Delta was a General Motors

compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a type of colonial rule utilized in British ...

front-wheel drive Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and 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 longitu ...

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

and

crossover SUV A crossover, crossover SUV, or crossover utility vehicle (CUV) is a type of automobile with an increased ride height that is built on unibody chassis construction shared with passenger cars, as opposed to traditional sport utility vehicles ( ...

platform Platform may refer to: Technology * Computing platform, a framework on which applications may be run * Platform game, a genre of video games * Car platform, a set of components shared by several vehicle models * Weapons platform, a system or ...

, originally developed by Opel Group. Delta was a successor to the Opel T platform; it also replaced J platform and the Z platform used by the

Saturn S-Series The Saturn S-series is a family of compact cars from the Saturn automobile company of General Motors. Saturn pioneered the brand-wide "no-haggle" sales technique. The automobile platform, the Z-body, was developed entirely in-house at Saturn, an ...

. The platform debuted in the 2003

Saturn Ion The Saturn Ion is a compact car sold by Saturn between the 2003 and 2007 model years. It used the GM Delta platform. The Ion replaced the Saturn S-Series in 2002, and was replaced by the new Saturn Astra in 2008. Production of the Ion ended on ...

. Vehicles of this platform generally carry the letter "A" in the fourth character of their VINs. Delta uses an independent suspension in front and

Twist beam The twist-beam rear suspension (also torsion-beam axle, deformable torsion beam or compound crank) is a type of automobile suspension based on a large H or C-shaped member. The front of the H attaches to the body via rubber bushings, and the ...

type in the rear. The Ecotec engine is widely used, as are a 4-speed automatic and 5-speed

manual transmission A manual transmission (MT), also known as manual gearbox, standard transmission (in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States), or stick shift (in the United States), is a multi-speed motor vehicle transmission system, where gear change ...

Delta

Applications

Former vehicles based on this platform: * 2003–2007

* 2005–2010

Chevrolet Cobalt The Chevrolet Cobalt is a compact car introduced by Chevrolet in 2004 for the 2005 model year. The Cobalt replaced both the Cavalier and the Toyota-based Geo/Chevrolet Prizm as Chevrolet's compact car. The Cobalt was available as both a coupe ...

* 2005–2009

Pontiac G5 The Chevrolet Cobalt is a compact car introduced by Chevrolet in 2004 for the 2005 model year. The Cobalt replaced both the Cavalier and the Toyota-based Geo/Chevrolet Prizm as Chevrolet's compact car. The Cobalt was available as both a coupe a ...

/G4/Pursuit * 2006–2011

Chevrolet HHR The Chevrolet HHR (an initialism for Heritage High Roof) is a retro-styled, high-roofed, five-door, five-passenger, front-wheel drive crossover designed by Bryan Nesbitt and launched by the American automaker Chevrolet at the 2005 Los Angeles A ...

File:Saturn Ion -- 07-09-2009.jpg, Saturn Ion File:Chevrolet Cobalt LT sedan.jpg, Chevrolet Cobalt File:Pontiac G5 coupe.jpg, Pontiac G5/G4/Pursuit coupe File:2007ChevroletHHR-001.jpg, Chevrolet HHR

Delta II

Delta II was General Motors' global

compact car Compact car is a vehicle size class — predominantly used in North America — that sits between subcompact cars and mid-size cars. "Small family car" is a British term and a part of the C-segment in the European car classification. However, ...

, developed by Opel in Germany. It was 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 (marketed as ''compound crank'') rear suspension with optional Watt's link which improves vehicle handling; such configuration is used with the Opel Astra, Cadillac ELR, Opel Cascada and higher trim-levels of the American-market Chevrolet Cruze. This suspension is usually described as semi-independent, meaning that the two wheels can move relative to each other, but their motion is still somewhat inter-linked, to a greater extent than in a true independent rear suspension (IRS). This can mildly compromise the handling and ride quality of the vehicle. For this reason, some manufacturers have changed to different linkage designs. As an example,

Volkswagen Volkswagen (),English: , . abbreviated as VW (), is a German motor vehicle manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1937 by the German Labour Front under the Nazi Party and revived into a global brand post-W ...

dropped the torsion beam in favour of a true IRS for the

Volkswagen Golf Mk5 The Volkswagen Golf Mk5 (codenamed ''Typ 1K'') is a compact car/small family car manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen, as the fifth generation of the Golf in three- or five-door hatchback (August 2003–2008) and a five-door station wagon ...

, possibly in response to the

Ford Focus The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by Ford Motor Company since 1998. It was created under Alexander Trotman's Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worldwide. The ...

' Control Blade rear suspension. As noted, certain GM brands and models have continued to use the suspension setup, known variously as twist beam,

torsion beam The twist-beam rear suspension (also torsion-beam axle, deformable torsion beam or compound crank) is a type of automobile suspension based on a large H or C-shaped member. The front of the H attaches to the body via rubber bushings, and the ...

or compound crank suspension. This is at a cost saving of €100 per car compared to multi-link rear suspension. The version used on the 2009-on

Opel Astra The Opel Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) developed and produced by the German automaker Opel since 1991, currently at its sixth generation. It was first launched in September 1991 as a direct replacement to the Opel Kadett. ...

uses a

Watts linkage In kinematics, Watt's linkage (also known as the parallel 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 a nearly straight line. It was described in W ...

at a cost of €20 to address the drawbacks and provide a competitive and cost effective rear suspension. The Renault Mégane and Citroen C4 also have stayed with the twist beam. The twist beam has been shown to suffer less from bush wear, than fully independent multi-link suspension, thus resulting in a virtually maintenance free rear suspension. GM chose this compact vehicle architecture for its first Voltec application, the

Chevrolet Volt The Chevrolet Volt is a plug-in hybrid manufactured by General Motors, also marketed in rebadged variants as the Holden Volt in Australia and New Zealand and the Buick Velite 5 in China, and with a different fascia as the Vauxhall Ampera in th ...

. Production began in November 2010 with the first

s delivered to retails customers in December 2010.

Applications

Production vehicles based on Delta II platform: * 2008–2016

Chevrolet Cruze The Chevrolet Cruze is a compact car that is produced by General Motors since 2008. It was designated as a globally developed, designed, and manufactured four-door compact sedan, complemented by a five-door hatchback body variant from 2011, and ...

, Daewoo Lacetti Premiere, Holden Cruze * 2009–2015

J, Buick Excelle XT * 2010–2015

* 2010–2018

Chevrolet Orlando The Chevrolet Orlando is a three-row compact MPV manufactured by General Motors under the Chevrolet brand since 2011. The first-generation model was mainly developed and manufactured by GM Korea, while also assembled in four other countries. Its ...

* 2011–2016

Buick Verano The Buick Verano (Chinese: 威朗) is a compact car manufactured by SAIC-GM for the GM's Buick brand since 2010. It debuted at the North American International Auto Show on January 10, 2011, during a preview of Buick's then upcoming 2012 model. ...

* 2011–2015

Opel Ampera Opel Automobile GmbH (), usually shortened to Opel, is a German automobile manufacturer which has been a subsidiary of Stellantis since 16 January 2021. It was owned by the American automaker General Motors from 1929 until 2017 and the PSA Grou ...

* 2011–2019

Opel Zafira Tourer The Opel Zafira is a car manufactured and marketed across three generations between 1999 and 2019 by Opel. Based on the Opel Astra platform, it is developed to occupy the multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) segment. The Zafira was also marketed unde ...

C * 2013–2016

Cadillac ELR The Cadillac ELR is a two-door, four-passenger luxury plug-in hybrid compact coupé manufactured and marketed by Cadillac for model years (MY) 2014 and 2016 – with a hiatus for MY 2015. Using a retuned version of the Chevrolet Volt's Voltec E ...

* 2013–2018

Baojun Baojun () is a Chinese automobile marque owned by a joint venture of General Motors and SAIC Motor, SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile. History The Baojun marque was established in 2010 as a cheaper alternative to existing GM brands Chevrolet and Buic ...

560 * 2013–2019

Opel Cascada The Opel Cascada is a four-passenger fabric-roof convertible, manufactured and marketed by Opel across a single generation for model years 2013-2019, prioritizing year-round touring comfort over sportiness. Nearly identical badge engineered var ...

(also marketed as Vauxhall Cascada, Holden Cascada, Buick Cascada and Opel Cabrio) * 2017–present

Chevrolet Cavalier The Chevrolet Cavalier is a line of compact cars produced by Chevrolet. Serving as the replacement of the Chevrolet Monza, the Cavalier was the second Chevrolet model line to adopt front-wheel drive. Three versions of the Cavalier have been so ...

File:Chevrolet_Cruze_J300_sedan_China_2012-04-14.jpg, Chevrolet Cruze File:20100731_daewoo_lacetti_premiere_01.jpg, Daewoo Lacetti Premiere File:2009-2010_Holden_Cruze_(JG)_CDX_sedan_(2018-08-20).jpg, Holden Cruze File:Opel Astra Design Edition (J) – Frontansicht (1), 14. August 2011, Heiligenhaus.jpg, Opel Astra J File:2012 Buick Verano -- 04-30-2012.JPG, Buick Verano File:Buick Excelle XT 01 China 2012-04-29.JPG, Buick Excelle XT File:Buick Excelle GT 01 China 2012-05-20.JPG, Buick Excelle GT File:2012 Vauxhall Astra SE Turbo 1.4 Front.jpg, Vauxhall Astra Mk6 File:DCA_06_2012_Chevy_Volt_4035.JPG, Chevrolet Volt (first generation) File:2015_Holden_Astra_(PJ)_GTC_hatchback_(2018-03-28)_01.jpg, Holden Astra File:2012_Holden_Volt_(EV_MY13)_hatchback_(26273290082).jpg, Holden Volt File:Opel Zafira Tourer 1.4 Turbo ecoFLEX Edition (C) – Frontansicht, 15. September 2012, Düsseldorf.jpg, Opel Zafira C File:2014_Vauxhall_Zafira_Tourer_SRi_CDTi_Automatic_2.0_Front.jpg, Vauxhall Zafira Mk3 File:Opel_Ampera_ePionier_Edition_–_Frontansicht,_9._Juli_2012,_Heiligenhaus.jpg, Opel Ampera File:2014_Vauxhall_Ampera_Positiv_CVT_1.4_Front.jpg, Vauxhall Ampera File:Chevrolet Orlando LTZ 1.8 – Frontansicht, 16. April 2011, Hilden.jpg, Chevrolet Orlando File:Opel Meriva B front 20100723.jpg, Opel Meriva B File:2011_Vauxhall_Mervia_SE_1.4_Front.jpg, Vauxhall Meriva B File:2014 Cadillac ELR delivery Dec 2013 (1).jpg, Cadillac ELR File:2016 Baojun 560 1.8L, front 8.5.18.jpg, Baojun 560 File:Opel Cascada 1.6 EDIT Innovation – Frontansicht, 23. März 2014, Düsseldorf.jpg, Opel Cascada File:2014 Vauxhall Cascada SE CDTi 2.0.jpg, Vauxhall Cascada File:Buick_Cascada_(16282443827).jpg, Buick Cascada File:2017_Holden_Cascada_(CJ_MY17)_convertible_(2018-11-26).jpg, Holden Cascada File:Chevrolet Cavalier CN 01 China 2017-03-28.jpg, Chevrolet Cavalier

D2XX/D2UX

General Motors introduced its new global platform named D2XX flexible platform in August 2012. The new platform was mainly engineered by GM's former German subsidiary Opel in Rüsselsheim. According to GM the company invested US$220 million for the all new D2XX platform. The platform was developed for compact vehicle architecture, replacing both Delta II and the midsize crossover

GM Theta platform GM or Gm may refer to: Companies * General Motors, US automobile manufacturing company which was founded in 1908 ** Motors Liquidation Company, the US automobile manufacturing company known as General Motors Corporation from 1916 to 2009 * ...

. Vehicles that used the new platform included: * 2015–present

* 2015–2022

Opel Astra K The Opel Astra is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) developed and produced by the German automaker Opel since 1991, currently at its sixth generation. It was first launched in September 1991 as a direct replacement to the Opel Kadett. ...

* 2016–2019

* 2018–present

Chevrolet Equinox The Chevrolet Equinox is a series of crossover SUVs from Chevrolet introduced in 2004 for the 2005 model year. It replaces the North American Chevrolet Tracker and Chevrolet S-10 Blazer. The third-generation Equinox also replaced the first-g ...

* 2018–present

GMC Terrain The GMC Terrain is a crossover SUV by American manufacturer General Motors under its GMC marque. Sharing its platform with the Chevrolet Equinox, the first-generation Terrain was built on GM's Theta platform, while the second-generation model ...

* 2019–present

File:2017 Chevrolet Cruze LT front 5.26.18.jpg, Chevrolet Cruze File:2018 Holden Astra (BL) LS sedan (2018-05-02) 01.jpg, Holden Astra Sedan File:Opel Astra 1.6 CDTI ecoFLEX Edition (K) – Frontansicht, 13. Oktober 2015, Düsseldorf.jpg, Opel Astra K File:2017 Vauxhall Astra Design 1.4 Front.jpg, Vauxhall Astra Mk7 File:2016 Holden Astra (BK) RSV hatchback (2018-10-22) 01.jpg, Holden Astra Hatchback File:Buick Verano II hatch GS 01 China 2016-03-28.jpg, Buick Verano GS File:Chevrolet Volt WAS 2017 1739.jpg, Chevrolet Volt (second generation) File:Buick Velite 5.jpg, Buick Velite 5 File:Buick Verano Pro 001.jpg, Buick Verano Sedan (third generation) File:Chevrolet Equinox III facelift 001.jpg, Chevrolet Equinox File:2018 Holden Equinox (EQ) LS wagon (2018-11-29) 01.jpg, Holden Equinox File:2017 GMC Terrain SLE front 3.25.18.jpg, GMC Terrain File:Chevrolet Orlando II 005.jpg, Chevrolet Orlando

GM-PATAC K

In 2015 Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center (PATAC), GM's joint development center with SAIC, revealed their own simplified variant of D2XX, known as the "GM-PATAC K" platform (rather than "K" so as to distinguish it from the former

GM K platform The General Motors K platform (commonly called the K-body) was the basis of the Cadillac Seville The Seville was manufactured by Cadillac from 1975 to 2004 as a smaller-sized, premium model. It was replaced by the STS in 2004. Origin of the ...

s). The following vehicles use this variant of the platform, none of which are sold in the United States: * 2015–present

Buick Excelle GT The Buick Excelle GT () is the name for the compact car manufactured by SAIC-GM under GM's Buick brand. The original Buick Excelle () was based on the Daewoo Lacetti developed by Daewoo Motors. Parallel to the Lacetti-based Excelle, Shanghai ...

* 2016–present

* 2017–present

Buick GL6 The Buick GL6 is a 6-seater compact MPV produced by Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of ...

* 2019–present

Chevrolet Monza The Chevrolet Monza is a subcompact automobile produced by Chevrolet for the 1975 through 1980 model years. The Monza is based on the Chevrolet Vega, sharing its wheelbase, width, and standard inline-four engine. The car was designed to accommoda ...

File:2018 Buick Excelle GT front.jpg, 2018 Buick Excelle GT File:2016 Chevrolet Cavalier, front 8.13.18.jpg, 2016 Chevrolet Cavalier File:Chevrolet Monza IMG001.jpg, 2019 Chevrolet Monza File:Buick GL6 2 China 2018-03-20.jpg, 2018 Buick GL6

References

External links

GM Delta Enthusiasts (a part of the GM Enthusiast Network)

"Chevy gets new compact car next year"
''Automotive News'' (2008-06-01) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gm Delta Platform

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...