Alpha platform = smaller; what does it mean?
 

Okay, I get that a frame can be made lighter with better materials and better engineering, but I don't get the part about the alpha platform being smaller.

What I mean is, if the alpha platform is smaller, it means that there is less cabin room and trunk space too right? Is that the problem with the Zeta?

The reason I'm confused is that I don't think the Camaro is that big in the cabin in the first place. Unlike the Challenger, it can't sit 5. It can barely sit 4, so doesn't it mean that moving to the alpha platform will mean even less cabin space?

Also another thing I'm confused with is: will the alpha platform enable better outward visibility without changing its looks? I mean: if the 5th gen Camaro were to have come out on the alpha platform, would it have looked basically the same but with more outward visibility? Maybe it's a silly question, but one person made the comment was that the alpha platform was such a huge improvement over the zeta platform, and I'm wondering what exactly might that mean.

To summarize:
1) I get it's smaller and lighter. Question: is that all the benefit? Will it mean less cabin space? If not, how can it have the same cabin space?

2) will outward visibility improve, or has that got nothing to do with the platform?

Thanks!

does anyone have an answer to this? I really don't know what the science is behind "platforms". For example, I don't know how the Mustang can be a smaller "platform" and still have the same cabin space. Where does the space come from? Is it reduced hood space?

The platform is smaller not necessarily the car that sits on it. The new CTS will be on it also and it is supposed to grow so I wouldn't worry to much.

:word: The car will remain similar.

That's the part I don't get. I think of "platform" as some sort of frame design and layout for the drive train. It determines the length, width and wheelbase of the car.

That's why I'm confused how a platform can be smaller and yet the size remain the same?

That's so far out if it's even happening at all, why worry?

:word::thumbsup:
But you never know if a V8 will still be available by Gen 6.

It better have a pushrod V-8 of at least 5.7 liters that runs on all 8 cylinders or it will never see my garage.

I heard mention that there will be smaller overhangs on the front and back bumpers (i.e. tires closer to the extreme corners of the car) that'll mean better handling and weight distribution. but it also means that they will probably be a similar wheelbase meaning the cabin will probably be a similar size. Just the frame "pick up points" where the body attaches will change. You'd be surprised how much they can change on a car without affecting how it looks from the outside. and remember, "smaller" is a relative word in teh car world. It's not gonna be the size of a beetle, I'd be surprised if it was much more than 2-3 " shorter/narrower (body work speaking, the frame is likely to be very different)

I wouldn't expect to see anything drastic. it certainly won't be the same difference as between the gen4 and 5 cars. Like everything else, the first crack at something is never the best. These are great cars, don't get me wrong. But by 2014 they'll have had some great real world test data, and time to get a good look at what can be tweaked to make it just a bit better.

Right now it's an axe murderer, deadly and effective, but not as clean an precise as it could be.

gen6's are going to be like Dexter. Calculated, extremley smart, and just better than everyone else at what they do.

:laugh: nice comparison!

this thread is not about the engine that will go into it, just the platform it will sit on.

they can stretch the platform to fit the camaro

example being the s 10 pickups and suv both sat on the GMT 325 platform, but the frames are competly different , but they share the same suspension systems ect

This is hard as hell to explain without an engineering background. Number 3 can do a much better job, but I'll try.

Basically, a platform is the basic underlying architecture of the car. GM has a bunch of them, from FWD compact platforms to FWD/AWD midsize platforms to RWD truck/SUV platforms, etc. Platforms are designed specifically for one drivetrain or sometimes to incorporate AWD as well. The car is basically built up from the platform.

As such, the platform limits what you can and can't do with the design/engineering of the car. All of these complexities are things that I have very little knowledge about, so I won't even attempt to explain them.

However, there can be variants of a platform. For example, the new Epsilon-II FWD midsize sedan platform has spawned at least two, maybe three different variants, a SWB platform which underpins the Opel/Vauxhall Insignia and 2011 Buick Regal, a LWB platform which underpins the Buick LaCrosse/next-gen Chevrolet Malibu, and supposedly a premium variant that the XTS Concept is built on. This holds true for the Alpha platform, as the 3rd generation CTS will supposedly ride on an extended version of the ATS's Alpha platform.

When we say the Alpha platform will be smaller, we're comparing it to the current RWD Zeta architecture that underpins the current Camaro. Cabin space is something that we know nothing about for now since there aren't any existing cars currently on the Alpha platform. However, there are ways of engineering the car so that cabin space is maximized even on a small platform. Take a look at the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze for example. It's built on the FWD compact Delta-II platform but has interior space rivaling some midsize sedans (which will be a major selling point for it).

hmmm... so going off this, a 'platform' is basically a standard group of equipment that a vehicle can be built upon? for example: same breaks, suspension, power train, frame material etc.

-edit- ah, fenwick posted RIGHT before me heheh