Camino LS6

Man, that's hard news to receive. Been there. All the best to you Drew.

Good point.

I feel like I should clarify a bit. Just because A&S styling isn't my cup-o-tea, doesn't mean it isn't right for the CTS family and Caddy in general. It is a strong design language that fits what Caddy wants to project at this time. With styling out of the way, I wholly endorse the mission, mechanics, diversity, and execution of all the CTS variants. Multiple bodystyles and trim levels available in each bodystyle is just what I want to see. These are very,very, good Cadillacs that just need complimentary lot mates.

Messed-with junk.

I'm not really into small cars, but they shouldn't have to be boring little penalty boxes. I should be able to admire and respect them - even if I wouldn't choose them. Just because they are small, shouldn't mean that they suck. Time to raise the bar!

At this point, it's all up to me.

So stark in winter...

I'm mostly in Mustang's camp... A&S really isn't my thing.

I remember the Postal Pintos.

In my head, it's all about little cars that don't suck for a change.

The Nomad certainly inspired my thinking about this. Loved that thing!

If that could be made to work, it would be a major achievement.

Hopefully, at your Chevrolet dealer instead. Excepting the LWB sedan, perhaps.

I find myself wondering what this would look like as a vert.

I'm thinking shooting brake P1800 style...

Right now, as a former Firebird and GTO owner, I am pinning my hopes on future product from Chevrolet.

Now that's one hell of a recipe! I have some serious doubts about the pricing though.

True enough. But I think that the price premium will leave those folks largely orphans.

What I find interesting are the holes in that layout. They start with the G6 and the lack of bodystyles at other brands. Then move to the vaporware (as of today) of a Zeta sedan. Followed by the end of Kappa which could/should be so much more (Alpha someday?). Then onward to the omission of the GTO in that list. I see this as a significant hole because GTO owners came to expect a higher level of refinement than perhap even G8 buyers do. The Camaro really isn't an analog for that car. The Firebird to Camaro translation has some merit to be sure. However, the last Firebird and the current Camaro are very far apart in both form and function - so the translation is not perfect. That leaves the Astra comparison, which doesn't really work - but perhaps doesn't really matter as the Astra never had a chance to gain much of a following. Those Pontiacs and Saturns I left out really do translate without effort, and we can just forget about the Vibe, I think. For Hummer and Saab, that ship really has sailed. The one possible exception might be a GMC version of the HX making production.

From all of the grim crap I'm dealing with. So I thought that I'd ask a hypothetical question to get a discussion going. What if GM were to build a really small RWD car/platform? Something smaller than the Alpha. Maybe Mini-sized or a touch bigger. Can anyone come-up with some configuration ideas? Just thought it might make a good "what if" exercise.

As do I. Timing will be critical though. If the economy weren't so grim, I might say that it was already too late. It is that grim though, and ironically, that might buy GM the time it needs to get things right.

Agreed. Even an Aveo sized car might do well (if styled exceptionally well), but the Spark is just too goofy and small IMO.

The more mainstream models are pretty easy to find analogs for at GM's other brands, it's the others that will be more difficult. For the former, a healthy rebate might do the job. For the latter, it will have to be a product-based enticement.

Diesel would help to gain some breathing space and time for adaptations to be made - could be a big part of the puzzle. I think the microcar thing is a tougher nut to crack, a segment leader just one notch up from it might have a better chance of making a difference - and a profit.

Back on the news item a bit, 2K might be a good place to start. I'm just not so sure that it will get them from A to B. For the owners of the best-loved Pontiacs, they need more product options. For some of the Firebird faithful, the Camaro is a natural progression - but is it enough?