Despite concerns over the survivability of development plans for a new range of rear-drive models from General Motors, the midsized Alpha project is reported to be well underway with the first model due by the end of the decade. Alpha is the name of GM’s midsized RWD platform, a global architecture that will spawn several new cars across North America and Europe. According to GM’s suppliers, Alpha shares much in common with the Kappa platform on which cars like the Pontiac Solstice are based.
The first model to be released based on Alpha running gear will be a RWD Pontiac G6 due by late 2010. This will be followed in 2011 by a replacement for the FWD Cadillac BLS sedan and wagon currently sold in Europe. The next-gen BLS is also expected to be sold in the US for the first time, with pricing starting around the high $20,000 mark.
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