After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box - Author unknown
“Unfortunately, the truth is now whatever the media say it is”
-Abbey
Interesting. GM is making the same marketing mistake Ford did with the late 80's TBird/ Lincoln Mark 8.Those where both V8 RWD-IRS and no one knew about it. These were the finest riding vehicles on the road for the money and they stopped production of both due to dismal sales. As I recall the introduction of that chassis occurred along with their aquistion of Jaguar, long known for its IRS technology.
The Ford Explorer has been IRS for about 6 years now, and they redesigned the Expedition to use a similar platform about 2 years ago. They both handle unimproved, rutted roads like big cats yet the feature is not marketed.
Source.Two roadsters, the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, will be rear-wheel drive entries. Other rear-wheel drive GM cars include the Cadillac CTS and STS sedans, the Chevrolet Corvette and the Pontiac GTO.
Last edited by The ClayTaurus; 06-29-2007 at 09:37 AM. Reason: Fixed Link
God bless America, but she stole the "b" from bless.
I'm pretty sure Car guys/gals are aware of GM's IRS cars. I didn't know anyone who knows what IRS is who wasn't aware of a shift back to rwd platforms by major manufacturers.
People in SUVs like IRS because it rides better. People in Trucks like Solid rear axles because they're stronger (no CV joints to snap, etc).
People in Sports cars prefer IRS because it typically handles better. People in Muscle Cars like solid rear axles for the same reason as truck guys (also, IRS has more of a tendency to wheel-hop under power, IIRC).
“… the greatest detractor from high performance is fear: fear that you are not prepared, fear that you are in over your head, fear that you are not worthy, and ultimately, fear of failure. If you can eliminate that fear—not through arrogance or just wishing difficulties away, but through hard work and preparation—you will put yourself in an incredibly powerful position to take on the challenges you face" - Pete Carroll.
“… the greatest detractor from high performance is fear: fear that you are not prepared, fear that you are in over your head, fear that you are not worthy, and ultimately, fear of failure. If you can eliminate that fear—not through arrogance or just wishing difficulties away, but through hard work and preparation—you will put yourself in an incredibly powerful position to take on the challenges you face" - Pete Carroll.
Yup - have you driven one? I test-drove a 2004 before buying my RX8. I liked it - until the first on-ramp.
Felt like I was riding in a car with mattress springs for suspension - HUGE amounts of body-roll, Vague braking, and numb steering. I'd never call it a "sports car".
“… the greatest detractor from high performance is fear: fear that you are not prepared, fear that you are in over your head, fear that you are not worthy, and ultimately, fear of failure. If you can eliminate that fear—not through arrogance or just wishing difficulties away, but through hard work and preparation—you will put yourself in an incredibly powerful position to take on the challenges you face" - Pete Carroll.
I searched Clay's source and found no mention of the works "independent" or "suspension", although there is plenty of mention of "rear wheel drive" and 'did not sell enough to justify'. This confirms my analysis that GM has failed to market the IRS cars properly, as Ford did.
US car manufacturers build fine products, but flunk out in marketing.
No - it only means the Car was too heavy and ugly for people to buy. (shrug)
The GTO had near corvette levels of straight-line performance in a bathtub, non-exciting body. That was the real problem. IRS is so common nowadays I hardly think of it as a selling point - it's what is to be expected in a performance (other than straight-line performance) car.
“… the greatest detractor from high performance is fear: fear that you are not prepared, fear that you are in over your head, fear that you are not worthy, and ultimately, fear of failure. If you can eliminate that fear—not through arrogance or just wishing difficulties away, but through hard work and preparation—you will put yourself in an incredibly powerful position to take on the challenges you face" - Pete Carroll.
I dunno about the weight issue so I won't comment on that, but ugly is a marketing failure, is it not? Several posters here commented positively on the OP car's looks, so it could be said that it is you who have not been marketed correctly.
IRS is only common on higher end vehicles, such as Volvo on up. Most lower priced cars marketed as "sporty" as simply FWD with trailer rear ends. So for a car in an reasonable price range to have RWD-IRS it is indeed someting to be flaunted.
No, Ugly is a design failure - NOT a marketing failure. You were stating GM failed to market IRS correctly. I'm saying IRS isn't unique enough for ppl to get past the car's looks.
I believe Volvo has no RWD cars. The ONLY volvos with IRS would be their Car-platform-based SUVs, or AWD cars.IRS is only common on higher end vehicles, such as Volvo on up
Car guys aren't typically into FWD cars (which ALL have IFS -Independent FRONT Suspension, fwiw), save the Mini, and to some extent the 'tuner' variants of other pocket-rockets (Mazdaspeed3, Cobalt SS, etc). Frankly, IRS is the NORM for RWD cars nowadays - especially sports cars (Maybe we can thank the Miata for that, starting in 1989?) In fact, other than the Mustang, I can't think of another current RWD car with a solid axle.Most lower priced cars marketed as "sporty" as simply FWD with trailer rear ends. So for a car in an reasonable price range to have RWD-IRS it is indeed something to be flaunted.
“… the greatest detractor from high performance is fear: fear that you are not prepared, fear that you are in over your head, fear that you are not worthy, and ultimately, fear of failure. If you can eliminate that fear—not through arrogance or just wishing difficulties away, but through hard work and preparation—you will put yourself in an incredibly powerful position to take on the challenges you face" - Pete Carroll.