No future for the mid-engine Corvette

With GM facing well-publicized challenges — along with just about everyone else who needs a little thing called money — certain high-profile and expensive programs are crowding up on the back burner. Even America’s sports car, the Corvette, is not exempt, with CAFE regulations clouding the view inside the ‘Vette Nation’s crystal ball. Motor Trend, commenting on the C7 Corvette’s delayed arrival,

GM launches Cruze in South Korea as Lacetti Premiere

The Chevy Cruze era has begun in South Korea, except the sedan will be badged as the Lacetti Premiere. General Motors partner Daewoo is producing the fuel efficient sedan for Korea, the first market to get one of GM’s most important future vehicles. The Cruze is the first truly global vehicle that the General will produce, with a keen eye on fuel economy and scalability. The Lacetti Premiere will

Cadillac to Launch 5 New Models Including BMW 3-Series Rival and CTS-V Coupe by 2011

Cadillac to Launch 5 New Models Including BMW 3-Series Rival and CTS-V Coupe by 2011

GM President and CEO Fritz Henderson confirmed today that Cadillac is developing five new models through 2011 including an entry-level luxury sports sedan that will compete against the BMW 3-Series and Audi A4 sedans in the segment below the CTS. The announcement was part of a general relaunch of GM that will present a total of 25 new models from now until the end of 2011.

Back to Cadillac's 3-Series rival, GM said that the new sedan that will be offered with high-tech engines, rear-wheel drive and optional all-wheel drive will take on the best in the segment.

"We are determined to repeat what CTS has already achieved in design, quality, driving dynamics, performance and fuel economy to grow our presence in this high-volume and highly competitive segment," Henderson said.

Aside from the new entry level sedan and the already revealed SRX compact crossover and the CTS Sport Wagon, Henderson confirmed that the firm will introduce the production version of the CTS Coupe concept which will be offered in a "V" guise boasting the same 556HP 6.2-liter supercharged V8 as the CTS-V Sedan.

Automotive News also reported that Cadillac's plans include a common replacement for the flagship rear-wheel drive STS and front-wheel drive DTS models that will share its underpinnings with the Buick LaCrosse and be offered with all-wheel drive. For the record, GM did not disclose any details on this vehicle.

*Correction Cadillac will introduce five new models and not 10

Chevrolet to Reveal 10 New Models, Buick and GMC another 10 through 2011

Chevrolet to Reveal 10 New Models, Buick and GMC another 10 through 2011

The new General Motors announced today that it is going to launch 25 brand-new models into the market by the end of 2011 including five new entries for Cadillac, 10 for Chevy while Buick and GMC will add another 10 new models. We've already told you about Cadillac's entries here, so let's concentrate on the three other brands of the "revitalized" General Motors.

Starting with Chevrolet, the brand's most important introduction is of course the Volt plug-in hybrid that's expected to achieve triple-digit fuel economy according to a new methodology used by EPA (see here). In addition to the Volt that will arrive in US showrooms in late 2010, Chevy's relaunch will be include the Spark city car, the Cruze compact-size sedan, a replacement for the Aveo and quite possibly, the Convertible version of the Camaro.

Moving on to Buick and GMC, the Detroit automaker said that the two brands will present a total of 10 new entries through 2011.

Buick's range will be enhanced with the 2010MY Buick La Crosse as well what appears to be a rebadged version of the Saturn Vue compact crossover in 2010 followed in 2011 by a plug-in hybrid variant plus two more sedans, one based on the Opel Insignia / Buick Regal (Chinese market) and the other on the Chevy Cruze / Opel Astra Delta platform.

As for GMC, aside from the new Terrain SUV that was unveiled in New York in April, it is reported that General Motors will present a smaller crossover model.

We suspect that GM will release more details on its new model portfolio later on in the year.

OPEL Exchange Program – Get a New Car for Your Old Opel Model

General Motors is really leaving no stone unturned to make its mark on the Indian customers. Apart from launching the new variant of Chevrolet Aveo, it has now decided to make Opel customers happy. The company has announced “Opel Exchange Program” whereby existing Opel customers owning old Astra or Corsa can exchange their old Opel for any new Chevrolet model. This is a limited period offer where the company intends to retain its customer loyalty.

“With the buyback scheme, we are giving an opportunity to our loyal customers to enjoy the Chevrolet experience. Our goal is to continue to reach out to our customers both new and old and provide them the best and the latest cars. Astra and Corsa were sold for ten and seven years, respectively, before introducing Chevrolet brand to India,” P. Balendran, vice-president, General Motors India on the Exchange program.

The Astra and the Corsa models of Opel wil be taken back by GM following an inspection of the cars by GM-certified engineers. The customers will be offered a market price car’s physical condition and model year. The customers will also be offered free accessories worth Rs 10,000. The customers can avail this Opel Exchange Programme at any of the GM dealerships across the country.

The company has also signed financing agreement with private and public sector banks for financing the new cars on most competitive EMIs. The banks will offer attractive schemes and convenient packages to existing Opel customers to own a new car.

Extra-Terrestrial Vehicle: A Chevy Aveo of the Third Kind

Extra-Terrestrial Vehicle: A Chevy Aveo of the Third Kind

The Extra-Terrestrial Vehicle or EVT -we're not even kidding, that's the car's official name- is a futuristic-looking custom build created by Mike Vetter and his Florida-based company, 'The Car Factory'. It's hard to believe it just by looking at the EVT, but underneath that sci-fi outfit you'll find a Chevrolet Aveo stripped out of its body but not its heart.

Mike, who also works on Carrera GT replica bodies for the Porsche Boxster, claims on his website that buyers can opt either for an Aveo or a Boxster donor car. Somehow though, we find it hard to believe that anyone would give up a Porsche, no matter how many thousands of time they've seen Captain Kirk and Spock fighting off intruders from other planets.

But even in the case that the Chevy Aveo is the donor car, the EVT will most likely alienate you with its 'out of this world' price. We discovered that the Florida-based company has listed a completed EVT on eBay with a 'Buy it Now' price of just... $86,000. Cool but not $86k cool.

Links: The Car Factory & eBay

GM Considering Three U.S. Plants for New Small Car Production

GM Considering Three U.S. Plants for New Small Car Production

General Motors may have yet to announce the type of small car that it intends to build in the States - although, as we've said before, everything points to the Chevy Spark, but today the automaker revealed that it has narrowed its options to three existing sites in the U.S. The assembly plants in consideration are in Orion, Michigan, Spring Hill, Tennessee and Janesville, Wisconsin with GM supporting that it will most likely reach a final decision in the next few weeks.

"Given the importance of this small car program, and in an effort to move quickly to identify the plant, GM leadership has begun discussions regarding selection criteria with Federal and State government officials from Michigan, Tennessee and Wisconsin," said GM in a prepared statement. "We hope to identify and announce the future production site of the small car within the next several weeks."

General Motors Builds 1.5 Millionth Corvette

General Motors Builds 1.5 Millionth Corvette

While GM was preparing for bankruptcy, the Corvette reached yet another major milestone in its almost six-decade-long history with the production of the 1,500,000th car. The commemorative model left the production line at GM's Bowling Green Assembly plant on May 28, but the company decided to delay the announcement for a couple of weeks for apparent reasons. Similar to the first, 500,000th and 1 millionth Corvettes built in 1953, 1977 and 1992 respectively, the 1.5 millionth Corvette is a white convertible (3LT) with a red interior and a black top.

"The 1.5 millionth Corvette is a great example of how Chevy is America's Brand," said Karen Rafferty, Chevrolet Product Marketing Director. "For nearly 60 years we have built America's Sports Car and this milestone is a solid proof point."