hyperv6

Drew some just can not grasp the big picture. All they can see are their own preconceived notions. The automakers from Jappan have been doing this for years from many countries.

The Original car has a sketchy past. We all know for sure there was one car built but there are some that believe several were built to travel the country. Then what happened to them is also even Sketchier. I have read over the years different claims and such. One has it that one of the cars is still around and in a private collection. With what happened to many of the Motorama cars anything is possible. Over the years several reproduction were built a couple stock appearing and a couple street rod like. You have to recall how Europe has a major influence on Harley Earl and this was his take on a Chevy Shooting Brake as they were popular in Europe at the time. As we know the roof was used on the 55 Nomad and the later models. This will have a small group of people who will show interest like those who bought the 5. and 63 based C5 rebodied models over the years. For me I would rather pay the money for a fully loaded Z06 or a perfectly restored older late 50's model with FI and all. I love a 59 as I grew up with one that was an all original FI car accept for the block. Some one replace the lower end with a DZ block from a 69 Z and boy did that thing run even with the wide white bia tires.

They did have a longer than normal run and with all the challenges it is amazing it made it this long. But sales have tanked. The Corvette and much of the sports car world has left this one behind. It needed to break some new ground but it really never did. Sales as they are and the cost of building these is high there was little meat on the bone here if any. Also the fact Sergio really shows no love for Chrysler also is apparent here. He had so many things they could have drawn from to supply this car but they chose not to. Ferrari could have shared much here. But I feel the Italian wanted to protect Ferrari and his beloved Alfa that will never match up to this car. The other factors like MPG and the like could have been addressed as Chevy is doing. This product was left to rot by Sergio.

The Regal is still a big seller in China, there is still the Opel/Holden/Vauxhall Insignia (Though for Holden, only sold in GS form). They sold 20k of them in the US up to end of November, 75k Insignias in Europe up till end of October, and 91k Regals in China up till end of November. That's 186k so far this year in just those markets, and I'm missing 4 months of data (December in all three markets, and November for Europe), meaning that total sales of Regal/Insignia are going to be over 200k this year. I don't think the Regal sedan is going anywhere. I do think they will bring the body style variants to other markets. What they probably need to do is move US Regal production back to Europe or over to China so they can consolidate production into two plants instead of three. I could see that happening after Envision breaks the China ice. True, but it should stay in china.....we need something different here. Import the tourer from overseas, and like the CUVs/SUVs take charge here..... Dave right now companies can sell every SUV they can make. It is like printing money. That is the only reason they are getting in with a low number here as it is added income and market share in a segment that is not slowing down. The sedan is not going to go away but it sill be in the minority. As cars get smaller the utility of a vehicle has become important. Automakers see that people who would never buy a Sonic would buy a Trax or Encore. These smaller CUV models also are taking away from the SUV segment too. GM needs to make sure there is a place for them to land in a smaller or cheaper model. The larger models are just going to cost more money and every time gas spikes the sales tank. Not so with the CUV. If GM is not ready in the CUV segment someone else will take it. Right now GM has one of the best line ups and should do well. I was talking about the regal (china part) Buick needs all the CUVs and SUVs they can get..... If the Regal is not built in Canada look for it from Europe Opel needs to use up capacity as they have way too much.

The problem is most people would not put anything into it to start. When they buy a car they spend it all there too often. It would be nice if you could sell a service contract with the car. Something along the lines of a Extended warranty but for non warranty repairs. You would have to address it right as you would have some wanting brake pads every 5,000 miles etc. Generally the companies would make money as most of these things could be priced to where they will show profits. The Extended warranties are like printing money and seldom does anyone ever collect more than they paid. To be honest with new cars so little is needed anymore for the first 100,000 miles. By then the rust starts and most people move on anyways.

As for my RWD cars. The first was moms 73 Bu with posi. It drove like a tank. It also taught me good car control skills with the posi unit. The 70 Monte Carlo was fine accept for the rear brakes that liked to lock up early. I changed the shoes and it still was not good but manageable. The 72 GMC Sprint. It was not bad with a little weight. I did put it in the ditch but it was my own fault not the cars. I did not put weight in and it was running hard on a back road in about 5 inches of wet snow. A car was going to turn so I tried to jump the ruts. It got the back end happy and with no weight and a Big Block under the hood it went in to a death wobble I almost saved. The last time I over corrected and it went around and in the ditch. Only pride was damaged. Ones should not jump deep ruts of wet snow in a ute with a big block under the hood at 50 MPH. I was young and fearless. The 63 Ford Galaxy was a tank. The 95 T bird was find no drama. I only curbed it once on an off camber street in the freezing rain. It was my street after a 3 our drive from Columbus to Akron. It did not hurt anything. Our Cougar. If satan ever made a car that was it. Not only was it junk but it drove like satan was under the car. I married this car. It was crashed in the snow right before we met and I though oh great a blond that can not drive in the snow. Well I drove the car and it was a mess. It understeered horribly and the front brakes liked to lock up. After I drove it the first time I told her I just though she could not drive in the snow but it was that damn car. The first S10 no posi but weight. (I used a main landing gear tire from the space shuttle] You never know what you may find around Akron LOL!. IT drove fine with the weight ands Wrangler tires. The Sonoma Drove fine and had Posi. No weight was really needed as it was very neutral in handling. It did have the ZQ8 suspensions. As for the FWD I hated the first ones as with no stability control you lose tire traction you lose steering too. that really sucks. The new FWD models we own you can drive them hard and the Stability control, Traction Control and Anti locks pretty much make it fool proof even on All Seasons. Note we did get Hankooks on the Terrain when it arrived. I was not impressed with them in the snow. I told the wife if she did not like them we lose them fast. Well she told me after several months to put the Triple Treads we had on the GTP and she has been happy ever since. The Hankooks were so bad the FWD Terrain would over steer. Snow would just pack in them. The Triples make it drive like it is on rails now. Oh I forgot one RWD. The 3 Winters in the Fiero. You know the saying Pontiac Builds Excitement! It was true. The Fiero before the Herb Adams suspension modifications I added has a lot of understeer even in the dry. This in the snow could go from Understeer to Drop Throttle over steer in no time. The other issue was in deep snow the front would or could ride up on the mounds of snow and take away the steering or hang up the car. This was why after 3 years I went and bought a new S10 cash to drive daily. I am glad I did as the Fiero is still in nearly new condition yet 30 years after. I could was it daily where I worked. When a Pontiac engineer was asked by a Corvette engineer that he heard the Fiero was difficult in the snow the Pontiac engineered it was like tight rope walking in ice skates. Then said Pontiac Builds Excitement. The only thing worse in the snow I drove was a CJ5 we had at work. If it was in two wheel drive and the plow was on it would spin in a heart beat. It also had manual steering that made it difficult to correct. If I had to run to make a deposit I did not shift it into 4 wheel just to go a few blocks but there were times I did just because it was so bad in 2 wheel.

Both of our CUVs are AWD, but we live at the very top of a ridge that is the tallest for miles. Out on the open road, I can do fine in a RWD car with snow tires (My Lincoln Continental, my Cadillac CTS, and my Caprice Classic all got snow tires each winter), but getting into and out of my driveway or even up my street on unplowed snow has proven to be too much for a RWD car. That said, I am one of the minority that puts snow tires on my AWD cars also, because as much as I like to go is snow, I also like to stop and steer. I haven't put snow tires on the Encore this year, and it is making me nervous. I'm really close to needing a set of all season tires in about 7k... so if we really get snowed on this winter, the Encore will probably be staying home while the Honda gets to play snowy mountain goat. I'm a snow tire advocate no matter what. I don't quite get to it due to the money factor (and yes you wear out the same amount of tire no matter what). I think most folks don't want to buy extra tires to store in the garage or whatever, i would like separate snows with separate wheels and such, extra ups, that's where some of the expense comes in. Snow tires are a plus but not mandatory with some of the better All Season tires in most areas anymore. Even here in the snow belt with most of the tire companies in town few people use em. The main reason. Simple the cost of tires. Buying tires today is a major expense just for the tires. All these larger sizes and speed ratings most pass on them. Yes some winter tires do wear out faster as you are not going to get 60,000 out of most of them like you will for a well cared for set of All Seasons. Even for me I get tires at cost and it is a major expense. I take off my Aluminum wheels and put on a set of Goodyear Triple Treads. They work great in all weather conditions. But these tires are not even cheap at my cost. Then the additional set of wheels and then the 4 TPM sensors that you now need. There are several annoyances but the bottom line generally is cost as most people do not want to shell out big buck on tires even when they are worn out but to have a second set when generally a good set of all season will also serve their needs they are not going to spend the money. You don't believe that people hate buying tires just look at all the worn out ones on the road. Most people in trouble in the snow are often down to the wear bars and know it.

The Regal is still a big seller in China, there is still the Opel/Holden/Vauxhall Insignia (Though for Holden, only sold in GS form). They sold 20k of them in the US up to end of November, 75k Insignias in Europe up till end of October, and 91k Regals in China up till end of November. That's 186k so far this year in just those markets, and I'm missing 4 months of data (December in all three markets, and November for Europe), meaning that total sales of Regal/Insignia are going to be over 200k this year. I don't think the Regal sedan is going anywhere. I do think they will bring the body style variants to other markets. What they probably need to do is move US Regal production back to Europe or over to China so they can consolidate production into two plants instead of three. I could see that happening after Envision breaks the China ice. True, but it should stay in china.....we need something different here. Import the tourer from overseas, and like the CUVs/SUVs take charge here..... Dave right now companies can sell every SUV they can make. It is like printing money. That is the only reason they are getting in with a low number here as it is added income and market share in a segment that is not slowing down. The sedan is not going to go away but it sill be in the minority. As cars get smaller the utility of a vehicle has become important. Automakers see that people who would never buy a Sonic would buy a Trax or Encore. These smaller CUV models also are taking away from the SUV segment too. GM needs to make sure there is a place for them to land in a smaller or cheaper model. The larger models are just going to cost more money and every time gas spikes the sales tank. Not so with the CUV. If GM is not ready in the CUV segment someone else will take it. Right now GM has one of the best line ups and should do well.

I don't have AWD because I have skills LOL! Growing up in the snow belt of the Great Lakes with my Moms Chevelle and Bias snow tires taught me a lot on car control. The Posi just made it that much more fun. We were drifting long before it was a sport. I really have no need for AWD. I get where I am going with no drama. The only hindrance is normally the folks with nearly bald tires that can not drive anyways. I normally take to the back roads in the old BU and have no issues. My Drive is concrete and I own a snow blower so no problems there either. Now if you wanted to sell me an advanced AWD performance system that would put down 400+ HP to the ground in the dry I may be interested. That is a different story. I have had many a RWD and to this day I morn the loss of Sonoma when I sold it. That thing was a blast to drive in the snow. I generally just steered with the throttle. When I drove the HHR and the BU they seldom put a tire wrong and it is just plain boring. I had a loaner Cobalt one day with no electronic aids so I took my son to a parking lot and did some E brake spins. He just loved it. The days of going to a parking lot and doing some practice of car control is difficult with many cars anymore were you are limited to what you can shut off. That was the best training was just ripping it up in a large parking lot and letting it go. This is why the best race drivers today generally come from Dirt.

You know if you do not want to buy a Subaru you could just learn how to drive in the snow. You do realize we did get around when all there was RWD, No traction control, Not stability control, no winter radial tires on all 4 wheels. We got around just peachy with out it for decades. I see enough AWD SUV's in the ditch because while they can go most forget they can't stop any better anyways.

I expect things could change if sales take off. But keep in mind the other models are also here and GMC only sells 80K+ vs. the Nox at 260,000 units. They are pretty real about the Buick numbers unless they get surprised. Also if they have to add production I am not sure if China could support exporting more as their sales have been high. It may force them to move it here is demand warrants. Last year Terrain sold 94K and for 2015 will likely hit 111K.. , Nox was at 220K last year and is likely gonna hit 276K for 2015.. likely a bump of those sales for the Equinox came from the death of the Captiva.. which will be back, possibly a donation from the current Nox. Think "Equinox Classic" My numbers were approx. and not far off. But the key here is how many sales will the Buick take from GMC? Form Chevy? How will it be different enough to attract people away from other brands and not steal them in house? The Denali is pretty much on the same terms. Is the GMC going to a longer wheel base the Buick is not on? We still have questions to be answered here. I know GM has been getting into bad habits rebadging the Gamma Trax and Encore. While the interiors are much different the outside is still dangerously close. The Denali thing is nuts. In most models it really offers nothing but some cheap chrome and plastic wood and they jack the price way up over the SLT that is just the same mechanically. Now that is not to say I am all for GMC doing this as it is just profit on profit here. Now for me to buy a Denali I would have to see some real hardware like a better AWD system, Bigger engines or more power etc. We had just bought out Terrain and then I heard about the Denali. I was regretful till I saw what you got and how much more it was. I have no regrets today not waiting. No the 2.0 will not fit that was established around the time the Buick appeared. The Old Nox will go into classic mode for a while. Fleet sales only. That was mostly what the refresh was all about.

I expect things could change if sales take off. But keep in mind the other models are also here and GMC only sells 80K+ vs. the Nox at 260,000 units. They are pretty real about the Buick numbers unless they get surprised. Also if they have to add production I am not sure if China could support exporting more as their sales have been high. It may force them to move it here is demand warrants.

Well the size here went down a little as there will be another model between this and the Lambda models at Chevy and other possibly. Note too they also will cut weight like they have in other models and the interior is packages to be about the same as the larger models have today. In other words more usable interior.

It is a shame they are only refreshing this car when it really needs to be replaced. Dodge could really do some major damage to the other brands if they would make a Alpha like RWD. Lose the weight and update the car and they would not have to add such high rebates to the cars. It would help provide more Volume that they need and more cash. The lack on investment by Sergio into Chrysler will be is undoing. Just look what Jeep has done with the proper funding yet he leaves Dodge and Chrysler getting stale with old and rebaged product. Alfa is not going to save him but Chrysler would. My in laws bought a 300 for the price of a mid sized car new. That should not be. there is no way a $40K+ car should be discounted that much.

GM does not have to scare them. They know GM's options well already. They were well informed on the move on the Envision when negotiation were well on the way. The UAW is in a place where GM has options on plants as they have more plants in the US available than new products. They can shop new products to each local and see who is willing to play ball. Some locals get it and have been worked good long hours on popular cars. Others do not get it and sit idle. Lordstown used to play hard ball but with the closing of the steel plants they saw what could happen. Today they work well with GM now and have been rewarded with the Cruze and 2-3 shifts. It has been a good arrangement with both and both appear happy. Lordstown is GM's largest plant in the states and it was not the most efficient. Well with the cooperation GM has worked to make it efficient and today it is doing well for both GM and the UAW. Wentzville is also another plant where the UAW is working well with GM. Because of it they have been rewarded with good solid work.

You are correct as Buick is going to have cars coming from Three Continents and no all from China. I expect much of the white space cars that will be in limited numbers like the wagon and the possible GT will be from Europe. The Lacrosse and Lambda will remain here possibly the Regal will remain here too. The rest of Buick will be low volume and interesting cars that they could not do if they were not being sold on a global scale. At this point only one car is coming from China and the odds are slim many will ever come in at one time. I would not be surprised to see even a Lambda get sent to China at some point. Holden will get a mix of models and may see more models shipped from China to them. The real thing is that sales in China are to the point they are not going to be able to export a ton of cars as they need them in their home market more. Europe is under capacity with Opel and needs more exports so I see them playing a larger role.

You will find the Regal will not enjoy the same weight loss in AWD from but it too will have a Turbo 4. You can not like it but your argument holds no water. Losing 300 pounds in a mid size fwd car is not easy to do and run up the cost and lowering the profits. If it were they all would be doing it. If you want AWD just that bad just buy a Subaru. GM will not really miss you.

I don't really think the cruze needs it but the impala and Malibu really would benefit from it. If the platforms are leveraged properly it should be easy as punch Also consider as you are striving for MPG what is more important to buyers AWD or MPG? When 2025 comes around what is more important AWD or MPG. If given a choice would more people pick AWD or 2 more MPG in a car that cost less? If you look at the volume of AWD models across all the MFG I think you will find your answer. 2016 Subaru Legacy AWD EPA 26 city / 36 highway / 30 combined 175hp/174 tq starts at $21,745* made in USA, corporate sales growth from 200k units a year to 600k and no end in sight 2016 Chevrolet Malibu FWD only EPA 27 city / 37 highway / 31 combined 160/184 starts at 22,500* still hopefully made in USA unlike Buick, GM market share declines 10 years running *verify if destination charge is included in each about 3% difference in mpg which only matters due to tyrannical fuel economy mandates by legislative bodies. The Legacy exceeded the 2015 Malibu figures. Automakers leave AWD off the option sheet where they can because of those tyrannical mandates, all to the spite of the customer. It's absolutely clear to me in a cold weather state that AWD is considered a need by a large number of buyers and to chastise their perception of need is to ignore the customer and inevitably concede a sale. Especially in states where the demographic has been traditionally more sympathetic to GM products. Places where they now lose all sorts of sales due to limited options on their core / mainstream / accessibly priced lineups. (Buick is not an accessibly priced brand for most buyers yet). Imagine if that 400,000 unit a year sales growth was for GM and not Subaru. In Malibu's case, their pathetic sales numbers are because of huge miscues in the product. To put it bluntly, the Malibu has been a continual GM fu--up. The 2004-2007 was ugly and undersized. The 2008-2012 had a miserably cheap interior and seriously challenged cabin width. The 2013-2016(Limited) had NO rear seat room despite having 9 or 10 inches of open air under the hood, was deemed ugly by a lot of buyers, and had confusing and unpolished powertrain options. Their 2014 model year sales were 188,519. The Ford Fusion was 306,860 in 2015. It is very possible the Fusion's numbers exceeded the Malibu's in part due to having AWD on the option sheet and in spite of the fact that Ford's showroom is blasted with several other AWD offerings, including the Taurus (which has a high AWD take rate). Fifteen percent of the Fusions sales is 46,000+ cars. That is nothing at all to sneeze at and in no way looks like those were cannibalizations of Ford's other products. That's almost equivalent to Mazda6 sales of the year. Apart from the size and ugliness issues for the Malibu, consider if the Malibu could sell 250,000 units in NA with no other change in its other product sales. Fifteen percent of 250,000 units is 37,500 units. This is the how many Malibu sales could possibly cannibalize other manufacturer's. This could add to market share, instead of GM declining for 10 years in a row. Don't give me the BS about GM only cares about profitability, that's hog wash. To remain a relevant world player in the years ahead, they have to continue to be in the top 3-5 automakers in volume or the whole thing falls apart. Market share is equally as crucial as average transaction price or profit per unit. GM won't tap that customer base in a big way by pushing AWD off on Buick only, because the transaction prices are too high. It will remain a niche to GM that way. And the likes of Subaru will continue to grow. Then Hyundai and Kia will tap that and further eat away at GM's market share. A 'tour cross' wagon of all things by Buick is not going to make a huge dent in the issue. It's nice to round out the Buick line and make it worldly. But it still completely ignores where the real marketplace assault is. We can cheer with glee that something like the Tourcross will take attention away from the fact that the Envision is late to the game, won't be sold in large numbers, and has a dated styling and is made in China. (and that the new LaCrosse looks super Chinese too) The Camaro was so important to GM that they put it out of production for 7 years. They've been fortunate now with the styling of the newest versions to rekindle interest in those models. They did that because they saw what a phenomenon it was for Ford when they listened to their customers. You saw in 2015 what happened with Camaro once the styling became old and the fat Zeta became criticized. The sales tanked in epic fashion. Customers consider the Subaru systems of AWD to be among the best on the market. Despite the technical accomplishments of the GM Haldex system and other innovations, no one really considers GM as the leader here. Competent now, yes, leader, no. I don't think it will be a huge identifier for Buick as much as their overall brand qualities of comfort, solidity, ride, size etc. Come on you are smarter than this. If you really think GM will gain that much with AWD you really have lost it. Also to make more profit with the added cost involved for the low volumes would be the other shoe. The Malibu has had its issues. but the 08-12 even with the cheap interior sold well and was no worse off than most cars of that era. The last model had a short back seat and odd styling. Well I just was in a 2016 and no issues there. That car looks like a champ in person and nary a knee issue in the back even with the front seat at a drivable distance. Oh at 6 foot the head room is fine too in the back. As for the AWD don't fool yourself. Most people hear in the snow belt were we can see 12" from the time we get to work till we go home is not a must. Now if you lived way out in the country or had a really long drive you do no plow then maybe but with a good set of tires you can get about anywhere with out drama. We grew up in this stuff and we know how to deal with it. We laugh at those down south who close everything for one inch. Ford sells a small volume of AWD vs. all other models they sell. The last time I looked the number ranged from 10%-18% at best. Not really a lot of meat on that bone. As for the Camaro you have been around long enough to know what really happened. First GM had that little thing call Bankrupt. Yes they did not really have the money to do the new car at the time. Second The present F body would not meet crash standard beyond the last year it was made. GM had to take a heavy older Zeta to make a new car when they scrapped up the money to get what they did do and it took a good while to do it. As of then the car generally has out sold the Mustang and most years in six figures. Also the price point of the SS and other variants make a hell of a lot of money. It really cost little more to make a V8 vs the V6 till you get to the Z/28 that has some more expensive item like the ZL1. Again if AWD is all the rage has Honda and Toyota not offered it on their mid size sedans. Gee are they being secretly run by GM? Or are they clued in to what this is really all about unlike some that think you just got to have AWD?

So then you would agree that the Buick Encore AWD was done right then. That should be a model for both sedans and CUVs for AWD. Note sure where you get this. Encore yes is fine AWD as it is a CUV and will sell as much as 50% AWD. Malibu if a very find sedan [Just got to be in one 30 min ago] is great value priced mid sized sedan model. Now should they make it AWD to sell 10-15% of total production? Ehhh! Show me a sedan that will sell 40% AWD and I will then say ok only if it will show a profit worth the time and effort. Buick provides that profit with the Regal and larger cars. No sure a Verano would provide the volume and profit needed. At least Buick too can share the cost with several other divisions like Holden, Opel and Vauxhall to make it even a better sight in the profit window and carry the volume to offer a better system. With the way the CUV is in this country I would take the 300 pounds and less weight and price over AWD all day long in a value segment car like the Malibu. That car is meant to get your family from point A to B safe in a reliable economical package. I think AWD is 17 on the list of wishes in this segment. Again the class leaders see no need that should tell you something. As for the new Bu the rear seat room is as much as my 08, very generous. The dash while busier it is laid out well and is interesting. The Door Panels in leather are fine. I did get into a Camaro too. The new car is amazing. The lines make you think it to be descended from a lambo if they still did front engine. The sound is crazy! The roof is low but the visibility is better. There is no comparison between the old and new cars. You will never mistake the two. Both the Bu and Camaro are so much better in person as the camera just can not capture the styling as it really is.

So why does the Fusion and Taurus sell so few then if you think you are so smart? You can't compare car to CUV sales. Apples and Oranges. The MPG expectation is less with a CUV than any car. Also the CUV offer a little more utility and space for most customers for a similar price and that is why they buy them. If there was such a great call for AWD on a mid size passenger car Toyota and Honda would have offered it long ago.

I don't really think the cruze needs it but the impala and Malibu really would benefit from it. If the platforms are leveraged properly it should be easy as punch Also consider as you are striving for MPG what is more important to buyers AWD or MPG? When 2025 comes around what is more important AWD or MPG. If given a choice would more people pick AWD or 2 more MPG in a car that cost less? If you look at the volume of AWD models across all the MFG I think you will find your answer. Yet build an AWD with either the VOLT powertrain or pure EV with a 200-300 mile battery pack and you have a winner winner chicken dinner! The 450A Lithium Ion batteries are here and work, the auto companies who move forward faster will win the change over game. The trick is to move forward and lower costs. Anyone can build a $125,000 Ludacris Electric Cars. The hard part is to make one that will work for the daily driver in all situations to where they do not have to adjust their life style. And then only charge $30,000 for it. Also note while the range is here at a price the charging times are still longer than it is to fill a tank of gas. That is also one of the challenges. Yes you can charge faster but not just anywhere and generally it takes a long term toll on the battery if you do it all the time. We are getting there but there are still some challenges. If the Electric car was the space race to the moon we would be up to the Gemini program at this point.

I don't really think the cruze needs it but the impala and Malibu really would benefit from it. If the platforms are leveraged properly it should be easy as punch Also consider as you are striving for MPG what is more important to buyers AWD or MPG? When 2025 comes around what is more important AWD or MPG. If given a choice would more people pick AWD or 2 more MPG in a car that cost less? If you look at the volume of AWD models across all the MFG I think you will find your answer.

So if 50 miles of electric driving means buying gas 4 times a year. Couldn't a 150 mile range mean never needing gas? If I had a short commute, which I actually do, I would rather have a pure electric car and never need gas. If the goal is zero emissions, no trips to the gas station, then a pure EV is the end game. As to why in 2016 you will be able to buy the BOLT! Gm spends gobs of money to make camaro Ss and cts v's the average person doesn't want when AWD is what larger cross sections of the population want and will buy. Face it. Subaru builds an AWD legacy with same mpg cheaper than chevy makes a new Malibu. And it's totally reliable and top notch. Much of gm's fan base is in cold weather states. If gm sold a version of the Malibu with remote start heated seats and AWD for the same money as a Subaru they could steal many sales away. They choose not to because they would rather try to extort 10 grand more for that in a crossover body or as a buick. I get it. Gm really is not market share aggressive and before, it was because they had North American production. But now when they flood buick with Korean and Chinese vehicles yet Subaru and even mits can make and sell AWD vehicles in the us for less and pick away at market share it really underscores what GM wants to do. They don't care much about market share. Gm can bleed resources all over Camaros but not into bread and butter products. Apparently. As for the regal, it's my guess the next one will be available in the hatch version here which may be good. It may be something that is a. Distinctive choice and sets it apart. The spy photos of,it to me suggest what we see is the hatch version. An egg with no trunk. Again it is numbers. The Camaro sells in numbers that an AWD Bu would never sell in. The Camaro is at or over 100,000 units a year average, Expect that to go up this year with the new model. Now look at the Ford Fusion and it sells 10%-15% AWD. Those numbers are not even close to 100,000 units. Factor in the CTSV. Do you really understand how much profit there is. You would have to sell 500 AWD Bu's to make the profit in one CTSV. Market share is nice but profits are what keep the door open. Priorities as they are profits are number one and slow growth market share is second. Would it be nice to offer AWD. Yes. But does GM and other have more important things to worry about that will make more money and volume. For sure. If this is a must have then why does the Camry. Accord, a Sonata offer AWD? Subaru is the niche and they were structured around AWD to start with years ago. Now if it was working all that well for them did they have to sell out to Toyota vs. remaining a competitor? In the case of Toyota they have given Subaru the ability to be their Buick as they offer the models that have special options and styles that sell in lower volumes. It is kind of their white space as Buick is calling it. The low volume RWD coupe is not a Toyota here but a Subaru. Kind of like Buick getting a Opel GT hmm? AWD is good when and where it make a big difference profit wise but right now with volumes as they are and how much profits they would add it is not a must have in this country. Now if we were in Europe I would hell yes but here the CUV and SUV are taking most of the money and making even larger profits with higher prices. I would wager most of the higher priced SUV,CUV models little more to build than the cheapest AWD Subaru. That equals profits and more income. Where do your priorities lie? There is a lot more to this than selling 15% of your production as AWD. FYI even here in the snow belt of Lake Erie AWD cars are not all that common. Most people that need it have trucks and SUV models or just regular FWD. Even the take rate on the CUV models is around 50% at best on most models.

Well here is the deal. AWD if done needs to be done right. Yes you can cheap out but if you are trying to make better cars you need to make better cars. As for AWDS it is still what 10-12% of the cars sold with the option to have it or not. It also adds weight and cuts more MPG. In a car like a the new Malibu your 300 pounds would be gone and then some. As for AWD only a small portion of the market buys them in sedans. If people want it they tend to buy a CUV or SUV anyways. Now if they were selling a larger volume I closer to 40-50% I would be all for it. But to spend the money to develop it, then design it so it will work that would mean more added structure and weight is just not worth the added cost to do so. The one reason Subaru gets away with it is they are one of the few that sell AWD in higher volumes because they are known for it. For GM to do it like Ford does on the Fusion it would not be a very profitable venture unless they could increase the volume and then how much do you want to lose on the cars till you are know for AWD even a HalF Assed one. Better to leave it to Buick to do it with a better system that could be sold at a price point that allows for a decent profit even at lower volumes. This all comes down to making money and for GM to offer a BU that only sells 12% of the models with AWD it just not worth it. Subaru made their mark as being the cheap AWD and it took them years but they are the go to division. To do that for GM would be a challenge and long term low profit deal. Yes it could be done but how many other things can make more money now and be more worth while. Besides with hybrid systems coming it will be easier to add these systems when they arrive with electric power drive to the wheel. Yes it is coming and will be common. Right now Chevy is best suited to make the best FWD car they can and make them as affordable as possible. Price is becoming real important. Hyundai started to undermine Toyota and Honda with price as people are looking for still great cars but at a price they can better afford. Yes that means you lose out on the AWD people that think they need it for 2" of snow or they will die types but they are low in volume as a whole or in a SUV. GM can make better profits and better reputations with better systems first and the trickle it down like the Alpha from Cadillac to Camaro. Work smarter not harder.

Subaru has it but again it is the best of the cheap systems but it is not what most really want. People are going to CUV model only in part for AWD as so many are only FWD. The keys for the CUV is utility and sitting high up with lots of head room and passenger room. As for the $18K for the Subaru the real price paid for an AWD with the normal options is much more than that. Again Base price cars are seldom sold because they are seldom built. If you want to play this game at least use realistic numbers that people are paying. Go to true car and just see what the average price is as it is not $18K.