It has been rumored for the last few months that Chevrolet would be soldiering on with a front-wheel-drive Impala for at least the next few years. The recent contract agreement between the Canadian Auto Workers union and General Motors appears to cement this rumor as fact. According to the signed pact, GM promised to keep the Oshawa Assembly plant, where the current-generation Impala is made, open until 2012 -- two years longer than first planned. The Impala is a pretty good seller for the General, so we're not too surprised that upper-level management would want to leave it alone, but that doesn't stop us from wanting to see Chevy's bread-and-butter full-size sedan return to its roots by going rear-wheel-drive.
One thing is for certain: by the year 2012, the W-Body platform of the current Impala will be absolutely ancient. On the other hand, we've had nothing but good things to say about the new Zeta platform which underpins such enthusiast-friendly vehicles as the new Pontiac G8. Therefore, we can at least hold out some hope that GM will find a way to offer as many vehicles as possible using the new chassis architecture, whether they are named Impala or not. Anybody want to see a new Nova?
Click above for high-res gallery of the 2008 Pontiac G8 GT
After our sampling of General Motors' rear-wheel-drive Zeta platform in the 2008 Pontiac G8 GT, we must admit that we're smitten with the platform. Its future in GM's North America car lineup, however, remains in question thanks to stricter CAFE standards that start going into effect by 2011. While the G8, G8 Sport Truck (actual name still pending) and Camaro are all guaranteed a spot on the Zeta platform, other vehicles like large RWD sedans for Chevy and Buick are likely dead in the water, according to Motor Trend. Hopes for a RWD Impala are all but gone thanks to strong sales of the current front-wheel-drive model, which continue despite the success of the now similarly sized Malibu.
Motor Trend also notes that GM plans to merge its current Sigma RWD platform with the Zeta around 2011. At that time, the Zeta/Sigma platform will be built in three sizes – coupe, midsize with 114.8-inch wheelbase and large with 118.5-inch wheelbase – and offer a premium version of each with forged aluminum suspension components. See the list below for a breakdown of how MT thinks things will look by 2011. Zeta/Sigma variants:
Coupe – Camaro, maybe Holden Monaro and Pontiac G8 Coupe
Coupe Premium – Cadillac CTS Coupe
Midsize – Pontiac G8 and Holden Monaro, maybe Chevy sedan (not Impala)
Midsize Premium – Cadillac CTS Sedan
Large – Holden Statesmen/Buick Park Avenue (China), Holden Ute/Pontiac GT ST, maybe Buick Lucerne replacement
Large Premium – Cadillac STS/DTS replacement
Finally, MT also speculates that GM is working on a small rear-drive platform for Cadillac in Europe. The resulting 3-Series fighter would give Caddy more cachet in the old country, though MT does not specify is this would be an all-new platform or a larger variant of the Kappa platform that underpins the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky.
Gallery: In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Pontiac G8 GT
Spot any similarities? Holden surprised and delighted when it rolled out the Coupe 60 at the Melbourne Auto Show this past week. Motor Trend put two and two together and dug up some three-year-old photos that show off essentially the same car wearing a Pontiac suit, instead. The nose on the original concept shows what GM was planning for the next-gen GTO at the time. We're glad the prototype styling was deemed too expensive for production; the world wasn't ready for a modern interpretation of the 1982 J2000.
The Coupe 60 started life as Pontiac's replacement for the sales-proof GTO, but Motor Trend reports that development stopped when GM went full bore at getting its next-gen full-size GMT900 trucks to market early. The reappropriation of this past work to create the stunning new Holden show car could signal a return of the Monaro, which could trickle down to North America as another page in the G8 brochure, or a new GTO, but don't start holding your breath yet.
The Chicago Auto Show wasn't that eventful, but that's what we lead off Autoblog Podcast episode #87 with. The Challenger was the biggest deal, followed by the Denali XT, and then a bunch of inconsequential things. We did find ourselves talking about the Suzuki Equator and the Ford Transit Connect, too. We give you our first up close and personal impressions of the Challenger SRT-8 in this podcast. We also saw the VW Routan, which certainly doesn't conjure warm, fuzzy memories of Type IIs gone by. Chevy's Traverse calls into question the usefulness of Saturn's Outlook in the product lineup. Speaking of GM badge-engineering, we got word this week that Pontiac will not be getting a Trans Am companion to the Camaro, dang. Another disappointment is the rumor that Cerberus is going to let the Viper run down without rewinding the clock for a third generation. We wrap up by touching on the possibility that an Indian pickup could be the first diesel hybrid in the US, even though it's not even being imported yet, and we're sure that when it gets here, it'll generate even more hate than the new Acura RL. 42 minutes, that's it. Sorry it's a little late this week, it's all Alex's fault, I swear.
SUBSCRIBE to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes LISTEN to the show now ADD the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
GM's Australian subsidiary Holden has recalled 86,000 rear-wheel-drive Zeta cars with the V6 engine to correct a potential fuel leak that could lead to fires. The CNN Money article says that the recall doesn't impact the Pontiac G8, GM's North American Zeta variant, because that car's underhood layout is different. We should also mention that the G8 is not even on sale yet, so there are none in customer hands to recall.
VE and WM Commodores in Australia and New Zealand, Chevrolet Lumina and Caprice models in the Middle East, as well as the Chevrolet Omega in Brazil are all affected. When a clip chafes on the fuel line, it can apparently cause a leak with nasty results if the gasoline ignites. The risk is low, says GM's John Lindsay, but they're calling the cars back, nearly all of the Zetas with V6 engines sold since the car's redesign, and fixing them free of charge just to be on the safe side.
Mike Levine at PickupTruck.com is speculating that there's a good chance the El Camino name will be revived in the near future. The prospects just seem too good considering that Holden, GM's Australian division, is set to soon export the Zeta rear-wheel-drive platform to the U.S. for use in the Chevy Camaro and Pontiac G8. More vehicles are likely, and the El Camino could be among them. Bob Lutz himself has reportedly talked up the business case for an El Camino comeback, and the timing could be right for an Australian Ute to finally make the long trip from Oz to American shores.
PickupTruck.com has a few renderings showing what the El Camino could look like, which isn't hard to guess considering that the new VE Commodore-based Utes are set to debut in Australia in about a month. From the A-pillars forward it would look much like the sedan on which it's based, but all body panels aft of that point will be unique to the Ute. The Australian version will have an engine lineup of V6 and V8 engines, and we suspect that concerns over fuel economy would also necessitate a V6 option for the U.S. market. That's fine, as the General's current crop of V6 engines are smooth and powerful. Of course, it wouldn't be a proper El Camino without the availability of a V8, and we know GM has a few of those lying around.
What do you think? Would there be any takers for a new El Camino in the U.S.? We think the answer is obvious, as this truck wouldn't be an SSR redux. Click on the read link to view three renderings of what a 2011 Chevy El Camino might look like and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
In an interview with Car and Driver, Troy Clarke, president of GM's North American efforts, confirmed that Buick would be getting another model by the end of the decade. The forth vehicle to join the Buick stable will be rear-wheel drive and take cues from the Velite concept that debuted at the 2004 New York Auto Show.
Whether or not such a vehicle will be a convertible or a large sedan remains to be seen, but it will share the Zeta platform underpinning the upcoming Pontiac G8 and Chevrolet Camaro. The Velite name may not carry over.
In the same article, Clarke espoused Pontiac's goal of being a performance-oriented brand, while at the same time suggesting that all of Pontiac's products will not sport RWD. Clarke confirmed that a redesign of the FWD Vibe is in the works, and may be released as early as this year.
The enhanced version of Autoblog Podcast #65 is off the burner and onto your plate. In part one, we talk about the possibility of a car-based, RWD pickup from Hyundai's BH platform. In the podcast's second section we talk about the ridiculous auction for the General Lee, and the proliferation of Dodge advertising in the new Fantastic Four movie. In the last part of the podcast, we discuss Zeta (it's on again) and the Chevy Volt.
Check it out. Per your suggestions, we cut the podcast into three sections for smaller downloads, and we've also embedded sections two and three of the podcast after the jump. If you have any more suggestions on how to improve the enhanced version of the Podcast, let us know in the comments. We're working on a better distribution system than shoving all three in our current RSS feed of the audio-only version, so soon you'll be able to subscribe just to the enhanced version's RSS feed.
DOWNLOADPart One to your desktop (Car-based RWD Hyundai Pickup) DOWNLOADPart Two to your desktop (General Lee, Fantastic Four) DOWNLOADPart Three to your desktop (Zeta is on, Chevy Volt)
We're punchy for this one (just check out our outtakes at the end, even better than last time!). We start off with a lively debate over Hyundai's rumored full-size RWD truck on the BH platform and whether it will be good or bad. No consenus was reached, but it will be exciting to see if Hyundai can morph the concept of the Honda Ridgeline into something a little more haul-friendly.
We segue from unibody pick 'em ups into the exciting story of the 2nd most expensive car ever auctioned. That is, if the buyer doesn't fink out (Too late, already did! - Ed.) when it comes time to hit the old PayPal. John Schneider's personal "General Lee" Charger with history (if you can call 80's TV camp real history) was sold on eBay for 9.95 million dollars. The cash isn't going to fund some humanitarian effort, rather, it will be used to finance a sequel to Mr. Scheider/Duke/Kent's Collier & Co. - Hot Pursuit movie. We're sure it's the next Citizen Kane. Speaking of movies, we also touch on the despicably obvious product placement in the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which is essentially a popcorn-bucket-length Dodge spot.
Wrapping it all up, we ring the bell on the "duh" category a couple times for the Lutz. The Zeta is back on, not that we really thought it was dead. B.L. has decided that it's likely wiser to tweak powerplants than to toss away an entire product renaissance worth of engineering. Whew, and we thought he might actually do it. Speaking of questions, we had no question about GM's committment to developing the Volt's battery technology. It will require an infusion of hundreds of millions of dollars, which seems like a good deal to us. Someone somewhere will have to put some time, money and effort into working out the batteries, so why not GM? It beats just sitting around and waiting. We just hope that when Chevy drops the series hybrid on us, it's wrapped in a prettier shell than the Prius. That's it for this week, enjoy!
SUBSCRIBE to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes LISTEN to the show now ADD the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator
The folks over at Kicking Tires had no intention of running into a red prototype Pontiac G8, but when they saw it, they whipped out the camera phones and did a great job with the limited tools at hand. The result is a pre-production look at one of the most anticipated vehicles for the 2009 model year. You can see from the pic that the silver Pontiac logo from the Chicago show is still present on this tester (we like it a lot), and as it turns out, on the right vehicle, the classic Pontiac grille looks quite nice on the right product. We'd agree with the Kicking Tires crew that the G8 looks better in red than it did in its showcar charcoal.
We've heard a lot about the Zeta platform over the past year or two, and the G8 is likely to be the first example of GM's flexible RWD platform here in the States. After driving the Holden Commodore down under, we're more primed than ever when the G8 finally hits production at the end of the year.
Kicking Tires got three pictures of the G8, and you can check them out here. Our shots of the G8 at the Chicago show are below.
The 
We're punchy for this one (just check out our outtakes at the end, even better than last time!). We start off with a lively debate over Hyundai's rumored full-size 
New KITT Attack Mode revealed at Comic Con
London 2008: Honda OSM concept roadster says, "Cheerio!"
London 2008: Lotus unveils the Evora
2010 Chevy Camaro - Official Details and Images
2010 Chevy Camaro - LIVE from the reveal
In the Autoblog Garage: Aprilia RSV 1000 R
First Drive: Maserati Quattroporte S in Europe
First Drive: 2008 MINI Cooper S JCW
In the Autoblog Garage:2009 Nissan GT-R
North American Exclusive First Drive: Alfa MiTo
