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Shock: General Motors puts Zeta rear-wheel-drive revolution on hold
Leftlane news
4-11-07

General Motors may be forced to scrap or significantly rethink its rear-wheel-drive Zeta platform vehicles, according to a new report in the Chicago Tribune. "We've pushed the pause button. It's no longer full speed ahead," Vice Chairman Bob Lutz said.

"It's too late to stop Camaro, but anything after that is questionable or on the bubble," he said. This includes the next-generation Imapla — "if we call it Impala," he cautioned. Until now, GM was widely expected to build its Impala replacement on the RWD Zeta architecture, plus a number of other vehicles, including a new Pontiac GTO, Buick sedan, Chevy Monte Carlo, a Cadillac model, and more. The Pontiac G8 also rides on the platform.

Lutz blamed new government regulations proposed by the Bush administration. The proposal aims to gradually raise corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards to average 34 mpg by 2017.

"We don't know how to get 30 percent better mileage from [rear-wheel-drive cars]," Lutz said. "We'll decide on our rear-drive cars when the government decides on CO(-2) levels and CAFE regulations," he added.

"Carbon dioxide is a natural byproduct of burning gas and directly proportional to the amount of fuel burned. If we legislate CO(-2) from cars, why not legislate we take one less breath per minute since humans release capricious amounts of CO(-2) each time they exhale?" he argued.

Lutz said increasing efficiency is not nearly as easy as environmentalists claim. "Academics assure us that for $200 we can get 30 percent better mileage. If anyone can figure out how to do that for $200 — or even for $1,000 — I want them in my office today. Show me how to do it and we'll adopt it," he said. "If I could increase mileage by 30 percent for $200, why wouldn't I? What's my motivation not to when a gas-electric hybrid gets 27 percent better mileage and I hope someday to get the cost down to $9,000?"

"Small-car mileage only counts toward CAFE if you build them here, and you can't build small cars here at a profit," Lutz said.

While GM may have put its RWD ambitions on hold for the time being, rival Ford still has plans for a new rear-drive architecture. Ford North America president Mark Fields said the first vehicles would arrive within the next five years, according to the latest GoAutoNews newsletter.

"I'd say that we are looking at that very, very closely," Fields said. Like GM's Zeta platform, Ford's new RWD architecture will also come from Australia.

It's not known if the next-generation Mustang will also share the platform, or if it will continue on its own architecture. The Mustang will receive a facelift for the 2009 model year, and a complete redesign — with a new platform — for 2012.

Earlier this year, Ford revealed the Interceptor concept, which was built on a modified Mustang platform.