Remember back in 1987 when Ford was going to redo the Mustang? They had developed a car that was slightly bigger than was going to have a FWD platform and be powered by either a 4-cylinder or 6-cylinder motor. Mustang enthusiasts said a big HELL NO for that, but Ford was too far into developement that they actually made the car. The car was produced for the next 17 years. It was called the Probe.
Stuff like this can actually happen. And it probably will with CAFE having these ridiculous 35 MPG standards within the next 15 years...