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While General Motors initially abandoned their performance projects division at the height of the economic crisis, GM has re-instated their mandate, but with a new mandate; compact cars.
"We have a tremendous opportunity in the small and compact car market," said Jim Campbell, Vice President of GM's performance vehicles and motorsports. "Small cars and compact cars are going to be more and more important going forward, and we're looking at efficient performance," he said, citing GM's NASCAR, ALMS and Grand-Am road racing teams as integral parts of any future compact performance car effort.
Campbell said that the primary focus will be on Chevrolet and Cadillac, but that other brands would not be ignored. Prime contenders for special attention appear the be Cadillac's V-Series lineup and the Chevrolet Cruze and Aveo. Enthusiasts have been clamoring for a Cruze SS to replace the much-lauded Cobalt SS, while Cadillac's CTS-V has been praised by a number of global automotive media outlets.
General Motors has just announced the filing of papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an Initial Public Offering (IPO) that will see the company handed back over to investors and removed from government control.
Including in the filing are plans for preferred stock that carries with it both debt and equity and also has priority in a bankruptcy situation.
According to a Bloomberg report, GM hopes to generate $16 billion by the IPO, selling off roughly a fifth of the stock currently owned by the U.S. Treasury. This would then make the government a minority shareholder in General Motors and is likely to be followed by continued sell-offs until GM is entirely out of government hands. Currently the U.S. government owns a 61 percent stake in GM.
GM has already paid back the $6.7 billion in loans it received from the U.S. and Canadian governments, however, that amount is only a small portion of the almost $50 billion bailout GM received.
Never mind the Cobalt. Forget you ever heard the name Cavalier. The newest compact C-car from Chevrolet is the Cruze – a globally engineered vehicle designed not just to compete in the growing small-car segment, but to win.
And for the first time, well, ever, this isn’t just marketing hype behind a lackluster model with a typically low-grade interior.
Already on sale in 60 countries worldwide, this global platform still has a few surprises for its North American debut. Most notably is the launch of a new turbocharged 1.4-liter 4-cylinder engine, designed to deliver the power and driving experience of a larger powerplant with class leading fuel economy. In fact, Chevy claims an ECO model (with a 6-speed manual transmission) will get 40-mpg on the highway. An automatic ECO model will get slightly less, with standard models most likely in the mid 30s range – although no official numbers have yet to be released.
The engine looks tiny in the cavernous space under the hood, its puny turbocharger about the size of a fist. Yet despite its size, the 1.4 delivers both power and fuel economy. During our day with the Cruze, we registered an average of 27-mpg (under what can easily be considered harder than average driving conditions). As for power, the little engine makes a total of 138-hp and 148 ft-lbs of torque, with that torque number coming on strong at 1850 rpm.
Before Chevrolet's Cruze compact sedan has even launched in Canada or the United States, the automaker has already sold 340,000 units across the globe.
With the vehicle already on sale in Chevrolet has already moved 270,000 units in Latin America and Europe, and another 70,000 units in Australia and South Korea, where the car is badged as a Holden and Daewoo respectively.
In North America, GM delayed the Cruze repeatedly, taking another 18 months to bring it to market. While no explanation has been given, the Cruze is perhaps GM's most vital product moving forward (more so than even the Volt), and nailing every aspect of the car is likely a reason for the hold up.
Stay tuned for Autoguide's first drive of the Chevrolet Cruze coming soon.
Thanks to leaked patent drawings now circulating the interwebs, we have the first look at what the production model 2012 Chevy Aveo Hatchback and Sedan will look like.
As you can see from the photos, the car keeps much of the styling from the Aveo RS hatchback concept that was first shown at the Detroit Auto Show earlier this year. The grille might not be quite as large, but it does retain it's EVO-esque shape, and the side openings are actually quite large helping give it an aggressive overall look. Without the aero bits and massive wheels it's not quite as dynamic looking as the Fiesta, but we have to say that in sedan form it's much more handsome and sophisticated than the jelly-bean Fiesta sedan.
One interesting design note is the fact that Chevy chose to keep the rear door handles on the hatch model integrated with the rear C-pillar, helping give even five-door models a sportier three-door look.
The 2012 Aveo could debut as early as the Paris Auto Show this fall, or Chevy may wait for the LA or Detroit Auto Shows over the winter.
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