Kappa + Zeta = Alpha? Another GM RWD platform coming?

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Kappa + Zeta = Alpha? Another GM RWD platform coming?

Posted Mar 22nd 2007 4:34PM by Sam Abuelsamid
Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Cadillac, GM, Pontiac
In the past 18 months, GM has brought out two all-new rear-wheel drive platforms at opposite ends of the spectrum. The Kappa platform underpins the Solstice and Sky roadsters, as well as several concepts that have been shown at auto shows this season. At the larger end, the crew at Holden has created the Zeta platform that drives the Commodore/Pontiac G8/Chevy Camaro/2009 Impala and likely more.

Now it's being reporting that there will be a new mid-sized RWD platform code-named Alpha. Alpha would apparently take pieces from the other platforms and be used for future Pontiacs and Cadillacs. The next generation G6 may use this architecture instead of the front wheel drive Epsilon II. For Cadillac, the new car would slot in below the CTS and also replace the much derided BLS in Europe.

If it's done right, such a Cadillac would give the brand a real competitor for the BMW 3-Series and Audi A4/S4, as long as consumers aren't hounded by the memory of other entry-level Cadillacs like the Cimarron. A smaller, rear-drive sedan and/or coupe would fit in much better with Cadillac's current lineup, however, and further help to lower the average age of the brands' customers.

[Valistener]

http://www.autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dl.../70312001/1528

The Alpha platform is by no means certain.

Decision Time
GM to rule on CTS family for Cadillac within three months

By DAVE GUILFORD | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

AutoWeek | Published 03/12/07, 7:40 am et

GENEVA -- Over the next three months or so, General Motors executives will decide whether to produce a new Cadillac CTS wagon and coupe, the next step in Cadillac's rebirth as a global brand.

Hoping to build on the successful debut of the CTS in the United States, General Motors could create a CTS family of models reminiscent of the BMW 3 series. If Cadillac expands its presence in Europe, it could afford to build niche vehicles like a wagon that otherwise would face a marginal future as U.S.-only cars.

GM already has produced clay models of these new Cadillacs. In the near future, it will decide whether to OK development, say GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz and Cadillac General Manager Jim Taylor.

Starting in the late 1990s, GM jump-started Cadillac's fortunes with sharp-edged design, luxury SUVs and rear-wheel-drive cars. Now Taylor and Lutz want to build more momentum.

During interviews at the Geneva auto show, both executives explained their plans to make Cadillac competitive with Lexus, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. They also voiced varying opinions about some Cadillac issues, offering a revealing glimpse of GM's internal give-and-take.

As Cadillac enters the second phase of its revival, they must decide:

Whether to approve a long-delayed ultra-luxury car costing more than $150,000.

Whether Cadillac needs an entry-level model priced under $30,000. Taylor is reluctant; he prefers to keep the CTS as Cadillac's lowest-priced car. Lutz says he is open to an entry-level Cadillac, but it won't be the European BLS sedan.

Whether to keep or discontinue the front-wheel-drive DTS sedan, Cadillac's top-selling nameplate. Taylor says he's undecided; Lutz prefers to phase it out and keep the rwd STS.

Front-wheel drive does not match the brand image of global luxury Cadillac is seeking. But the DTS was Cadillac's top seller last year, with U.S. sales of 58,224. The DTS accounted for 25.6 percent - about one-quarter of the brand's U.S. volume.

Taylor said GM could put the DTS on the Zeta rwd platform, which will be used for the coming Pontiac G8; merge it with the STS line; or keep it in its current form.

But in a separate interview, Lutz flatly stated that the DTS replacement should be rwd.

Selling more vehicles outside Cadillac's traditional U.S. stronghold would make it easier to build a business case for niche vehicles, Taylor said. Higher sales volumes would allow GM to achieve economies of scale currently enjoyed by key competitors BMW and Mercedes.

"If all you have is your U.S. volume, it's pretty hard to put together a capital case," Taylor said.

The CTS wagon in particular would be stronger in Europe than the United States, and would aid GM's struggle to build the brand there, he said. To be successful, it must achieve annual global sales of 20,000 units, Taylor said. For comparison, GM sold 54,846 CTS units in the United States last year.

Small Caddy?

Lutz said GM will not bring the European BLS, a front-drive car that shares parts with the Saab 9-3, to the United States. As for a small rwd vehicle, "there's certainly an opening, whether we choose to fill it or not," Lutz said.

Taylor takes the opposite view. He says GM doesn't need a smaller car slotted below the CTS. The smaller car would compete with cars such as the Audi A3 and the coming BMW 1 series and would sell in the upper $20,000s.

Says Taylor: "We're not going there. We're a $30,000-to-$40,000 player, not a $20,000-to-$30,000 player."


At the upper end of the lineup, the two executives say they are considering an ultra-luxury car to enhance Cadillac's brand prestige. Both mentioned the Sixteen and Cien concepts as possible models. The Sixteen is a large sedan with a V-16 engine and the Cien a futuristic V-12 sports car.

But Lutz and Taylor say the ultra-luxury program keeps getting delayed. Said Lutz: "We always wind up pushing it out one more year because we have other, more pressing priorities."