Automotive Faqs

General Motors is reconsidering plans to offer a wide range of rear-drive vehicles in North America. The reason for this reconsideration is the government’s mounting pressure on automakers to improve fuel economy.

In doubt are the next-generation Chevrolet Impala and other models. Plans have been thrown into disarray by the Bush administration’s call for a higher corporate average fuel economy, called CAFE, and uncertainty over carbon dioxide regulations.

GM and the Chrysler group also are weighing the impact of proposed regulations on future vehicle and engine programs. “We haven’t made any changes to our global product plan at this point,” said John Smith, GM group vice president of global product planning, in an e-mail. “However, we continue to cautiously monitor pending regulations and their implications to some segments.”

Chrysler says it is doesn’t plan to alter its future vehicle plans. But increases in CAFE and new standards for carbon dioxide would likely require more sophisticated engines, and the possible demise of some V8s. “You could see a smaller displacement, pressure-charged V6 as a replacement for a V8,” said Frank Klegon, the Chrysler group’s executive vice president of product development. Depending on the final regulations, Klegon said automakers may need to emphasize diesels and mild hybrids “as different solutions for displacement for fuel economy and performance.”

The rwd Pontiac G8 sedan will go on sale early next year as scheduled, and the rwd Chevrolet Camaro will be at dealerships in early 2009, a GM spokesman said. But, “anything after that is questionable or on the bubble,” GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz told the Chicago Tribune. The rwd Impala is slated to debut in late 2009 or early 2010. A rwd Buick sedan was being considered for the United States.

The global rwd car platform was created by GM’s Australian subsidiary, Holden. The rwd cars are larger and heavier than the front-drive models they replace. V6 and V8 engines also will be offered. “We don’t know how to get 30 percent better mileage from rwd cars,” Lutz told the newspaper. The administration is calling for a CAFE standard of 34 mpg by 2017, up from 27.5 mpg today.

This month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the EPA can regulate carbon dioxide, called CO2, a gas that contributes to global warming. Reducing CO2 can only be achieved by burning less fuel, Lutz said. The agency has not said if or how it will regulate CO2. Lutz said: “We’ll decide on our rwd cars when the government decides on CO2 levels and CAFE regulations.”

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