Buick Lucerne going RWD with replacement

[Scotsman]

Great news. I like the way GM is executing it's RWD strategy...

Buick Lucerne will survive large RWD purge at GM

For the last several years enthusiasts had been awaiting GM’s new round of rear-wheel drive large sedans with bated breath, and as late as a few months ago, those hopes looked like they would be fulfilled. The advent of new and strict CAFE standard, rising fuel prices and GM’s corporate restructuring project spelled the death for the company’s big RWD cars, however, and both the Impala and Lucerne were thought to be casualties of the move.

It turns out that may not be the case. As we reported earlier this year, Cadillac and Buick are apparently exempt from the RWD cutbacks at GM. The Impala will remain a large FWD sedan to continue competing with the Ford Taurus and its ilk, reports MotorTrend, but the Lucerne (current model pictured) will move forward as a RWD sedan - just on a slightly smaller platform. Rather than being built on the planned 118.5-inch wheelbase large Zeta platform the car will be shifted to the midsize Zeta platform at 114.8-inches axle-to-axle - the same platform shared by the Pontiac G8. The reason for the switch is speculated to have been influenced in part by GM’s desire to keep the Cadillac STS/DTS replacement large sedan in its own category on the large Sigma/Zeta merged platform.

Buicks aren’t known for their sporting demeanor or sexy lines, but the Lucerne may change that - to a degree. The new car will likely benefit from the current model’s 197hp 3.8L V6 that is thought to be somewhat underrated on power. No V8 models are expected, and that fits with the more sedate and orderly style of the average Buick buyer. Fuel efficiency still won’t be particulary impressive at an estimated 16mpg city and 25mpg highway, but trickle-down of improvements like direct-injection and possible hybrid elements, the Lucerne could creep closer to 20mpg in town and 30mpg on the highway.

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/s...d-purge-at-gm/

[Scotsman]

DETROIT - Last week I reported that General Motors' plans for a rear-wheel-drive 2011 Chevrolet Impala and Buick Lucerne appear to be dead. That's about half-right: the Impala certainly will remain FWD, but a RWD Lucerne replacement may survive. Designers apparently are reworking the car to make it smaller.

Originally, the 2011 Buick Lucerne was to be about the same overall length, with the same wheelbase as the converged 2011 Cadillac DTS/STS replacement. All these cars, including the RWD Impala, were scheduled for the new Zeta platform, which as Mike Connor reports in the July 2008 issue of Motor Trend, is itself to converge with the Cadillac Sigma RWD platform.

The Buick was to go on the 118.5-inch-wheelbase "large" Zeta platform shared with the Holden Statesman and the Holden Ute/Pontiac G8 pickup. The converged big Caddy is scheduled for a premium version of the large Zeta platform, with forged aluminum suspension bits and probably longer overhangs.

It appears the Buick will instead take the midsize Zeta platform, sharing it with the Pontiac G8 sedan and Holden Commodore. It has a 114.8-inch wheelbase, which is 0.8-inches shorter than the current, FWD Buick Lucerne's. While front-wheel-drive provides better interior space efficiency, the G8 is a spacious large midsize car (or small full-size, if you will), and with a front short overhang, it's 196.1 inches overall, 7.1 inches shorter than the '08 Lucerne.

The big reason given for cutting RWD programs, of course, is fuel economy. There's $4 gas and there's strict, proposed 2011-15 Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. If adopted, the CAFE standards make it more important to get better mileage out of whatever size cars you have, rather than to switch from big cars and trucks to small ones. And here, a comparison between the RWD G8 and FWD Lucerne is instructive.

The 256-hp Pontiac G8 with the 3.6-liter V-6 is rated 17/25 mpg; the 197-hp (cough, cough) Buick Lucerne with the 3.8-liter V-6 is rated 16/25 mpg. The 361-hp G8 GT with the 6.0-liter V-8 is rated 15/25 mpg, while the 292-hp Lucerne Super with the 4.6-liter V-8 is rated 15/22 mpg. With gas-direct injection, or hybrid- or diesel-power, the RWD Zeta platform would make an even greater gain.

Enthusiasts will lament the fact that the RWD Buick has a life, while the RWD Impala does not. But as I wrote in my May 27 post, Chevy already has its Zeta RWD car, the Camaro, on its way, while the FWD Impala is a very popular car that sells directly against the Ford Taurus. No doubt, Cadillac didn't like the idea of Buick getting a Zeta of the same length and wheelbase as the converged DTS/STS. If the Cadillac was originally designed with longer overhangs than on the cancelled 118.5-inch wheelbase Lucerne, those longer overhangs probably have been erased. What's more, while the next Chevy Impala can be built on an extended Epsilon platform, large Epsilon probably wouldn't work for the Buick. The big question now is, will the Lucerne replacement be delayed much beyond an expected '11 model year intro? It could be as much as a year or two.

Since the Buick Lucerne replacement will be sharing Buick-Pontiac-GMC showrooms with the G8, it's important the Lucerne doesn't land right on top of that sport sedan. The Lucerne is a low-volume car. Buick sold just 83,000 in the U.S. last year, and isn't likely to match that in '08. It should be softer and quieter, and start where a well-equipped G8 leaves off. It doesn't even need a V-8 option. If GM can show some discipline about divisional overlap, the RWD Lucerne will be to the G8 what the Buick Enclave is to the GMC Acadia.

http://blogs.motortrend.com/6254556/...ler/index.html

[DGthe3]

it will be interesting to see how this car is received.

[stovt001]

Following the question of whether the next Lucerne will be RWD is like watching a ping-pong game where the players are on speed. My neck hurts.

[Scotsman]

Originally Posted by stovt001

Following the question of whether the next Lucerne will be RWD is like watching a ping-pong game where the players are on speed. My neck hurts.

Agreed. No more GM RWD discussions, it's tiring now.