GM Delta platform
Encyclopedia
Delta was General Motors
' compact
front-wheel drive
automobile
and crossover SUV
platform
, a successor to the GM T platform
; it also replaced GM J platform
and the Z platform
used by the Saturn S-Series
. The platform debuted in the 2003 Saturn Ion
. Vehicles of this platform generally carry the symbol "A" in the fourth digit of their VINs
. The architecture was developed by Opel
in Germany.
The Volkswagen Jetta
is said to have been the target for the design group. Delta uses an independent suspension
in front and torsion bar type in the rear. The Ecotec Family II
engine is widely used, as are a 4-speed automatic
and 5-speed manual transmission
.
' future compact car
platform
, which was developed by Opel in Germany. It is the successor to the GM Delta platform. Internally it is simply known as a new Global Compact Vehicle Architecture or GCV.
The platform features a torsion beam rear suspension with optional Watt's link
which improves vehicle handling; such configuration is used in the Opel Astra and the American-market Chevrolet Cruze.
GM chose this compact vehicle architecture for its first Voltec application, the Chevrolet Volt
. Production began in November 2010 with the first Chevrolet Volt
s delivered to retails customers in December 2010
Announced production vehicles to be based on Delta II platform:
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
' compact
Compact car
A compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...
front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive is a form of engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and...
automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
and crossover SUV
Crossover SUV
A crossover SUV is a vehicle built on a car platform and combining, in highly variable degrees, features of a sport utility vehicle with features from a passenger vehicle, especially those of a station wagon or hatchback.Using the unibody construction typical of passenger vehicles, the crossover...
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...
, a successor to the GM T platform
GM T platform
The General Motors T-car was an automobile platform designation for subcompact cars. It was the 1970s' most prolific world car program. The original T-cars were all rear-wheel drive unibody cars....
; it also replaced GM J platform
GM J platform
The J platform, or J-body, was General Motors' inexpensive front-wheel drive automobile platform from the 1980s and 1990s. The platform replaced the GM H platform. The J-platform is the only platform of GM to have a model in each of its "Original 5" passenger car divisions...
and the Z platform
GM Z platform
The Z platform or Z-body automobile platform designation was used on two different types of vehicles made by General Motors. The first was the second-generation Chevrolet Corvair from 1965 to 1969, which was a rear-wheel-drive and rear-engine compact car that replaced the previous Y-Body Corvair...
used by the Saturn S-Series
Saturn S-series
The S-Series was part of a family of compact cars from the Saturn automobile company. This was the first series of Saturn vehicles. The automobile platform, the Z-body, was developed entirely in-house at Saturn and shared very little with the rest of the General Motors model line...
. The platform debuted in the 2003 Saturn Ion
Saturn ION
The Saturn Ion was a compact car sold by the Saturn marque of American automaker General Motors between the 2003 and 2007 model years. It used the GM Delta platform. The Ion replaced the Saturn S-Series in 2003,...
. Vehicles of this platform generally carry the symbol "A" 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. VINs were first used in 1954...
. The architecture was developed by Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...
in Germany.
The Volkswagen Jetta
Volkswagen Jetta
Although the Golf had reached considerable success, in the North American markets, Volkswagen observed that the hatchback body style lacked some of the appeal to those who preferred the traditional three-box configuration...
is said to have been the target for the design group. Delta uses an independent suspension
Independent suspension
Independent suspension is a broad term for any automobile suspension system that allows each wheel on the same axle to move vertically independently of each other. This is contrasted with a beam axle, live axle or deDion axle system in which the wheels are linked – movement on one side affects...
in front and torsion bar type in the rear. The Ecotec Family II
GM Family II engine
The Family II is a straight-4 piston engine that was originally developed by Opel in the early 1970s. It was used in the Opel Ascona and Opel Kadett and their corresponding sister models the Vauxhall Cavalier and Vauxhall Astra...
engine is widely used, as are a 4-speed automatic
Automatic transmission
An automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...
and 5-speed manual transmission
Manual transmission
A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
.
Applications
Current and former vehicles based on this platform:- 2003–2007 Saturn IonSaturn IONThe Saturn Ion was a compact car sold by the Saturn marque of American automaker General Motors between the 2003 and 2007 model years. It used the GM Delta platform. The Ion replaced the Saturn S-Series in 2003,...
- 2004–2009 Opel AstraOpel AstraThe Opel Astra is a small family car engineered and manufactured by the German automaker Opel since 1991.It is branded as Vauxhall Astra in the United Kingdom, the Buick Excelle XT in China and the Chevrolet Astra/Vectra in Latin America...
- 2005–2011 Opel ZafiraOpel ZafiraThe Opel Zafira is a compact MPV engineered and produced by the German automaker Opel. The Zafira is sold under the Vauxhall marque in the United Kingdom.- Zafira A :...
- 2005–2010 Chevrolet CobaltChevrolet CobaltThe Chevrolet Cobalt is a compact car introduced by Chevrolet in 2004 for the 2005 model year. The Cobalt replaced both the Cavalier and the Prizm as Chevrolet's compact car....
- 2005–2009 Pontiac G5Pontiac G5The Pontiac G5 is a rebadged Chevrolet Cobalt compact car that was marketed by the Pontiac division of General Motors. It was first introduced in 2004 for the 2005 model year. For 2005 and early 2006, this car was known as the Pontiac Pursuit in the Canadian market, and G5 Pursuit during mid-2006. ...
/G4/Pursuit - 2006–2011 Chevrolet HHRChevrolet HHRThe Chevrolet HHR was a retro-styled station wagon launched by the Chevrolet division of American automaker General Motors at the 2005 Los Angeles Auto Show as a 2006 model — and designed by Bryan Nesbitt. Smaller than the Equinox, the HHR shared the GM Delta platform with the Chevrolet...
Delta II
Delta II is General MotorsGeneral Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
' future compact car
Compact car
A compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...
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...
, which was developed by Opel in Germany. It is the successor to the GM Delta platform. Internally it is simply known as a new Global Compact Vehicle Architecture or GCV.
The platform features a torsion beam rear suspension with optional Watt's link
Watt's linkage
Watt's linkage is a type of mechanical linkage invented by James Watt in which the central moving point of the linkage is constrained to travel on an approximation to a straight line...
which improves vehicle handling; such configuration is used in the Opel Astra and the American-market Chevrolet Cruze.
GM chose this compact vehicle architecture for its first Voltec application, the Chevrolet Volt
Chevrolet Volt
The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle manufactured by General Motors. The Volt has been on sale in the U.S. market since mid-December 2010, and is the most fuel-efficient compact car sold in the United States, as rated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency...
. Production began in November 2010 with the first Chevrolet Volt
Chevrolet Volt
The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle manufactured by General Motors. The Volt has been on sale in the U.S. market since mid-December 2010, and is the most fuel-efficient compact car sold in the United States, as rated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency...
s delivered to retails customers in December 2010
Applications
Production vehicles based on Delta II platform:- 2008 Chevrolet CruzeChevrolet CruzeThe Chevrolet Cruze is a General Motors automobile, spanning two unrelated models. The original iteration, a subcompact crossover SUV, was manufactured by Suzuki in Japan between 2001 and 2008 under joint venture with GM...
, Daewoo Lacetti Premiere, Holden Cruze - 2009 Opel AstraOpel AstraThe Opel Astra is a small family car engineered and manufactured by the German automaker Opel since 1991.It is branded as Vauxhall Astra in the United Kingdom, the Buick Excelle XT in China and the Chevrolet Astra/Vectra in Latin America...
, Buick Excelle XT/GTBuick Excelle XTThe Buick Excelle XT is five-door hatchback assembled by Shanghai General Motors Company Limited . Originally launched in China as the Excelle and HRV, the Excelle is currently marketed as a hatchback called the Excelle XT, which is essentially a rebadged Opel Astra or as a sedan called the Buick... - 2010 Chevrolet VoltChevrolet VoltThe Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle manufactured by General Motors. The Volt has been on sale in the U.S. market since mid-December 2010, and is the most fuel-efficient compact car sold in the United States, as rated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency...
- 2010 Chevrolet OrlandoChevrolet OrlandoThe Chevrolet Orlando is a five-door, seven-seat compact MPV manufactured by GM Korea under the Chevrolet division for world-wide markets-First generation :It was introduced as a concept vehicle at the 2008 Paris Motor Show...
- 2011 Buick VeranoBuick VeranoThe Buick Verano is a four-door, five passenger, compact sedan with a front engine, front-wheel drive layout projected to go on sale in North America in the fourth quarter of 2011 as a 2012 model...
- 2011 Opel Ampera
- 2011 Opel ZafiraOpel ZafiraThe Opel Zafira is a compact MPV engineered and produced by the German automaker Opel. The Zafira is sold under the Vauxhall marque in the United Kingdom.- Zafira A :...
Announced production vehicles to be based on Delta II platform:
- 2012 Cadillac ELRCadillac ConverjThe Cadillac Converj is a plug-in hybrid concept car developed by General Motors, to be mass produced as the Cadillac ELR. It was first shown at the 2009 North American International Auto Show in Detroit and made its West Coast debut at the 2009 Orange County Auto Show.Incorporating the propulsion...