Those waiting to take delivery of a 2015 Chevrolet ‘bi-fuel’ Impala will have to sit tight for nearly a year as GM works to fix a quality problem, according to Automotive News.
The CNG Impala was first announced by previous CEO Dan Akerson back in 2013 and was originally slated to go on sale in summer of last year, but so far not one customer has received the specialty sedan, which GM calls the industry’s only production full-size sedan that can run on both gasoline and compressed natural gas.
Priced at $38,210, the Impala CNG is available in either LS or LT trim levels and arrives with a lone powertrain option: a 3.6L V6 with hardened valves and valve seats for improved wear resistance in order to accommodate for the natural gas.
GM sent a memo to 3,200 dealers on May 29 that explained how the bi-fuel car “has been delayed by a second quality hold,” while GM performs further evaluations on the car’s trunk-mounted 7.8-gallon CNG tank.
Chad Lyons, a GM spokesperson, told AN that Chevrolet would hold back the rollout “to ensure the technology performs with the highest quality standards.” He didn’t elaborate as to the specific nature of the problem.
“We have identified a solution to the delay and are working hard to implement it within the next few months,” he added.
GM has built 200 CNG Impalas so far, according to the news outlet, but the company has held them back to fix the problem on the vehicles it’s already built.
GM dealers plan to open their order books for the 2016 model in the third quarter, with vehicle production following suit.
Production will commence production at GM’s Oshawa, Ontario plant, where most other Impalas are assembled, then they’ll head off to Michigan to be outfitted with the CNG tank.
Comment
Interesting, but how about some specs on the car? Specifically the CNG part.