GM Platform and Architecture Guide

[ragingfish]

This is a list covering the platforms underpinning the majority of GM vehicles available in the North American market today. It is by no means a full list, and may be erroneous. Please let me know if you have information that disputes mine.This list only includes platforms being used in currently produced vehicles. It does not include platforms from vehicles no longer being manufactured (i.e. J-body, etc)GM PLATFORMS (listed alphabetically)Alpha - mid to large size AWD/RWD car (NextGen Pontiac G6, future Cadillac small car [sub-CTS])Delta - premium FWD small car (Saturn ION, Pontiac Pursuit/G5, Chevy Cobalt, Chevy HHR)Epsilon - "bread and butter" FWD/AWD, midsize car (Saab 9-5, Opel Vectra*, Cadillac BLS*, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Malibu MAXX**, Pontiac G6**, Saturn AURA**)Epsilon II - next generation of current Epsilon, FWD/AWD/RWD, midsize car (2009 SAAB 9-5)G-body - mid to luxury FWD (Cadillac DTS, Buick Lucerne, Pontiac Bonneville***)GMT-355 - small FWD truck (Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon, Hummer H3)GMT-360 - midsize SUV (Chevrolet TrailBlazer, GMC Envoy, Buick Rainier***, Isuzu Ascender, SAAB 9-7X)GMT-900 - next-generation midsize truck and SUV, replaced GMT-800 (2007 +Chevrolet Silverado, 2007+ Chevrolet Avalanche, 2007+ Chevrolet Tahoe, 2007+ Chevrolet Suburban, 2007+ GMC Sierra, 2007+ GMC Yukon/XL, 2007+ Cadillac Escalade/EXT/ESC, 2007+ Hummer H2)Kappa - mid-performance RWD small car (Pontiac Solstice, Saturn SKY, Opel GT*)Lambda - mid to large size crossover vehicle (Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia, Buick Enclave)M-body - GM/Toyota joint platform (Pontiac Vibe, Toyota Matrix)Sigma - luxury AWD/RWD car or crossover vehicle (Cadillac CTS, SRX and STS)Theta - unibody crossover FWD/AWD (Saturn VUE, Pontiac Torrent, Chevy Equinox, possible future Cadillac crossover)W-body - mid-luxury FWD (Pontiac Grand Prix, Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Monte Carlo***, Buick LaCrosse/Allure)Y-body - "super" performance, RWD (Chevrolet Corvette, Cadillac XLR)Zeta – performance RWD/AWD (Pontiac G8, Chevrolet Corvette, NextGen Pontiac GTO?)NOTES:* - indicates vehicle is not available in the North American market** - indicates vehicle uses an extended version of the Epsilon I Platform*** - indicates vehicle is no longer in - or approaching the end of - production.

[Stang2Vibe]

Good info there, Mike! Is the change to using Greek letters a new thing for GM? And if so, why the change? I know they always used to use a single letter to designate each different car line. Is the the result of their multinationalism or just something new? Or maybe they have been using it (or started using it) over the past few years?

[ragingfish]

Doesn't seem like letters are used much anymore. Going through the master list of american models i have, GM has some strange platform designations:CAMI M2Corolla SDaewoo T2Daewoo V200DeltaEpsilonGammaGM 325GM 530GM CKGM EK3GM F6GM G CARGM GPGM J2GM KappaGM MGM NPRGM P90GM S CorsaGM ThetaGM U2GM VectraGM W2 CarGM W3GM X130GM Y5GM Y6GMT 201GMT 250GMT 325GMT 355GMT 360GMT 380GMT 455GMT 560GMT 600GMT 610GMT 800GMT 820GMT 900GMX 130HummerIsuzu LUVLambdaLegacy 3OmegaSaturn SSigmaSuzuki J/E2Toyota S2V-car

[Stang2Vibe]

Aaaahhh! AOL would have kicked you off for scrolling! LOL.I see lots of repeats in the list. Even picked out the "Corolla S" on there at a quick glance. GM is going to start making the Corolla S? That's one crazy list. I might need a master copy of the Enigma code to decipher it.

[ragingfish]

No no. Those are just platforms. I just copied and pasted, obviously.The Corolla S platform was listed under Chevy Prizm.

[ragingfish]

You're right, that platform list was outta control. I removed all the duplicates (I think) and sorted it alphabetically. Still quite a few!

[Stang2Vibe]

Ah, I am starting to get it now. But I think that might be a master platform list for the entire company worldwide. There are probaby many platforms on that list that produce cars that we'll never see in North America.What I originally meant was that GM used to use a single letter to represent an entire platform of cars. Examples:B-bodies=old Bonnevilles, Caprice, Parisienne, Delta 98, etc.F-bodies=Firebird, Trans-Am, CamaroW-bodies=Grand Prix, Lumina, Regal, Cutlass SupremeLooks like they did away with this system.

[ragingfish]

I'm looking forward to the more streamlined system. This whole P90 GMT 800 etc. platform nomenclature is horrendous!

[kriswinner]

Just a couple corrections...The DTS (name for the 2006 Deville) is still going to be the "G-Body", not the Sigma architecture (still FWD).The Saturn L-series isn't on the Epsilon architecture yet. The L-series is going to be killed this model year and replaced in another year with a Saturn version of the Malibu Maxx (Epsilon architecture).BTW, the C6-Corvette and XLR still did not make the greek change and are "Y-bodies"

[Pablo1669]

Quote, originally posted by Stang2Vibe »B-bodies=old Bonnevilles, Caprice, Parisienne, Delta 98, etc.F-bodies=Firebird, Trans-Am, CamaroW-bodies=Grand Prix, Lumina, Regal, Cutlass SupremeLooks like they did away with this system.Don't forget about the J-car (sunfire/cavalier).They started switching over to Greek Letter names a few years ago, the first one to be created was the Epsilon platform. Not until recently have more and more greek letter platforms been created.

[Stang2Vibe]

Ok, I'm starting to get the picture here now. But one question still remains--why the change? The old system was used for decades and I'm not familiar with any particular complaints about it, so what prompted the changeover?

[Pablo1669]

Quote, originally posted by Stang2Vibe »Ok, I'm starting to get the picture here now. But one question still remains--why the change? The old system was used for decades and I'm not familiar with any particular complaints about it, so what prompted the changeover?You know, I'm not really sure why they changed, but I'll surely look into it and see what I can dig up. I know a few people I can ask at work who have been involved with the Epsilon platform since it started.

[kriswinner]

I think the greek lettering was just the "new" way to do business. It got kind of confusing with the G-body, the "new" G-body, the "extended" G-body, etc. (Now you can call me Ray, or you can call me Jay, or you can call me Ray Jay... ) BTW - the next CTS (currently on the Sigma platform) is on - get this - the "Next Gen Sigma". Guess that's better than "new Sigma", eh?

[ragingfish]

updated! 2 new platforms have been added to the list, and i also carried over the truck platforms for those interested...