Two GM `concepts' are so close to reality Nomad and Curve may show in '05 Kappa platform has room to grow
ALEX LAW SPECIAL TO THE STAR
GM likes to call the Chevrolet Nomad and Saturn Curve concept cars, but it's easy to see how they could quickly turn into production cars and bring a Saab sibling along with them.
Which brings us to GM's latest news on its attitude to future product lines:
GM now has a rock solid policy of only building concept cars with an excellent chance of going into production (such as the recently announced Pontiac Solstice), so they're not doing these for fun.
Engineering vice-president Jim Queen has recently been promising that the world's biggest car company will soon begin to "pummel the marketplace'' with original derivatives of production cars.
It's impossible to make a strong business case for designing a unique architecture (in this case, the Kappa version) only for a vehicle as low-priced and low-volume as Solstice will be, but using it for other small-volume models can make the financial possibilities more attractive.
Saturn is on record as saying it will have six models in a couple of years, so a Curve-like roadster would fit nicely with the three existing units and the soon-to-arrive Terraza crossover sport van and still leave room for one more.
Chevrolet has plans to surpass Ford as the biggest-selling brand in North America and a segment-busting model like a two-door station wagon like the Nomad — which recalls the brief life of the original 1950s Nomad — would certainly help with that.
GM product boss Bob Lutz says we'll see an "onslaught'' of vehicles wearing the designer Swedish label and a two-seater would fit nicely into Saab's premium driver's car firmament, perhaps as the 9-1.
In light of all that, I'll be astonished if we don't see production versions of Curve and Nomad by 2005, as 2006 models, with the Saab arriving about the same time, following the debut of a concept version at a forthcoming auto show.
Solstice and its siblings were all designed from a global perspective, using design studios in England and Sweden, with assembly help from Italy's Pininfarina.
As a result, says Anne Asensio, the French woman who is now GM's executive director for advanced vehicle design, "These vehicles have global appeal that translate well in any language. From the shape of the bodywork to the colours and interior materials, they each represent contemporary design.''
It was media and public reaction to the style of the Solstice concept car at the 2002 Detroit auto show that convinced GM to build the roadster even when a compact rear-drive platform to house it did not exist.
"We knew from the start that we would do it right or not do it at all,'' says Lori Queen, vehicle line executive for GM's small cars. Queen says the Kappa architecture's rigid structure permits more precision when it comes to tuning the suspension, and its suspension design and geometry are not shared with any other GM architecture.
The Kappa chassis also was designed for the all-aluminum Ecotec four-cylinder engine, which will include three iterations, starting with the 2.4-litre version of the DOHC in the Solstice.
While Kappa may have a unique suspension setup, the team that designed the new architecture was happy to "leverage existing GM components where possible,'' to save time and money.
So the Solstice's rear differential is borrowed from the Cadillac CTS, for example, Queen says, with other "proven component selections'' in Solstice and other Kappa cars.
Queen is quick to head off the suspicion that using what the auto industry calls "parts bin engineering'' will be bad for the Solstice. "The parts are adapted to the Kappa architecture and do not compromise the vehicle's design or function,'' she says.
Although the primary motivation for the Kappa architecture was the development of the Solstice, its platform is adaptable, so the Nomad has a longer wheelbase for a second row of seats — as demonstrated with the Chevrolet Nomad sport wagon and Saturn Curve 2+2 coupe concept vehicles.
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Great news. I want a Nomad as a commuter/grocery getter. It looks like it would have utility and fun to drive characteristics like our first S-Jimmy had in 1986.
As far as 5th Gen is concerned, it is more likely to end up on a platform shared with the next GTO and a host of other RWD's that GM will be introducing. Expect the same kind of flexilbility demonstrated by that platform ...
BTW ...some guys in the 5th gen forum at CZ28.com believe that Kappa is using C5 rear suspension less the transverse leaf. Posts: 4222 | From: Winnipeg MB CA | Registered: Feb 2000
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