hyperv6

They found the issue. It was the Ford parts in the shared transmission. The truth is they all have isolated issues like this yes even Ford.

The idea of whoring out production selling a lot of at bargain prices to fill up the Walmart parking lots of America is no way to build an exclusive image. Porsche tried to build an image this way with the 924-944 and paid a large price for it till they wised up. Volume is great for Chevy at a value price but a expensive car needs to hold value and gain image volume does nothing for it. Even Benz learned this on the old 190. Sure they sold a lot of them but not as good in profits and the image suffered much. It was even a joke on Top Gear once. What is your next idea. We take a Malibu and make a Cadillac out of it and sell it cheap so we can say we sold 200K of them? I bet you though the Saab based Cadillac's in Europe also were a good idea? BTS or what ever they called it. What you want is a Cadillac POS because you can not grasp the global concept of building a low volume high profit luxury brand .

You would think with you and I repeating this at some point it would stick but?????

I fully expect to see even with ICE the 4 motors and brake by wire being the way forward. The ICE will generate the power for the motors in many vehicles that can not use battery power. Even in large trucks I could see this happening. We already see it in the large dumps at gravel pits as they have no mechanical connection.

Cadillac's goal is profit at their own lower volume. They are not like Benz and BMW that have to sell all and be all as GM has Chevy and all the other divisions in their quiver. Lots of arrows to cover the same ground all doing different jobs for once. As for judging Cadillac today vs. where they are going you really need to get back to the time line of what it takes to bring new product to market and just when the folks in charge got here. What we have now is not where it is going. Also we need to remember what show cars really are and that they are not real production cars let alone done under the people in charge today. You can debate this all you like but we have yet to see the first real product or first real major changes under the present management. They finally were given the time, money and autonomy to do what they need to do and we should grant them the time to show us what they will be doing. To pass judgment on them and the division a this point is impossibly short sighted. Cadillac went from standard of the world to equal with the world then sub standard of the world. We are now back to nearly equal ground but their full return is when they are the undisputed leader and that will give the ability to recapture their image. You can build the best car in the world but yet not be viewed as being it. You do need to build the best but you still have to earn that respect. At this point Cadillac is making gains and do have the right tools but they still have to earn it. The greatest asset is they don't hold the burden of being a Taxi in Johannesburg or a police car in Berlin let alone a base model for a family in Poland and an ultra luxury car in China. Yet they will net 50%+ more sales profits than all the GM car sales even at higher volumes.

Wow I really don't know where to go on this one with out being totally over the top insulting. The most polite comeback is when Pigs Fly! Not even on a Space X rocket as they need to remain alive too. Tesla will have to learn how to survive first before over taking anyone. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/31/tesla-s-model-3-could-destroy-elon-musk-s-company.html?via=desktop&source=email This is even a eco friendly site. I can say with out being insulting that you do not grasp real business in the auto world as you have proven it fact with this statement.

I would not call that ship sailed yet. You will see more EV hybrids like the CT6 driveline with longer range and more technical advancement. Even in EV form Cadillac will remain RWD/AWD. The only thing that will kill the LX is incompetence on Sergio's part. Even with the large old heavy dinosaurs they are still doing a decent volume better than most FWD large sedans but they are not making the money they should be on them with the large discounts. The fact is GM has invested int he Alpha and Omega to the point they will be around more than 10 years with future investments. GM did not sell out like Ford who now is paying a price with the Mustang being the only car on that platform. They now regret not sharing it with Lincoln as they were about to kill them. The new Conti is getting swacked for being FWD econo car based. I do see GM maybe doing the next mid sized platform to be FWD, AWD and RWD able. With today's computer engineered platforms that is very possible today and yet still let the platform flexible enough to fill many needs and roles. Now that they can merge Aluminum and High Strength Steel I see many possibilites coming about with platforms. I expect this technology to be applied to the Alpha at some point with the replaced ATS and CTS moving to the CT cars. You have a greater chance on being right that the V8 will be gone before RWD vanishes. To be honest with the torque I would not want a powerful FWD EV. FWD suck for traction and putting the power to the ground. I know first hand as I have a hell of a time just putting 300 HP to the ground with a gas FWD with 315 FT LBS. Spinning the tires at 50 MPH sucks when you want to take off hard.

I agree there is a lot you can do with EV drive motors. They are a real blessing with packaging. The real curse is the large space they take up, cost, weight and charging times. We are now seeing good range but the other issues are problematic yet. I expect improvements in the batteries but no one knows if we will see that big change with in ten years or just small jumps still looking for the solution. Now that is where the Hydrogen package really is good as the cell fits under the hood and the motors at the wheels and no large battery. The only issues are the filling times as it can take 20 min to fill a cell. Also where you can fill one. I have driven the GM Fuel Cell and it was great. Much of the GM EV driveline all crosses over.

Higher priced large sedans at low volumes still make a lot of money. In fact they are often nearly as profitable as the Trucks. This is why all the automakers are investing in their luxury lines and all are offering larger sedans. Again these cars are also sold on a global basis so the volume is spread out around the world not dependent on just one market. Come on it is 2016 not get with what is going on today.

That is fine so for 10 years you leverage out a platform you already have and make the best damn sedan in the segment offering what the others do not or have not refreshed in 12 years and mine the money globally. FYI you may want to note large sedans are declining in North America. The rest of the world is not mesmerized by CUV models. Hence again why this would be a global project. The real key to your theory is continued improvement of batteries as electrics still need to come down in price and improve in charging ability as in speed. The Volt systems need to improve in range and price too. They may but till they do we can not assume. Also GM needs to continue to cut the weight of these systems as much of their range is eaten up with moving mass. Just consider this. An Impala now is how heavy? It is right about 3800-3900 the way most are optioned. How much HP 305 HP? Now consider a Alpha Impala. With a 270 Hp Turbo 4 the Camaro is now 3367. WIth a longer wheel base a sedan could come in just over 3500 pounds as the ATS is at 3600 and the Chevy would have less content. So you are cutting 300-400 pounds and not giving up much in power and holding as much or more torque. Globally that would do well.

It is this simple. Blessing added profits. Curse the added responsibility of running the sales and service internally.

The key to the SUV over the Impala is more room and higher ground clearance. Durability still is not a strong suit but some departments will sacrifice it in the name of MPG. A Colorado based SUV would be a good option here. If GM does a RWD car they would kill the FWD Impala as why would you offer both. It is bad enough they are so close tot he Malibu in size now. You are not going to get to $28K. First that does not buy you much Malibu now let alone an Impala. Start it around 33K and top the SS at mid 40's like an SS Camaro. Special editions could be offered in low numbers at higher prices. They just pad profits. The whole point is why have a FWD Impala when you already have a new Malibu and new Lacrosse that have the whole spectrum covered? Also where else in the world would the Impala sell well other than Canada? A V6 model in a police package would give better handling, MPG and still run a high 13 second quarter performance. the same reason why you don't kill a lambda size Acadia and expect that Acadia owner to get an Enclave or a Traverse. The Impala driver doesn't want or need to step up to the LaCrosse. The LaCrosse isn't cheap enough to appeal to those who want a large fwd car unless they de-content the base version. no one buys performance cars anymore, which is why a RWD car won't sell in masses.........which is why no one buys the SS. G8 v6 sold like a turd it was, no reason to believe an Impala RWD v6 would do any better. The RWD used to own the cop segment but now they want Explorers instead. The new Malibu is a light car and the number of people who would want a larger more stout version of that in FWD is still way higher than any group that would want a Chevy badged RWD full size car at this point. The best way to do a RWD full size car would be to add it to the Buick stable as the Avenir. And then if you want to, commit to a new version of the SS, but not replace the Impala. Toyota still has the Avalon. It's a pulled Camry. That's far easier to do then a whole new chassis just because its RWD, and it won't sell in the states unless you call it a performance car. And that is a niche. GM could sell more SS if they advertised it and it looked good, but they would also have to drop the price. It's one of those deals where they may grab some sales in year 1 and 2, but after that it would be 20k a year. And they'd basically siphon the RWD crowd from Cadillac. Again think globally. All 4 GM divisions would move enough of these cars to see a good profit at even only 50K units which is very obtainable. The reason the Zeta has not sold is pretty simple. For one it is not cheap. Two it is only sold in one variation. Three it is damn old. Four the styling while not bad is nothing to get exited about. GM did not advertise it as they only expected to import a small number. They also knew this car was a lame duck coming in as they knew it was to die soon. A V6 Alpha body sedan has every reason to do well and much better than the G8. The G8 was a turd to drive. The V6 Camaro will rune 13.5-13.6 quarter mile times, drive circles around most modern day sedans even without an SS on the flank. Or do you hate to have a standard Impala that is better than some of the better performance sedans on the market. Just look at what the V6 Camaro can do and you will see a standard car of world class quality. Give me a reason to make another FWD sedan that basically matches the Lacrosse and Malibu? Why would you need a 3rd car of the same thinking? Would it be better to offer something different and something much better and newer than the LX cars? Or we can continue with the North American only Impala FWD and just watch as its sales continue to drop below 100K and match up more with the Taurus at 50K. Like it or not the Malibu as it is now will do a lot of damage to the Impala sales. It is a much better car at a cheaper price with about the same rear seat room. You could not say that last year but you can now. the Impala is still plenty larger in width and girth and legroom inside in comparison to the new Malibu. More importantly, it has a much more detailed interior, better seats, nicer dash. We know the Malibu is a nice car now but I personally know people that would think the new Malibu is still too light, not nice enough, plus, the Malibu only has 4 cylinders. If there is no other reason to have the Impala, it is because it has the 6 cylinder. The reason the Taurus is down to 50k or whatever is the new styling which was cool in 2010, wore off in 2013. The interior is not as large as the car (but it sure has a huge trunk). People complained it was large and heavy and you couldn't see out of it. My best analogy with the Impala is still the Avalon and the Maxima. Some folks don't want Camry's and Altimas because that is slumming. You send the RWD folks to Inifniti and Lexus. The LACrosse is Buicks car but the Impala does great numbers still despite that. So, difference of opinion. The G8 v6 was a turd and no one wanted it. The G8 v8 only sold as a performance car. The SS only is offered as a performance car. Much of the country due to weather and many of the buyers due to times changing just don't look for RWD cars in the showroom anymore.....the only exception is the smoky burnout / racing crowd. They are all dying off if they are any left. The younger set wants wither 3 series sized cars or WRX's and such. The smoky burnout crowd is not going to replace the current Impala volume, and the LACrosse + Malibu combo is not going to absorb the losses if you kill the fwd Impala. That's why Chevy has a 15% off MSRP incentive on unsold 2015 SS's now. The Impala is not that much larger and will only sell about 1/3 of what the Malibu will sell. What people do not like the Bu will have the Lacrosse filling the Impala role. As for those who feel tight or want a V6 Go to Buick. You are not going to make everyone happy. As for the Impala what other market other than North America would even hold an interest in it? None. The impala numbers are falling and it did hold an advantage of being newer than the Larcorsse. Well that one is gone. Having seen the new Lacrosse it make the Impala look more rental. The reason the Taurus is down is it is an expensive FWD car once options are added and the Fusion is a much better value. The Fusion has killed the Taurus and the Bu will do the same at GM. Hence attracting a new customer base with a different kind of sedan that will be much more refined and I would expect stable in sales globally. They don't have snow outside in Dubai or out back or south Africa or...... They still make a Maxima and Avalon? The Buck line would match up much better image and product wise being mostly Opel based. Some people have to have FWD all the time because they are just flat unskilled or uniformed that RWD works just fine in the snow. Funny how if RWD is that evil that anyone buys a BMW, Benz, Camaro, Mustang, even the old LX models still in good numbers. Only a small number of them here in the snow belt are AWD and we get around just fine. Not even all of them are hot rodders. Most of the remaining G8 cars are coveted and stock. There is a handful of WRX people but it is more cult like. They don't buy them for snow and most never see the snow as they have too much money wrapped up in them. The reason the SS is discounted is simple It looks old not very stylish it is anything but dramatic. it is over weight and the at the end of the line for development. On the other hand the Alpha has proven to be world class and only is at the start of the development process. They also only offer it pretty much with a sun roof or not. It is priced to the max not like a V6 Impala would be priced. Here is the simple question. You will have a near sized improved and better Malibu out there now to cannibalize the sales of the Impala like the Fusion. You have a new Lacrosse that is better than the old Impala in about every way including AWD being an option. You also have a new Regal about to arrive. Now you want to keep another FWD on the roster that has no real global market? Sorry I would take a change up here to offer something different here that could be easily supported globally vs. a declining model in a segment already saturated with like models already. That is what got GM in trouble before. Enough is enough. In the future most models will sell in modest numbers in the sedan segment with the advent of the CUV. Global sales will be needed to sustain these models as each market will add up to a decent volume that one market can no longer support. By the way if winter is that big of an issue AWD can be offered in the Impala Alpha easily enough. Mark this done in one to two years the Malibu will be much like the Fusion and dominate the segment and would kill off the impala on it's own unless it goes global. Variety and global balance are key anymore. If you were going to replace the impala with a non global product you may as well make it a CUV as a new FWD would die fast with the Impala. You will not see 100K plus units again with the Bu here now.

The real dirty fact is Tesla needs money badly. I just saw where it is estimated they are down to about 1 Billion in cash right now. The cost of the 3 and X model development has drained them. They are only pre selling the 3 not to generate money so they can continue to build it. Some estimate that they could be out of cash by 2018 if they do not deliver the 3 models buy late 17 or early 18 at the price they promised last night. Their track record of on time releases have been not so good. They will be facing more and more competition and their quality issues are very unreported. If you read up on the web sites you see many of the issues the media never tell you about. They also have a web site with a delivery inspection sheet as owners have to inspect their own cars upon delivery for issues. The fact is every car maker would love to sell direct but the old companies can not cut off the dealers they have nor can they afford to buy them out. Hence their wanting to keep with what they have. As for car sales on Sunday? I could see it in some busy locations but many dealers would mostly not see a big gain here. If anything later service hours here have been productive and some Saturday service. But most Sundays with the NFL most dealers would not find it as busy unless they serve beer along with the big screen in the waiting room. For the longest time I hated the Parts departments here as most closed at 5 PM and had no weekend hours. That has changed but I worry as the people I know there say they are usually dead. I found this story very interesting. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/03/31/tesla-s-model-3-could-destroy-elon-musk-s-company.html?via=desktop&source=email

Makes to much sense to waste it on Smk. Its almost as crazy as people who say that the Camaro and ATS were gonna be cross-shopped. Brands be damned.. they are two totally different vehicles. I don't look at a Mustang and think.. "what's a 3/4 series have to offer" I just commented on that else where. The Camaro will improve in status as it continues to execute better levels of performance and higher levels of quality but the volumes they need hurt their image for exclusivity. I suspect that JDN has new Ideas on the ATS at it transforms to a CT number. He has made it clear they have good cars but not good enough. That to me is very promising as they will not just stop where they are at.

Volume my son that is how it will not be that cheap. Besides no one buys the base cars anyways. That has been clearly pointed out to you on the ATS already. Also I would never put a 200 HP 4 in this. The base engine would be the Camaro Turbo 4. How many $27K Impala's do you see on dealer lots? None as most are well over $30K sticker and closer to $40K. Don't be a Fish on the marketing prices. Well GM already has a Colorado based SUV platform and Chevy models always sell well. The 4 runner did not sell because it was a Toyota and secondly it was a crappy vehicle. It had many flaws from what I saw on my friends. Premium fuel required and a sun roof you could not open unless you removed the useless basket on the roof. Then the rust. As for the real possibility for Ford to bring the Bronco back as a RWD SUV and the Ranger I would expect GM is already at work on a Blazer or what ever they will call it. If they can make a Camaro with a turbo 4 starting at $25k, I am sure they could make a N/A 4-cylinder Impala at $28k. Especially since the current Impala starts at $27k. I didn't say $28k was the top, I would start at $28k and go up to $40k. But no Chevy sedan should ever top $40k, Chevy is a value brand. In a hypothetical, if they did make a rear drive Impala with a turbo 4 base and say and LT1 V8 option, how justify a CT6 costing $30,000 more with the same turbo 4 engine and a weaker turbo V6. It wouldn't make sense. I'd like to see GM make a mainstream rear wheel drive car, but then it also has to have horsepower, interior and features like a Malibu would have. Performance and luxury is Cadillac, Chevy is for value. The CT6 offers much more than a Chevy would. I guess you have not been in the back seat or have even seen the large video screens. The ride is going to be much more quiet and smoother. Also the CT6 has a V8 coming too. Technology is where Cadillac will be making up for the price also in refinement as we go. Many of you were just fine with the Fleetwood that was built on a Caprice but now you complain if they build a Impala on a Cadillac platform and yet the Cadillac has much more content than the Chevy will ever see. With this thinking GM can't win. The bottom line is globally the RWD will do better than a NA only Impala. Simple enough. The BU is here now and there is no need for a fraternal twin. You beg for different products and for them to take some chances on some things but yet you poo poo something that has little risk to it and a greater potential of bringing more profit. Now if they had to make a new platform I would say fine that makes sense but the engineering is done. The styling and details are all that needs to be done. Well I am confident we will see a RWD Impala at this point. Al does not leak unless there is something to leak. Also GM has made a big point of racing what they make in RWD. I would expect we will see a new RWD sedan being given to NASCAR for approval and then some on track testing. The Cup series is for sedans and with Marks stance on them using RWD leaves me the impression that is what we will see and not a BU. By the way I would recommend you get to know a CT6. If you do you will realize it is never going to be confused for a Impala or cross shopped for an SS. They are product targeted at totally different groups.

The key to the SUV over the Impala is more room and higher ground clearance. Durability still is not a strong suit but some departments will sacrifice it in the name of MPG. A Colorado based SUV would be a good option here. If GM does a RWD car they would kill the FWD Impala as why would you offer both. It is bad enough they are so close tot he Malibu in size now. You are not going to get to $28K. First that does not buy you much Malibu now let alone an Impala. Start it around 33K and top the SS at mid 40's like an SS Camaro. Special editions could be offered in low numbers at higher prices. They just pad profits. The whole point is why have a FWD Impala when you already have a new Malibu and new Lacrosse that have the whole spectrum covered? Also where else in the world would the Impala sell well other than Canada? A V6 model in a police package would give better handling, MPG and still run a high 13 second quarter performance. the same reason why you don't kill a lambda size Acadia and expect that Acadia owner to get an Enclave or a Traverse. The Impala driver doesn't want or need to step up to the LaCrosse. The LaCrosse isn't cheap enough to appeal to those who want a large fwd car unless they de-content the base version. no one buys performance cars anymore, which is why a RWD car won't sell in masses.........which is why no one buys the SS. G8 v6 sold like a turd it was, no reason to believe an Impala RWD v6 would do any better. The RWD used to own the cop segment but now they want Explorers instead. The new Malibu is a light car and the number of people who would want a larger more stout version of that in FWD is still way higher than any group that would want a Chevy badged RWD full size car at this point. The best way to do a RWD full size car would be to add it to the Buick stable as the Avenir. And then if you want to, commit to a new version of the SS, but not replace the Impala. Toyota still has the Avalon. It's a pulled Camry. That's far easier to do then a whole new chassis just because its RWD, and it won't sell in the states unless you call it a performance car. And that is a niche. GM could sell more SS if they advertised it and it looked good, but they would also have to drop the price. It's one of those deals where they may grab some sales in year 1 and 2, but after that it would be 20k a year. And they'd basically siphon the RWD crowd from Cadillac. Again think globally. All 4 GM divisions would move enough of these cars to see a good profit at even only 50K units which is very obtainable. The reason the Zeta has not sold is pretty simple. For one it is not cheap. Two it is only sold in one variation. Three it is damn old. Four the styling while not bad is nothing to get exited about. GM did not advertise it as they only expected to import a small number. They also knew this car was a lame duck coming in as they knew it was to die soon. A V6 Alpha body sedan has every reason to do well and much better than the G8. The G8 was a turd to drive. The V6 Camaro will rune 13.5-13.6 quarter mile times, drive circles around most modern day sedans even without an SS on the flank. Or do you hate to have a standard Impala that is better than some of the better performance sedans on the market. Just look at what the V6 Camaro can do and you will see a standard car of world class quality. Give me a reason to make another FWD sedan that basically matches the Lacrosse and Malibu? Why would you need a 3rd car of the same thinking? Would it be better to offer something different and something much better and newer than the LX cars? Or we can continue with the North American only Impala FWD and just watch as its sales continue to drop below 100K and match up more with the Taurus at 50K. Like it or not the Malibu as it is now will do a lot of damage to the Impala sales. It is a much better car at a cheaper price with about the same rear seat room. You could not say that last year but you can now.

Volume my son that is how it will not be that cheap. Besides no one buys the base cars anyways. That has been clearly pointed out to you on the ATS already. Also I would never put a 200 HP 4 in this. The base engine would be the Camaro Turbo 4. How many $27K Impala's do you see on dealer lots? None as most are well over $30K sticker and closer to $40K. Don't be a Fish on the marketing prices. Well GM already has a Colorado based SUV platform and Chevy models always sell well. The 4 runner did not sell because it was a Toyota and secondly it was a crappy vehicle. It had many flaws from what I saw on my friends. Premium fuel required and a sun roof you could not open unless you removed the useless basket on the roof. Then the rust. As for the real possibility for Ford to bring the Bronco back as a RWD SUV and the Ranger I would expect GM is already at work on a Blazer or what ever they will call it.

The key to the SUV over the Impala is more room and higher ground clearance. Durability still is not a strong suit but some departments will sacrifice it in the name of MPG. A Colorado based SUV would be a good option here. If GM does a RWD car they would kill the FWD Impala as why would you offer both. It is bad enough they are so close tot he Malibu in size now. You are not going to get to $28K. First that does not buy you much Malibu now let alone an Impala. Start it around 33K and top the SS at mid 40's like an SS Camaro. Special editions could be offered in low numbers at higher prices. They just pad profits. The whole point is why have a FWD Impala when you already have a new Malibu and new Lacrosse that have the whole spectrum covered? Also where else in the world would the Impala sell well other than Canada? A V6 model in a police package would give better handling, MPG and still run a high 13 second quarter performance.

Last year Chrysler sold over 150K units of the 300 and Charger even with the old heavy and outdated LX platform. That is a lot more than the Impala has done in a few years. That was not even global sales just Canada and the US market. Now take these numbers and add global sales and you may just find you will make a lot more money on it than just another FWD that looks like a Malibu. Just the fact the Chrysler cars are so old should open the door here with the new much more competent chassis. Kia sales such as their car really sucks and is far from Cheap even by their standards. The Camaro only needs to be around 100K unit to make good money. GM with a RWD platform should be easily able to make 100K units globally with a sedan. Here is the Taurus sales http://www.goodcarbadcar.net/2011/01/ford-taurus-sales-figures.html They just cleared 50K sales. Hmm compared to the 100K of the Dodge I would say there is more money in the RWD full size. By looking at this the Taurus sales are not very good period. They have not made it past six figures in sales since 2005 The large car market is no longer a volume market. And where sales have done well RWD was most times involved and profitable. Selling smaller numbers in different markets would be the way to go. To go out and build a total new car I would be against but when you could make a LWB car on the Camaro platform at a decent cost that is a no brainier. I suggest you look to see who is siding with you. That should tell you there may be a flaw in your thinking. Lets put it this way. If there was no money here GM would not be working on this.

First off Chrsyler went bankrupt due to the lack of a line of mid and smaller FWD cars. The LX is the only real income they had in this era from the car sector. They killed the Omni and then they built mid sized cars not even rental companies wanted. As I have seen and heard from two departments the new cars are not favored much but cheap. For one the Fords lack interior room and two they are not cheap to repair. It is common to lose trans axles and axles shafts often and they are not an issue in most RWD applications. In fact one local city here has rebuilt their RWD cars on several occasions as they found them more durable than replacements with FWD. Many agencies have opted for the Chrysler just for the size the RWD. Many of the Fords are being replaced with the Explorer but they are not cheap. In fact I have one in the drive next to me now and he loves it mostly for the extra room and ground clearance the Taurus did not have. The Durability of the Taurus was disappointing for him and the Explorer is TBD. . Even my local department is hanging onto the Crown Vic models as long as they can as they are not fans of the new Fords. The Impalas here did not work out long term and are now gone and only reside in the state park cars that now are being replaced with larger SUV models. The Impala could not tow their boats. As for AWD not sure how that will go. talk about small market. Even the Fusion has trouble breaking 15% of sales with the option. Departments like to take cars several hundred thousand miles and the new cars just do not do it as well with the tough beatings they give. The Caprice was popular but too expensive of not permitted by some agency's because it was an import. What GM really needs is a SUV that is smaller and less expensive buy and operate than a Tahoe. The only real thing that the Impala and Taurus have given departments is lower gas bills that they like. This is one area of the budget that takes a hit. Even my Buddy with the FBI has said they like to keep with the RWD in their agency.They like the larger trunks and the chassis that over steer and and hate the under steer of the FWD and AWD. He is a tact team sniper and his equipment fits the larger car much better. He fits better when in all his body armor too behind the wheel.

This is what you and he are missing and it is not optimistic. You sell small numbers in many different markets and it adds up to a level that is sustainable and profitable. The Zeta is dying in Australia because one it is too damn old and two the folks there are not happy with GM killing their RWD car. We know how chippy they get here and it is much worse there. The price this car would make would make it easily profitable and it would not really challenge any other GM car outside the Camaro. 100K units globally with Police and fleet sales included this car is do able. I know many who own a Impala now would have little issue moving to it. One of their chief complaints is FWD. Those who want FWD have the Bu to move to. Being based on the Alpha with many of the Camaro bits would hold the cost down much and also would help prove to make the Camaro even more profitable on the shared suspension parts and other components. Make an Opel A7 competitor with AWD, share it with Vauxhall and rebrand it a Holden. A Buick also would be do able but styling and features would be changed to not put it in contention with the Impala. Chrysler has done well with the LX even as old and heavy as they are in just one real market. GM would spread it out. You do understand how many Chevy versions of the Zeta were sold in South Africa and the Middle East too? Add it to the Korean line with the Camaro and you may even be able to sell them in China too. The youth market is being targeted. They could be sold the car just as the 57 Chevy was marketed like the Affordable Cadillac to those who could not afford the Cadillac. Your only other choice is another Impala that gets lost in the field of other FWD large FWD sedans that are stagnate right now only to cannibalize some sales from the BU and Lacrosse. Or you could kill the car as is it really worth the effort to make an Impala FWD for such a small market here? Is there even any other global market that would be interested in a FWD Impala? Probably not. Their numbers have been on a decline even with the new and better car to 116K units last year from 170K - 156K and 140K in the three previous years. The only other market Canada sold 2938 units last year. Not much help there. Lets face it what would be easier to sell an a FWD Chevy for 40K or a Chevy RWD on a Alpha platform for 40K. What one would have more global appeal? I think you know the answer for that.

Yes you could add AWD to the Impala but it would add to the already higher cost and not really add durability and if anything add to repair cost. What you miss is this is not just a RWD performance sedan but also a 4 and V6 version that is different from the BU and would sell in great numbers globally. Take the blinders off and really look where all Holden sold globally and how a new and more advance platform would improve on those sales. I deal with people buying parts for these cars and I see where all they live the Zeta was much more than just down under and a couple thousand here. As for the Regal it is FWD/AWD as we know what is coming. An added Avista styled coupe styled sedan would fit nice just over the Regal. As for Cadillac they will see more refinement and more technology that will move them away from this segment even more. As for $30K for RWD sedan well that boat has sailed. You are not going to get much car for that price anymore. A Chevy with a Turbo 4 with base package may be about it.

The Mini Van segment is a dying segment. There is a handful of faithful buying but the CUV has pretty much killed any growth and left the segment shrinking. It is well documented. Chrysler is one of the few who could do much here but their new model will struggle to come anywhere close to what they did before. The Asians dabbled but they never set came as close to doing as well as Chrysler and their sales today are close to not worth making them. To them they are no longer a priority.

Hence you are missing the big picture. There is a market globally for a RWD sedan that is not a Cadillac. Now each market the numbers are lower than in past history. But with all the collective global markets there is a good profit to be made. The V8 would only be in the SS and would be a small number compared tot he V6 and Turbo 4 models offered in a regular non SS model Given a choice the police prefer the RWD cars. The Fords only sell because generally they are the lowest bidder. Most departments are moving to Explorers with AWD some with TT V6 that are no more efficient than the V8 cars. To really get this project is to understand the global market and where all the Zeta has been sold and where sales could be improved. While Larger RWD is not the top dog segment in volume there is still money to be collected with the volume of a global market. It is a deal where you work smarter not harder.

Your last statement is why it most likely will be considered or done. Here is the deal as the larger sedans sales are not big now like 300K of the past. The key will be to make it more profitable and increase volumes globally several ways. As it is now I expect the Bu to take many Impala sales since it is larger and cheaper looking similar to what the Imp is now. CUV and SUV sales will help limit growth in America. Holden needs a new larger sedan. Vauxhall needs a new sedan. Opel could use a larger sedan. South Africa needs a Holden replacement. The Middle East needs a RWD replacement for the Chevy. Even places in South America can use a RWD car. Korea could use a partner to the Camaro. China? As it is now the Impala would be lost in the crowd and nor coveted much as it has so little to offer in the well saturated FWD segments globally. Add in Service fleet sales as taxi and police use could be a real volume king here as there is no replacement for the Holden now. GM still needs a SUV like Ford sells for police work that is efficient and affordable. The Tahoe price scares off many. AWD would be easy to add but pricing in America would be critical. You can not put the best system on and over price the car either. The leveraging out of the Alpha would increase profits and make it even more global. The key to the future with using smaller volumes in many markets to make your profits. As for Avista there is a place for it but to do a coupe you have to use care. It much be very different from the Camaro for one. It also must wait till it too can be a Holden and Opel. Finally Cadillac has to continue their move up to make space for this car. Buick would be better suited to making it into a Coupe styled sedan as this is one of the fastest growing car segments out there in a stagnate car segment. There is a place yet for larger sedans as self driving cars are not going to take over soon. At times I still think it is over played much yet. Once some appear they will find the weakness in the system will still be the humans. I could see games being played by drivers and road rage making the self driving cars do things you really don't want done. Let alone failed sensors and other issues. Even air planes may have auto pilots but there is still a human there to take control at any second. Same for space ships. The Shuttles were auto land till they found out that they forgot about a tail wind and almost belly landed the craft because the gear was set to come down at a specific air speed. From then on the pilots went back to doing it as NASA found it was the only safe way. Also right now the Lacrosse is planted right where the Impala would be. Do we really need two of them? Is there any place in the world that would want the Lacrosse other than China? I see little globalness to that one. Holden will already get their own version of the Regal that is based on the Malibu platform. There will be no need for another FWD there. You have to find a way to make a Chevy that is worth 33K-49K and different and the only real way is to make it RWD/AWD.