Automotive News reports that GM still hasn't decided whether their next gen Chevrolet Impala will channel its motive power through the front or rear wheels. While the Impala's replacement is currently slated for the same rear wheel-drive platform used by the… wait for it… please wait for it… it really is coming soon we swear… Chevrolet Camaro, the automaker is now contemplating placing the new Impala on the company's box fresh, front wheel-drive "global mid-sized vehicle architecture." That's the platform that will underpin virtually everything GM makes, from the European Vectra to the replacement for the just-out Chevrolet Malibu. Aye, there's the rub. The new 'Bu is nearasdammit the same size as the current Impala. If both cars ride on the same global platform, there can only be a 20" difference between them. Badge engineering across brands is one thing; trying to differentiate mechanically identical cars within one brand is another. Indeed, there are already worries that the new Malibu will cannibalize sales from the current Impala. So who gets the final call and when will they make it? Hipster Car Czar Maximum Bob Lutz says it's all down to the feds. ""The large rwd (Chevrolet) sedan is always on the bubble, depending on what the government does," Lutz says. "A lot of the product lineups are up in the air right now and very flexible." Now there's a product plan you can believe in.
