Because someone brought up the Impala and it staying FWD as being a bad thing...
I want GM to be profitable.. so they don't go down the same road they just came from.. or the same road in FACT.. that the only other manufacturer of RWD mainstream cars for the masses is currently on. Yes.. I'm talking about Chrysler. They manufacturer RWD vehicles in the mainstream line-up and STILL.. are having financial issues. The also send a huge majority of those vehicles to FLEET.
GM offers the Camaro and Corvette as their mainstream RWD vehicles. IF they could have continued the G8 as the Caprice for mass consumption.. built in NA, then I wouldn't have squawked. But to turn a 250K+ unit per year vehicle into a RWD vehicle for mass consumption would be ludicrous. Especially considering it would probably tap out at 100K in sales. To do that they would have to sell it at G8 prices +$2K.. with no incentives. ($29K-$40K)... and the majority of those would have to be V6s to keep CAFE off your back. Doing RWD in Cadillac is the way to go because it's low volume. Having a RWD ENTHUSIAST vehicle at Chevy... the mass producing division at GM is suicidal... and V6 sales of the Camaro better get more of the share, or the Camaro's days will be numbered again.
So ultimately I'm saying "Eff RWD on everything advocates!" And I have 3 RWD vehicles and love them to death... but if the my CTS-V and Vette came in AWD I would have bought those version in a heartbeat. GM needs to move forward.. and give the buyer what it wants. Catering to a strict diet of enthusiasts who take up maaaaybe 20% of the total market,
10% of that 20 who either buy their ENTHUSIAST cars used or not at all, would lead GM right back down the same path that brought us crap like the SSR or last gen Monte Carlo. Look how well its done for Chrysler. REEEEEEEEEEEAL well.
U fellas need to look at this from a BUSINESS point of view, and not the ENTHUSIAST one. That is... if U are gonna discuss product and development outside the realm of competition. Track or otherwise.
It's funny tho. Many of U praise Alan Mullaly and Ford for their direction, yet scathe GM for not going in the opposite. Quiet as it's kept.. FORD ONLY HAS ONE RWD car in it's line-up left. The Crown/Grand Marquis were hardly something to be proud of either, but still gone nonetheless. Nissan only has the 370Z outside of it's niche brand Infiniti. Toyota has none. Honda has none.
Who are trying to compete with then?
Ultimately I have heard nothing but praise and wishful wanting plees for the new Ford Taurus, but then we see people denouncing the idea of a completely competitive Impala using the same engineering policy. That is taking a High Near-Lux vehicle (MKS in the Taurus's case) and turning it into a dumbed down version to appeal top the masses with a "WOW... look at what I can get in a lowly Taurus" effect. The Lacrosse can be this to the Impala.. or more precisely.. the SAAB 9-5.. since Saab seems to riding with the "Boat Man" possibly real soon. I say why waste a stellar car when Chevy needs an updated vehicle ASAP.
The vehicles are literally ready for launch. Anyone looking at the 9-5 and not seeing a vehicle that is low-key enuff to make it as a Chevy Impala is absolutely bonkers. I mean it is plain in a way that screams "200K sales per year." It's low key in a way that screams another 200K sales per year in Europe as a Chevy Flagship.. .or even dare I say... OPEL FLAGSHIP. Yup. That's a no-brainer in a loooooong line of no-brainers. Opel currently has the Insignia, a car the same size as our upcoming regal as it's top ride. WHY would GM not take the 9-5 and make it the Flagship of the Opel brand in Europe? Why would they not take that very same car and give it slightly less expensive leather... a cloth seat option, and a 3.6L Turbo and make it the 2011 Chevy Impala to RIP the A-Hole outta the Ford Taurus the way Big Milo did to Lil Willy in their cell on the block back at San Quinton.
