe)
  • D2SC-S 2016 Chevrolet Cruze sedan (Shanghai-GM)
  • D2SC-N 2016 Chevrolet Cruze sedan (North America)
  • D2JC - 2016 Chevrolet Cruze hatchback

  • D2UB - 2016 Buick Envision
  • D2UC - 2016 Chevrolet Captiva
  • D2UH - 2016 Holden Captiva

  • E2SC - 2016 Chevrolet Malibu
  • E2LB - 2017 Buick Lacrosse

  • C1YB - 2017 Buick Enclave
  • C1YC - 2017 Chevrolet Traverse

  • C1UG - 2017 GMC Acadia
  • C1UL - 2017 Cadillac SRX

  • K2XL - 2015 Cadillac Escalade
  • K2CG - 2015 GMC Sierra
 
#35 · (Edited)
To recap, here is how the current five-letter system for GM program and project designation looks like:

1. Platform

A - Alpha, rear-drive compact/mid-size car
C - Crossover, full-size/mid-size CUV, based on Epsilon
D - Delta, compact car/CUV
E - Epsilon, mid-size/full-size car
G - Gamma, subcompact car/CUV
K - Truck, full-size truck/SUV (ex-GMT900)
M - Micro, micro car (based on short Gamma)
O - Omega, rear-drive full-size car (based on Alpha)
P - Premium Epsilon, full-size luxury car
T - Truck, full-size truck/SUV (will replace K)
Y - Y-body, Corvette, sports car

2. Car generation


3. Body type

A - convertible
B - coupe
C - Crew cabin/truck?
J - hatchback
K - wagon? micro-van?
L - long wheelbase sedan
S - sedan
U - crossover (CUV)
X - SUT?
Y - SUV?



4. GM brand

B - Buick
C - Chevrolet
G - GMC
H - Holden
L - Cadillac
O - Opel/Vauxhall


5. Optional qualifier

-N - North America
-S - Shanghai-GM (China)
I - Hybrid electric vehicle
Z - EV (electric vehicle)