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GM Epsilon platform
 
 
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Epsilon is General Motors
General Motors

General Motors Corporation , founded in 1908, is the world's second-largest automaker after Toyota, ranked by 2008 global unit sales. GM was the global sales leader for 77 consecutive calendar years from 1931 to 2008....
' new mid-size
Mid-size car

A mid-size car is the North American and Australian term for an automobile with a size between that of a Compact car and a full-size car. In Europe, cars of a similar size are often referred to as large family cars, or executive cars....
 front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive

Front-wheel drive is a form of Internal combustion engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only....
 automobile platform
Automobile platform

An automobile platform is a shared set of common design, engineering, and production efforts, as well as major components over a number of outwardly distinct models and even types of automobiles, often from different, but related marques....
. The architecture debuted in the 2002 Opel Vectra
Opel Vectra

The Opel Vectra is a large family car produced primarily by Opel, the Germany subsidiary of GM Europe . In the United Kingdom, it is sold under the Vauxhall Motors marque as Vauxhall Vectra ....
 and 2003 Saab 9-3
Saab 9-3

The Saab 9-3 is a compact executive car produced by the automaker Saab Automobile in Trollh?ttan, Sweden. The convertible version is manufactured in Austria by Magna Steyr....
. Since this platform falls squarely in the center of the worldwide automobile market, GM plans to produce a great many Epsilon vehicles with over a dozen variations. , it is GM's highest volume worldwide platform. Even after the dissolution of the GM/Fiat
Fiat

Fiat S.p.A. Fiat based cars are constructed all around the world?the largest concern outside Italy is in Brazil . It also has factories in Argentina and Poland....
 partnership, both companies retain the rights to continue developing Epsilon-derived models.

Features
GM's Epsilon platform replaced the N platform
GM N platform

The General Motors N platform was a front-wheel drive compact car automobile platform produced from 1985 to 2006. The N platform replaced the GM X platform in 1985....
 in the US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, and replaced the GM2900 platform
GM2900 platform

General Motors Corporation introduced the mid-size front-wheel drive GM2900 platform in 1988 with the introductions of the Opel Vectra A and the Vauxhall Cavalier Mk.3 for the 1989 model year....
 elsewhere.






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Epsilon is General Motors
General Motors

General Motors Corporation , founded in 1908, is the world's second-largest automaker after Toyota, ranked by 2008 global unit sales. GM was the global sales leader for 77 consecutive calendar years from 1931 to 2008....
' new mid-size
Mid-size car

A mid-size car is the North American and Australian term for an automobile with a size between that of a Compact car and a full-size car. In Europe, cars of a similar size are often referred to as large family cars, or executive cars....
 front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive

Front-wheel drive is a form of Internal combustion engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only....
 automobile platform
Automobile platform

An automobile platform is a shared set of common design, engineering, and production efforts, as well as major components over a number of outwardly distinct models and even types of automobiles, often from different, but related marques....
. The architecture debuted in the 2002 Opel Vectra
Opel Vectra

The Opel Vectra is a large family car produced primarily by Opel, the Germany subsidiary of GM Europe . In the United Kingdom, it is sold under the Vauxhall Motors marque as Vauxhall Vectra ....
 and 2003 Saab 9-3
Saab 9-3

The Saab 9-3 is a compact executive car produced by the automaker Saab Automobile in Trollh?ttan, Sweden. The convertible version is manufactured in Austria by Magna Steyr....
. Since this platform falls squarely in the center of the worldwide automobile market, GM plans to produce a great many Epsilon vehicles with over a dozen variations. , it is GM's highest volume worldwide platform. Even after the dissolution of the GM/Fiat
Fiat

Fiat S.p.A. Fiat based cars are constructed all around the world?the largest concern outside Italy is in Brazil . It also has factories in Argentina and Poland....
 partnership, both companies retain the rights to continue developing Epsilon-derived models.

Features


GM's Epsilon platform replaced the N platform
GM N platform

The General Motors N platform was a front-wheel drive compact car automobile platform produced from 1985 to 2006. The N platform replaced the GM X platform in 1985....
 in the US
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, and replaced the GM2900 platform
GM2900 platform

General Motors Corporation introduced the mid-size front-wheel drive GM2900 platform in 1988 with the introductions of the Opel Vectra A and the Vauxhall Cavalier Mk.3 for the 1989 model year....
 elsewhere. Vehicles of this platform generally carry the symbol "Z" in the fourth digit of their VINs
Vehicle identification number

A Vehicle Identification Number, commonly abbreviated to VIN, is a unique serial number used by the automotive industry to identify individual motor vehicles....
.

When the platform debuted, there was talk of an "Epsilon Wide" derivative, which was supposed to have provided the underpinnings for the Buick LaCrosse
Buick LaCrosse

The Buick LaCrosse is a mid-size car produced by the Buick division of United States automaker General Motors since 2004 as the 2005 model year....
 and Saab 9-5
Saab 9-5

The Saab 9-5 is an executive car produced by the Swedish automobile maker Saab Automobile. It was introduced in 1997 as the replacement to the Saab 9000....
. However, the program was cancelled and the LaCrosse was put on the W platform
GM W platform

The W-body is an automobile platform from General Motors which underpins mid-size cars with front-wheel drive. The platform, originally code named GM10, began in 1982 under Chairman Roger B....
, and the 9-5 was given a quick refresh for the 2006 model year.

Many of the Epsilon vehicles use the Ecotec Family II
GM Family II engine

The Family II is a straight-4 piston engine that was originally developed by Opel in late 1970s for use in the Opel Ascona B and Opel Kadett#Kadett D....
 I4
Straight-4

The straight-4 or inline-4 engine is a four cylinder internal combustion engine with all four cylinder mounted in a straight line along the crankcase....
 engines and both the High Value
GM High Value engine

The High Value engine family from General Motors Corporation is a group of Cam in Block or "Pushrod" V6 engines. They use the same 60? vee bank as the GM 60-Degree V6 engine they are based on, but the new 99 mm bore required offsetting the bores by 1.5 mm away from the engine centerline....
 and High Feature
GM High Feature engine

The 3600 LY7 are members of General Motors Corporation' new High Feature engine family of modern DOHC V6s. This new family of engines was introduced in 2004 with the Cadillac CTS....
 V6 engines.

Control of the Epsilon platform has passed, as of 2005, to GM Europe. Headquartered with Opel
Opel

Adam Opel Gesellschaft mit beschr?nkter Haftung is a Germany automaker, part of General Motors.The company was founded on 21 January, 1863, and began making automobiles in 1899....
 in Rüsselsheim, Germany, GM Europe will be responsible for all future Epsilon product decisions other than Saab
Saab Automobile

Saab Automobile AB, better known as Saab, is a Swedish automaker and currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Motors. It is the exclusive automobile royal warrant holder as appointed by Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden....
 and Cadillac
Cadillac

Cadillac is a luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors. Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, mainly in the United States, Canada, and Mexico....
 models.

The refreshed 2008 SAAB 9-3 debuted with an advanced version of all-wheel-drive it dubbed XWD, finally giving a definitive answer to rumors about the platform's ability to support AWD, which had been around since the debut of the platform.

Vehicles

Current vehicles based on this platform:
  • Regular
    • 2002 Opel Vectra
      Opel Vectra

      The Opel Vectra is a large family car produced primarily by Opel, the Germany subsidiary of GM Europe . In the United Kingdom, it is sold under the Vauxhall Motors marque as Vauxhall Vectra ....
    • 2003 Saab 9-3
      Saab 9-3

      The Saab 9-3 is a compact executive car produced by the automaker Saab Automobile in Trollh?ttan, Sweden. The convertible version is manufactured in Austria by Magna Steyr....
    • 2004 Chevrolet Malibu
      Chevrolet Malibu

      The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car produced in the United States by General Motors. It is marketed in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Middle East....
    • 2006 Cadillac BLS
      Cadillac BLS

      The Cadillac BLS is a compact executive car designed specifically for the European market by the Cadillac marque of General Motors. The car is based on GM's GM Epsilon platform architecture and is built in the same plant in Trollh?ttan, Sweden, that builds the Saab 9-3 and the Saab 9-5....


  • Extended
    • 2003 Opel Signum
      Opel Signum

      The Opel Signum is a large family car manufactured by General Motors in Germany since 2003. It is almost exclusively sold in Europe, in the United Kingdom under the Vauxhall Signum nameplate....
    • 2004 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx
    • 2005 Pontiac G6
      Pontiac G6

      The Pontiac G6 is a mid-size car produced under the Pontiac brand of United States automaker General Motors. It was introduced in the fall of 2004 to replace the Pontiac Grand Am....
    • 2005 Fiat Croma
      Fiat Croma

      The Fiat Croma is a nameplate used for two automobiles produced by Italian automaker Fiat, one built from 1985 to 1996 and the other since 2005....
    • 2007 Saturn Aura
      Saturn Aura

      The Saturn Aura is a mid-size car produced under the Saturn Corporation brand of United States automaker General Motors. It debuted as a concept car at the North American International Auto Show in January 2005....
    • 2008 Chevrolet Malibu
      Chevrolet Malibu

      The Chevrolet Malibu is a mid-size car produced in the United States by General Motors. It is marketed in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Middle East....


Cancelled vehicles which would have used this platform:
  • 2006 Alfa Romeo Spider
    Alfa Romeo Spider

    The Alfa Romeo Spider is a roadster produced by the Italy manufacturer Alfa Romeo from 1966 to 1993 .Widely regarded as a design classic, it remained in production for almost three decades with only minor aesthetic and mechanical changes....
     replacement (AWD, eventually used the GM/Fiat Premium platform
    GM/Fiat Premium platform

    The Premium platform is General Motors Corporation and Fiat's high-end automobile platform. The architecture debuted with the Alfa Romeo Brera. Even after the dissolution of the GM/Fiat partnership, both companies retain the rights to continue developing Premium-derived models, though no GM versions are known....
    )
  • 2006 small Buick
    Buick

    Buick is a marque of automobile sold in the United States, Canada, China, Taiwan, Qatar, Kuwait, and Israel by General Motors Corporation. Since the demise of Oldsmobile in 2004, it is GM's only North America-based entry-level luxury brand....


Epsilon II

A new version of the Epsilon, dubbed Epsilon II, debuted in 2008. It is adaptable for front
Front-wheel drive

Front-wheel drive is a form of Internal combustion engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only....
 and all-wheel drive applications.

Current Vehicles built on Epsilon II:
  • 2009 Buick Regal
    Buick Regal

    The Buick Regal is a mid-size car produced by General Motors' Buick division from 1973 through 2004, during which Buick also used the Buick Century name on mid-size models; the two frequently shared bodies and powertrains....
     (China Only for '09-'10)
  • 2009 Opel Insignia
    Opel Insignia

    The Opel Insignia is a large family car produced by GM Europe German Division "Opel" since 2008, replacing the Opel Vectra. It was launched at the 2008 British International Motor Show....


Concept vehicles built on Epsilon II:
  • 2007 Opel GTC
    Opel GTC

    The Opel Gran Turismo Coup?, abbreviated as Opel GTC, is an Opel concept car which was speculated to be a hypothetical Opel Vectra coup?. The GTC premiered at the 77th Geneva Motor Show....


The Epsilon II may be used in the following vehicles:
  • 2010 Buick LaCrosse
    Buick LaCrosse

    The Buick LaCrosse is a mid-size car produced by the Buick division of United States automaker General Motors since 2004 as the 2005 model year....
  • 2010 Buick Regal
    Buick Regal

    The Buick Regal is a mid-size car produced by General Motors' Buick division from 1973 through 2004, during which Buick also used the Buick Century name on mid-size models; the two frequently shared bodies and powertrains....
  • Future Saab 9-5
    Saab 9-5

    The Saab 9-5 is an executive car produced by the Swedish automobile maker Saab Automobile. It was introduced in 1997 as the replacement to the Saab 9000....
  • Future Chevy Impala
  • Future Chevy Malibu


Footnotes