RWD Imapala moved slightly upmarket sounds good to me. Keep the Malibu pretty much the way it is. You’ll find that the soccer moms who don’t care what wheels the power comes from will mostly still buy the Malibu, but also that by making the Impala RWD, that’s right in the entry-level Chrysler 300 area, which is right where they need to be. This is a good idea. People who know cars will pay that little extra to get RWD.

What wheel drive? I’m sure this is often discussed, but this is my take:
AWD is superior pretty much all the time. But RWD is better than FWD as well.
FWD, in my understanding, came about because it was a. cheaper, b. easier to produce, and c. more difficult to screw up in.
RWD will oversteer, and most people will react by braking, which causes it to spin. Hitting the gas when the back comes loose is (believe it or not) quite contradictory to most everyday drivers.
FWD will understeer, you hit the brakes, everything is ok, you stop (or you keep understeering and go straight off a cliff, but anyway).
So according to the safety people, FWD is safer for everyday drivers. Enthusiasts and all manner of “people who drive in a spirited manner” prefer oversteer to understeer anyday because at least that will keep you pointed in the right direction. This is why I’d prefer an entry level BMW 316i over a new Acura TL Type S. If only they would make it AWD…

If you know what you’re doing, RWD is still better, even in the snow, like 1c3d0g said. And come on, who gets “stuck in snowbanks?”

Once a RWD car is in a snow bank, it is very difficult to get out. With FWD there is more weight over the driving wheels and therefore a higher coefficient of friction. Also it easier to pull out a vehicle than to push it out frome the rear.

I would bet the RWD Impala would start around $25,000 ( +$3000 from today) with the Malibu around $18,000 (about where it is today)

It just seems as though anything with rwd is automatically moved upmarket, despite the fact that GM has spent the last fifteen or so years trying to convince everyone that fwd is, in fact, better than rwd. Now that GM can once again produce rwd vehicles they’re doing a complete 180 on this strategy. “Oh, just kidding, we knew rear-wheel was better all along. Now that we have some rear-wheel cars you have to pay a premium for them.”

The formula for the car sounds great, but the marketing is going to be what makes or breaks this car. Ultimately, I don’t think this thing should even hit the market if it’s going to be a Chevrolet posing as a Cadillac.

Personally, I think they should price the rwd and the fwd models as close together as possible, and see what the market decides.

/no

How about keeping the Impala where it is and giving Saturn a more upscale version?

I think they’ll be able to pull it off, if the spy shots of the upcoming Malibu and Camaro are any indication. Could look good. They MUST make it aggressive and not staid like their existing sedans. Toyota and Honda can continue making incredibly reliable appliances, but in order to compete, GM/Ford both need to make their products more exciting.

This is what Chevrolet has been missing for a long time. Big, comfortable, V8 powered all-American sedan. Not a front wheel drive Japanese car wannabe, but an honest to God affordable rear wheel drive V8 sedan.