Fast Cars

This blogger thinks that GM's recent decision to stop development of a rear-wheel drive platform was a big mistake.

American drivers want more power. Asian drivers want more power. Even European drivers want more power. There comes a point, however, where you just can't put any more power through the drive train of a front wheel drive vehicle. Get too much over 200 horses, and torque steer becomes a serious problem. For automakers looking to sell more, and more powerful, cars with big power plants and fat profit margins (like the drool-worthy RWD Chrysler 300C), they have to switch back to Rear Wheel Drive platforms.

All that power comes at a price, too. Not just in developing fancier engines, but also in keeping emissions down and fuel economy up. And, oh yeah – beefier frames to handle all the high-powered stress. In short, if an automaker wants to increase, or even maintain, its profits and market share, it has to be in the game right now.

As already mentioned, Chrysler is already playing, and playing well. Ford, except for the new Mustang (ten years late, if you ask me), seems to have given up the fight. The Ford Five Hundred is a fine car, but bland and underpowered. Chevy is trying, really trying, with a slew of sporty SS models – but not one of them compares to sportier near-lux models from their Japanese competitors. In fact, the Japanese are so far ahead, they now have their sites set on dethroning BMW's venerable 3-series.

Fact is, if you want a performance sedan, you aren't looking at Ford at all, and the pickings aren't terribly much better at GM.

I don't know what the solution is to GM's problems, but I do know that delaying new RWD models is not the answer.

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Read more from this blogger: Vodkapundit - Car Talk