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Originally, the 2011 Buick Lucerne was to be about the same overall length, with the same wheelbase as the converged 2011 Cadillac DTS/STS replacement. All these cars, including the RWD Impala, were scheduled for the new Zeta platform, which, as Mike Connor reports in the July 2008 issue of Motor Trend, is itself to converge with the Cadillac Sigma RWD platform.

The Buick was to go on the 118.5-in.-wheelbase "large" Zeta platform shared with the Holden Statesman and the Holden Ute/Pontiac G8 pickup. The converged big Caddy is scheduled for a premium version of the large Zeta platform, with forged-aluminum suspension bits and probably longer overhangs.

It appears the Buick will instead take the midsize Zeta platform, sharing it with the Pontiac G8 sedan and Holden Commodore. It has a 114.8-in. wheelbase, which is 0.8-in. shorter than the current, FWD Buick Lucerne's. While front-drive provides better interior space efficiency, the G8 is a spacious large midsize car (or small full-size, if you will), and with a front short overhang, it's 196.1 in. overall, 7.1 in. shorter than the '08 Lucerne.

The big reason given for cutting RWD programs, of course, is fuel economy. There's $4 gas and there are strict, proposed 2011-15 Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards. If adopted, the CAFE standards make it more important to get better mileage out of whatever size cars you have, rather than to switch from big cars and trucks to small ones. And here, a comparison between the RWD G8 and FWD Lucerne is instructive.

The 256-hp Pontiac G8 with the 3.6L V-6 is rated 17/25 mpg; the 197-hp (cough, cough) Buick Lucerne with the 3.8L V-6 is rated 16/25 mpg. The 361-hp G8 GT with the 6.0-liter V-8 is rated 15/25 mpg, while the 292-hp Lucerne Super with the 4.6-liter V-8 is rated 15/22 mpg. With gas-direct injection, or hybrid- or diesel-power, the RWD Zeta platform would make an even greater gain.

Enthusiasts will lament the fact that the RWD Buick has a life, while the RWD Impala does not. But as I wrote in my May 27 post, Chevy already has its Zeta RWD car, the Camaro, on its way, while the FWD Impala is a very popular car that sells directly against the Ford Taurus. No doubt, Cadillac didn't like the idea of Buick getting a Zeta of the same length and wheelbase as the converged DTS/STS. If the Cadillac was originally designed with longer overhangs than on the cancelled 118.5-in. wheelbase Lucerne, those longer overhangs probably have been erased. What's more, while the next Chevy Impala can be built on an extended Epsilon platform, large Epsilon probably wouldn't work for the Buick. The big question now is, will the Lucerne replacement be delayed much beyond an expected '11 model year intro? It could be as much as a year or two.

Since the Buick Lucerne replacement will be sharing Buick-Pontiac-GMC showrooms with the G8, it's important the Lucerne doesn't land right on top of that sport sedan. The Lucerne is a low-volume car. Buick sold just 83,000 in the U.S. last year and isn't likely to match that in '08. It should be softer and quieter and start where a well-equipped G8 leaves off. It doesn't even need a V-8 option. If GM can show some discipline about divisional overlap, the RWD Lucerne will be to the G8 what the Buick Enclave is to the GMC Acadia.