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Report: GM high performance division put back to work, focus on small cars

Filed under: Performance, GM

Chevrolet Aveo RS concept

Chevrolet Aveo RS concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

In early 2009, General Motors announced it would be putting all high-performance vehicle projects on indefinite hold, citing that the engineering team responsible for these power-happy cars would be moved to different areas within the company. Since then, the only new performance models to come out of GM have been the CTS-V Coupe and Sport Wagon, leaving a huge void in the General’s affordable small performance portfolio. The Chevrolet Cobalt SS and HHR SS were discontinued, and the demise of Pontiac and Saturn did away with any GXP and Red Line products.

However, all of this may change in the not-too-distant future. Automotive News reports that Jim Campbell, GM’s vice president of performance vehicles and motorsports, has said his company has a tremendous opportunity for new performance entries in the small and compact car markets. This means we should expect higher-output versions of the new Chevrolet Cruze, as well as the upcoming redesigned Aveo – and not just trims that look quick, but go quick too.

We already got a taste of a hotter Aveo in concept form (pictured), and we certainly wouldn’t mind a more enthusiastic Cruze, especially since GM still has that 260-horsepower 2.0-liter Ecotec turbocharged four-cylinder engine laying around. We certainly didn’t hate the Cobalt SS (far from it), and we think this mill could do wonders in the larger Cruze. What’s your vision of the next small performance car from GM? Let us know in the comments.

Gallery: Chevrolet Aveo RS concept

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]

Report: GM high performance division put back to work, focus on small cars originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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General Motors and SAIC to jointly develop small engine and dual clutch transmission

Filed under: China, Technology, GM

General Motors has reached an agreement with one of its primary Chinese partners, Shanghai Automotive Industries Corp. (SAIC), on the joint development of powertrains for small vehicles.

GM and SAIC will develop and produce a family of four-cylinder engines ranging from 1.0- to 1.5-liters with direct injection and turbocharging. The GTDI engines should cut fuel consumption by around 20 percent compared to similarly-sized engines with equivalent output.

The engine will be used in GM and SAIC vehicles in China and around the world, and to go along with the new engine, the partners will also develop a small dual-clutch transmission that should provide a 10 percent boost in efficiency over current six-speed torque converter automatics. Work on the engine and transmission will occur at GM’s powertrain engineering center in Pontiac, MI and the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center in Shanghai.

GM has yet to announced when the new powertrains will debut in production, but mid-2011 is a safe bet.

[Source: General Motors]

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General Motors and SAIC to jointly develop small engine and dual clutch transmission originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Autoblog Podcast #190 – Chrysler profit, Top Gear USA and small Buicks

Filed under: Podcasts, Etc., Government/Legal, Safety, Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Lexus, Lincoln, Earnings/Financials

Click above for the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes, RSS or listen now!

Chris, Sam and Dan come back for Episode #190 of the Autoblog Podcast, and this time around we talk about Chrysler’s profit announcement, the Top Gear USA trailer, Honda’s latest recall, the Buick Verano. We also touch on a Ferrari-based Lancia Stratos tribute and GM’s prospects for selling Chevrolet Volts. We kick the ball around on a single question before calling it a night right at the hour mark. Thanks for listening, see you next week!

Autoblog Podcast #190 – Chrysler profit, Top Gear USA and small Buicks

In the Autoblog Garage:

Ford F450 Super Duty
Lexus RX450h
Lincoln MKT

News:

Chrysler Profit
Top Gear USA Trailer
Buick Verano
Lancia Stratos tribute
GM says Chevrolet Volt will find buyers

Hosts:
Dan Roth, Sam Abuelsamid, Chris Shunk

Runtime: 67:26

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Autoblog Podcast #190 – Chrysler profit, Top Gear USA and small Buicks originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Aug 2010 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Small car or CUV could be added to Volkswagen plant

Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Volkswagen

2011 Volkswagen NMS Sketch – Click above to enlarge

It’s no secret that Volkswagen has ambitious plans for the U.S. market over the next decade. The German automaker has its sights set on a combined one million sales per year (made up of 800,000 VWs and 200,000 Audi vehicles, give or take) by the year 2018. That’s three times as many vehicles as the company sold last year.

Of course, selling more cars in the U.S. means building more cars in North America. Hence VW’s billion dollar investment in a plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the automaker will build the upcoming “New Midsize Sedan” specifically for the American market.

Put down your Little Debbie snack cakes, job seekers – a report from Autoweek suggests that VW has plans in the works to build another vehicle in Tennessee. While we had previously heard that the second model may be an Audi, it now seems as if it may be a VW-badged small car of CUV. The report also indicates that an engine plant may go up alongside the new facility to build engines for North America.

In any case, the value of the U.S. dollar as compared to the euro is likely to have a large impact on whatever decision is finally made.

[Source: Autoweek]

Small car or CUV could be added to Volkswagen plant originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Drive: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze sails into new era of small cardom

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Chevrolet, First Drive

2011 Chevrolet Cruze – Click above for high-res image gallery

Until now, General Motors hasn’t exactly taken the small-car market seriously. While Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai and Kia have built their empires on the hoods of pint-sized, fuel-efficient transportation, history has shown the captains of Detroit tend to offer up parts-bin afterthoughts. Cars like the Chevrolet Cavalier and Cobalt have left a sour taste in the mouths of buyers thanks to noisy and de-contented cabins, rough engines and build quality that would make a Yugo blush. As a result, Americans have developed a sort of Pavolovian retch when we hear the term “compact car.”

But a new dawn may be approaching – one heralded by a rash of new straw-weight fighters that aim to bring a global small car philosophy to the U.S. GM intends to be part of that party with the introduction of the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, a sedan that, for all intents and purposes, is more of a landmark model for the company than the endlessly-hyped Chevrolet Volt. To get our meaning, you’ll need to throw all of your heinous memories about American-built small cars out the window beginning… now.

Gallery: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze: First Drive

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First Drive: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze sails into new era of small cardom originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Large SUV segment outpacing small car sales growth in America

Filed under: Car Buying, Budget, SUV, Crossover

2011 Infiniti QX56 – Click above for high-res image gallery

Finally, after years and years of stagnation and painfully slow sales, small cars are starting to take a foothold in the United States. Or are they? While conventional wisdom makes us believe that Americans are ready to take the downsizing plunge in the face of – or at least the threat of – high fuel prices and environmental concerns (we’re all still watching the Gulf Coast, right?), it seems that reality may once again set us straight.

Automotive sales watchdog Autodata has found that the gas-swilling large SUV segment is growing at a faster pace than the America’s small car segment. Like statistics? Here we go: With a 19-percent jump over the first six months of 2010, large SUV sales have outpaced small cars (14 percent). Critically, they’ve also outpaced the overall market (17 percent).

Now, before we get our feathers riled up too much, realize that sales of large SUVs still lag way behind small cars – 974,000 to 121,000 through the first half of the year. Further, large crossovers like the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, Ford Flex, GMC Acadia and Lincoln MKT are included in those figures right alongside traditional behemoths like the Chevy Tahoe, Ford Expedition, Infiniti QX56 and Toyota Sequoia.

We also expect that small car sales will continue to climb with new models coming to market, such as the upcoming Ford Fiesta, Mazda2 and Hyundai’s Accent and Elantra. That said, there’s always going to be a demand for large and powerful SUVs that can haul people and stuff while towing a boat or camper in cool, air-conditioned comfort, and automakers will be only too happy to provide the thick-margined vehicles for their consumption. For better or for worse.

Gallery: First Drive: 2011 Infiniti QX56

[Source: USA Today via Kicking Tires]

Report: Large SUV segment outpacing small car sales growth in America originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 15:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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