GM Working on Lucerne, DTS Replacements
Date Posted 02-21-2005

DETROIT — In a series of exclusive interviews with Inside Line, General Motors suppliers say the automaker already has begun planning a new generation of full-size family and luxury sedans, including replacements for three models that won't go on sale until this fall.

GM is laying the groundwork for a brand-new front-wheel-drive platform for its next-generation full-size models, sources tell Inside Line. That platform reportedly carries the code name "Chi." The new platform will be used as the base for successors to the 2006 Buick Lucerne, the 2006 Cadillac DTS and the 2006 Chevrolet Impala, according to suppliers.

Chi is the latest in a growing series of GM vehicle families, or "architectures," each of which has been given a Greek letter to identify it and differentiate it from the rest of the extended clan.

One source close to GM describes the Chi platform as "essentially a passenger-car version of Lambda," the large FWD/AWD architecture that will underpin a new family of crossover vehicles for Buick, GMC, Pontiac and Saturn, beginning in 2006.

Another source said Chi is intended as GM's answer to Ford's full-size D3 platform, which is used for the Ford Five Hundred, the Ford Freestyle and the Mercury Montego. The Chi platform will be able to accommodate V6 and V8 engines.

GM apparently has not locked in a start date for the Chi program, but suppliers say it won't commence production until around 2010-2011.

What this means to you: If you can't wait to dash out to your local Buick dealer this fall to check out the new Lucerne, be forewarned. The new one is a long way around the corner — in 2011.