[FenwickHockey65]

[FenwickHockey65]

Well, hope arises yet again...

Tom Stephens, GM's new vice chairman of global product development, said yesterday that they're still talking about saving the G8...either Chevy or Buick.

[carsismeZ06]

Chevelle!!!!!


http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/6268/coupe6024fnc2.jpg

Just put a Chevy badge, rework the body a bit, save the sidepipes and diffuser, and If it don't sell, I'll buy 3,000 of them.

[stovt001]

Originally Posted by FenwickHockey65

Well, hope arises yet again...

Tom Stephens, GM's new vice chairman of global product development, said yesterday that they're still talking about saving the G8...either Chevy or Buick.

I just saw that here: http://www.leftlanenews.com/gm-consi...ore-brand.html

He says a G8-based Impala isn't too likely since Chevrolet already has a lot of Sedans. He's right. The new Malibu is about as large as the current Impala, and is there really a market for larger mainstream sedans? How many Maximas and Avalons do you see? I think Chevrolet can get away with just killing off the Impala for now.

On the other hand, Buick only has two sedans and a crossover now, all FWD or AWD, so a fourth model differentiated from the rest with RWD would round out the brand nicely. The G8 could easily be spruced up a bit to take on a mid-range premium feel. I'm not getting my hopes up, but it could work.

[BowtieGuy]

Ha, beware the return of the GSX

[tjbusa]

Back to the topic, I hope they do but leave the LS3 alone, good God, I remember when they quit building camaros in 2002. I had a 01 and life was good then GM started building GTO's and Trailblazers with LS2's. Leave the big LS motors where they should, in the corvettes and camaros.... just my 2cents

[Vash]

Make a stretch Camaro. Camaro EL and Camaro 2EL and maybe Camaro SS EL lol.

4 door.

[syr74]

Originally Posted by stovt001

I just saw that here: http://www.leftlanenews.com/gm-consi...ore-brand.html

He says a G8-based Impala isn't too likely since Chevrolet already has a lot of Sedans. He's right. The new Malibu is about as large as the current Impala, and is there really a market for larger mainstream sedans? How many Maximas and Avalons do you see? I think Chevrolet can get away with just killing off the Impala for now.

On the other hand, Buick only has two sedans and a crossover now, all FWD or AWD, so a fourth model differentiated from the rest with RWD would round out the brand nicely. The G8 could easily be spruced up a bit to take on a mid-range premium feel. I'm not getting my hopes up, but it could work.

Sounds great, but for the fact that Cadillac currently has an Epsilon based-based DTS replacement in the works and the Sigma-based CTS is slated to get larger next go-round, becoming a full flegged 5-Series competitor.

How does any of that make any sense? How do you release that in a statement? 'Our Buick brand may now roll out a car based on a superior platform to the unit which underpins our largest Cadillac offering for a lower price despite similarities in size and layout.'

And how on again off again is Zeta going to be? Sigma lite was canned as a potential Camaro chassis due to costs with GM instead charging Australia with development of the new Zeta platform as a global, rwd piece. What do we get for all that effort and money? A Zeta platfrom that is itself rumored to be ridiculously expensive to produce and which is less flexible than Sigma for their trouble! Almost certainly it would have been cheaper to produce the Camaro on the Sigma platform, and the car would undoubtedly have been lighter too.

And now, in this new GM we see no more clarity regarding platform heirarchy or brand distinction than we did before! Does GM have any idea where they are going or how to get there? Is somebody actually manning the helm?

[GatorBlue371]

Originally Posted by tjbusa

Back to the topic, I hope they do but leave the LS3 alone, good God, I remember when they quit building camaros in 2002. I had a 01 and life was good then GM started building GTO's and Trailblazers with LS2's. Leave the big LS motors where they should, in the corvettes and camaros.... just my 2cents

Whats wrong with a GTO getting an LS engine??

[fbodfather]

Originally Posted by stovt001

I think Chevrolet can get away with just killing off the Impala for now.

.

Go look at how many we sell each year!

[stovt001]

Originally Posted by fbodfather

Go look at how many we sell each year!

The most recent numbers I could get were for mid-year 2006, so the numbers are a bit outdated. If you have more recent numbers, please post. Anyway, for midway through 2006, out of 120,000 Impala sales, a whopping 54,000 of them were retail. The rest were fleet sales. Fleet sales are little-to-no profit sales designed to ease overcapacity problems. So while the volume is high, selling an antiquated vehicle at no profit makes sense only to deal with GM's bloat of manufacturing capacity.

[GatorBlue371]

Originally Posted by fbodfather

Go look at how many we sell each year!

Its true the Impala is a big seller, it wouldnt be good for bizz to kill it off.


However, the G8 imo is one of the best rounded vehicles GM makes. It is odd that it hasnt sold better.


Personally, id say diesel should be an immediate concern for the future of GM products, including a ''future G8''. Diesel runs cleaner, cheaper and with great response to aftermarket like turbo's. BMW is coming out with their first 3-series diesel, im hoping GM gets on that bandwagon.

[fastball]

Originally Posted by fbodfather

Go look at how many we sell each year!

Ah, but what is your average profit margin on them? I have that old feeling that each one drives off the lot at less than 5% profit for GM due to incentives and most people who buy this car look for extreme discounts to begin with.

You want profit margin get the G8 to Chevy ASAP! Produce it in Oshawa, and get it to Chevy dealers to replace the current W-body Impala (which has got to be the most outdated chasis in GM production)

[FenwickHockey65]

GM can't get away from the current FWD Impala. It still sells as much as the Malibu.

There really is no easy solution to this whole G8 mess...