Holden Commodore being exported to US again

[Joe Handley]

Nope. the Impala is staying FWD. The new FWD 2014 Impala (on the Epsilon II platform) debuted a couple months ago at the New York Auto Show. The Commodores coming here will be badged as SS or another name..

2014 Impala:

Is it just me, or does anybody else think that car would look better with a foot of sheet metal between the front doors and tires?

Give plenty of room for a V-8 to be put in in a rwd fashion too

[Rob Hall]

Is it just me, or does anybody else think that car would look better with a foot of sheet metal between the front doors and tires?

That's common styling weakness of transverse engine FWD cars, IMO...they have a very short door to front axle length, which results in odd proportions.

[martinfan5]

The 2014 Impala reminds me of the current Ford Taurus

[Rob Hall]

The 2014 Impala reminds me of the current Ford Taurus

The Taurus is it's main market target, I would think....

[martinfan5]

The Taurus is it's main market target, I would think....

Yes it is, what I meant was the overall design is close to the Taurus , there are lines on the Impala that look like they do on the Taurus, or maybe its just me

[Craig Irwin]

fact it was a automatic the first time around killed it. styling was another reason.

My boss has one, and it's a stick.

[Yoda]

I'm surprised it's not a Buick, since they desperately need to stretch the brand to cover every sort of car that's premium but not fancy enough to be a Cadillac. They're did well with the Regal, but the Verano seems so "old GM" with its' ugly grille, tacked-on trunk and mandatory automatic transmission.

A halo four-door muscle car - call it Grand National - would be just the thing to get people in to look at, say, a manual Verano hatchback whose grille fits the original Opel opening. Or a diesel Regal wagon. Or maybe they'll go straight for the new GN.

Edited May 19, 2012 by Yoda

[Rob Hall]

I'm surprised it's not a Buick, since they desperately need to stretch the brand to cover every sort of car that's premium but not fancy enough to be a Cadillac. They're did well with the Regal, but the Verano seems so "old GM" with its' ugly grille, tacked-on trunk and mandatory automatic transmission.

A halo four-door muscle car - call it Grand National - would be just the thing to get people in to look at, say, a manual Verano hatchback whose grille fits the original Opel opening. Or a diesel Regal wagon. Or maybe they'll go straight for the new GN.

Buick wouldn't have worked from the NASCAR branding angle, though. They already have the LaCrosse for their large soft-lux car. A variation of the LWB Zeta (Caprice PPV here) is sold in China as the Buick Park Avenue...

I've read that Buick is getting a Riviera 2dr in a couple years as a halo car, it may be on the new Alpha RWD platform which the ATS, next Camaro, next CTS will use..

Edited May 19, 2012 by Rob Hall

[Longbox55]

Manual transmission would alienate the target Buick buyer. Most Buick customers want automatics, and cushy seats, power everyting, etc. Even the few Cadillacs with a manual option tend to be seen more often in automatic form. since Chevrolet is the performance division, it makes the most sense to have the manual trans option in that brand. Even then, most of them will get built with automatics.

[Danno]

That's common styling weakness of transverse engine FWD cars, IMO...they have a very short door to front axle length, which results in odd proportions.

It's the whole 'cab forward' school of styling. Still.

[Fabrux]

Manual transmission would alienate the target Buick buyer. Most Buick customers want automatics, and cushy seats, power everyting, etc. Even the few Cadillacs with a manual option tend to be seen more often in automatic form. since Chevrolet is the performance division, it makes the most sense to have the manual trans option in that brand. Even then, most of them will get built with automatics.

The Buick Regal GS comes with manual transmission standard. Automatic is an option.

[Longbox55]

The Buick Regal GS comes with manual transmission standard. Automatic is an option.

True. But you'll never see one with the "standard" manual transmission, unless it's a special order. 99.999% of Buick buyers want automatics. Dealers won't stock manuals either, better margins if it's equipped with the pricier "opional" automatic.