Quote:
Originally Posted by cfg83
NeilBlanchard -
I wish I had the article in front of me, maybe someone else posted it. Before the gas crunch, the GM divisions "competed" against each other as autonomous entities. When they tried to consolidate in the 1980s, they did it backwards. The different divisions offered very similar external designs with very different internal drivetrains. Instead they should have offered near-identical drivetrains with external style differentiation. This would have saved a lot of $ and allowed them to perfect the drivetrains for reliability. CarloSW2
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Maybe I'm missing something? GM used the same powertrain in a lot of different vehicles, and parts interchangeability was incredible. Like they used the 3.1 MPFI in the Cavalier, Lumina, Beretta, Celebrity, etc. The 3800 got used in tons of vehicles, as well as the 2.5 Iron Duke. And they only really had 2 auto transaxles in the 80s, the 125C and the 440T4, only thing they would do is use a handful of different final drive gear or chain sets as needed. The bulk of the undercarriages were shared with very little difference too. They only had a handful of different wheel bearings and brake assemblies that they used throughout the 80s. Sister cars of different divisions were usually identical powertrains, wiring, and undercarriages and 90% identical sheetmetal and interior, they just changed a handful of cosmetic bolt-ons to cater to different types of buyers. Also, of course they had a few lemons like the quad 4 and 4.3 diesel, but I always thought most of the drivetrains of the era were pretty reliable.