GM W platform
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| W-body | |
| Also called: | GM10 |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer: | General Motors |
| Production: | 1988–2009 |
| Predecessor: | GM A platform (FWD) GM G platform (RWD) GM B platform |
| Successor: | GM Zeta platform |
| Class: | Mid-size car |
| Body style: | 4-door sedan 2-door coupe |
| Engine: | 2.3 L Quad-4 I4 2.8 L 2800 V6 3.1 L 3100 V6 3.5 L DOHC V6 3.8 L 3800 V6 |
| Transmission: | 4-speed 4T60 automatic |
| Front suspension: | coil spring |
| Rear suspension: | transverse leaf spring coil spring |
| Wheelbase: | 107.5 in (2730 mm) 109.0 in (2769 mm) 110.5 in (2807 mm) |
| Similar: | Ford D3 platform Nissan FF-L platform |
| Vehicles: | Buick Century Buick LaCrosse Buick Regal Chevrolet Impala Chevrolet Lumina Chevrolet Monte Carlo Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Oldsmobile Intrigue Pontiac Grand Prix |
The W-body is an automobile platform from General Motors which underpins mid-size cars with front-wheel drive. The platform, originally code named GM10, began in 1982 under Chairman Roger B. Smith and debuted in 1988 with the Pontiac Grand Prix, the Buick Regal, and the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme coupés. Sedans followed for 1990. The platform cost $7 billion to develop and was to replace all midsize cars produced by Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick. The plan was huge in scope, calling for seven plants that would each assemble 250,000 of the cars, or 21% of the total U.S. car market [1]. It was badly executed from the start, but GM’s 1984 reorganization, combined with changing market dynamics wrought havoc on the program and it never recovered. By 1989, the year before the last of the original GM10's were launched, GM was losing $2000 on every one of the cars it produced [2]. The later revision of this platform was known as the MS2000 or simply the W2-Car. Early versions used a fiberglass monoleaf spring in the rear, while second generation cars and the 1995 and up Lumina use a fully independent suspension front and rear with coil springs.
Vehicles using the W-body include:
- 107.5 in wheelbase:
- 1988-1996 Buick Regal
- 1988-1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme
- 1988-1996 Pontiac Grand Prix
- 1990-2001 Chevrolet Lumina
- 1995-1999 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
- 109 in wheelbase
- 1997-2005 Buick Century
- 1997-2004 Buick Regal
- 2000-2005 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
- 1998-2002 Oldsmobile Intrigue
- 110.5 in wheelbase
- 2000-2005 Chevrolet Impala
- 1997-2003 Pontiac Grand Prix
[edit] 2004
The W platform was updated in 2004 rather than being replaced by a planned stretched Epsilon platform. The cars are built at GM's two Oshawa, Ontario plants. The transverse use of GM's small-block engine in the W-bodies was a major addition for 2005.
Vehicles using the updated W platform:
- 110.5 in wheelbase
- 2004-2008 Pontiac Grand Prix
- 2005-2008 Buick LaCrosse
- 2005-2008 Buick Allure (Canada)
- 2006-2008 Chevrolet Impala
- 2006-2007 Chevrolet Monte Carlo
The rear wheel drive GM Zeta platform will replace the W-body, K-Body & G-body after 2010, and has already replaced the V-body.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Alex Taylor III, Andrew Erdman, Justin Martin, and Tricia Welsh, "U.S. Cars Come Back", Fortune, November 16, 1992
- ^ GM Corporate Governance Case Study, The Corporate Library
