DETROIT — Financially troubled General Motors will be relying heavily on its front-wheel-drive cars in the future, Inside Line has learned.
The bulk of GM's car sales volume in the future will come from front-wheel-drive platforms: the compact Delta (e.g., Saturn Ion); the midsize Epsilon (Chevrolet Malibu); and the new full-size Chi.
The Saturn Ion was the first North American car derived from Delta. It was followed by the Chevrolet Cobalt. The 2006 Chevrolet HHR, just now being introduced, is the third. A fourth, the Pontiac Pursuit, is for Canada only. The Delta cars will receive a face-lift in model-year 2008, with a full redesign not slated until after 2010, supplier sources told Inside Line.
The midsize Epsilon is GM's workhorse platform. In North America, it will underpin vehicles from six different brands by 2010, including replacements for the Buick LaCrosse, the Chevrolet Malibu, the Pontiac G6 and the Saab 9-3, as well as the new Cadillac BLS and the Saturn Aura, sources told Inside Line. When the Malibu sedan is redesigned, the five-door Maxx will be dropped.
GM also is developing a new full-size front-wheel-drive platform called Chi, though it has not yet been fully approved and funded. It would be the basis for proposed replacements for the Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS and Chevrolet Impala. The first models would not arrive until 2011 at the earliest.
What it means to you: GM will offer buyers a long menu of front-wheel-drive cars in the future. Whether it will have any customers at that point remains to be seen.
The bulk of GM's car sales volume in the future will come from front-wheel-drive platforms: the compact Delta (e.g., Saturn Ion); the midsize Epsilon (Chevrolet Malibu); and the new full-size Chi.
The Saturn Ion was the first North American car derived from Delta. It was followed by the Chevrolet Cobalt. The 2006 Chevrolet HHR, just now being introduced, is the third. A fourth, the Pontiac Pursuit, is for Canada only. The Delta cars will receive a face-lift in model-year 2008, with a full redesign not slated until after 2010, supplier sources told Inside Line.
The midsize Epsilon is GM's workhorse platform. In North America, it will underpin vehicles from six different brands by 2010, including replacements for the Buick LaCrosse, the Chevrolet Malibu, the Pontiac G6 and the Saab 9-3, as well as the new Cadillac BLS and the Saturn Aura, sources told Inside Line. When the Malibu sedan is redesigned, the five-door Maxx will be dropped.
GM also is developing a new full-size front-wheel-drive platform called Chi, though it has not yet been fully approved and funded. It would be the basis for proposed replacements for the Buick Lucerne, Cadillac DTS and Chevrolet Impala. The first models would not arrive until 2011 at the earliest.
What it means to you: GM will offer buyers a long menu of front-wheel-drive cars in the future. Whether it will have any customers at that point remains to be seen.
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