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Filed under: Spy Photos , Economy , Euro , Hatchbacks , Chevrolet Testing of the Chevy Beat is officially underway, and our friends at NextAutos have procured the first set of spy shots. The camo'd mule is still sporting the short overhangs and upright silhouette of the concept, but GM decided to equip the squat city car with another set of doors to make ingress and egress easier for rear-seat passengers. Initial reports suggest that power will be provided by a 1.2-liter 16-valve DOHC inline-four, mated to either a manual or automatic gearbox. The Beat will make its production debut sometime in 2010 and will go on sale in Europe in early 2011. As previously reported , the Beat won't be making the trek to the U.S. until it meets the fed's crash-test standards, so we won't get a shot at the Beat until the next generation arrives - whenever that is. Gallery: New York Auto Show: 2007 Chevy Beat Concept [Source: NextAutos ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Economy , Sedans/Saloons , Plants/Manufacturing , Crossovers/CUVs , Chevrolet , GM , GMC , HUMMER , Pontiac , Saturn , Opel , Vauxhall General Motor's car czar, Bob Lutz, sat down with the little people of the blogosphere after GM's announcement that it would be reducing white collar expenditures by 20-percent, cutting truck production and eliminating retired health care for salaried workers over 65, all in an effort to boost its liquidity by $15 billion by the end of 2009. Maximum Bob addressed questions about GM's entire brand portfolio, saying, "Pontiac will be nourished with products" and confirming that GM is in talks with financial institutions about HUMMER, and that, "If we could sell the brand, we'd be interested in doing that." Predictably, much of the conversation centered on fuel efficiency and the General's plans to address the growing demand for miserly transport in the U.S. Lutz made it clear that "as...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Economy , Hatchbacks , Chevrolet , GM , Opinion/Editorial In the wake of the Chevy Beat news that started pounding the wires before the 4th of July weekend, the Wall Street Journal reached out to Bob Lutz for some commentary on the topic. Lutz, in an email to the Journal, said, "We always thought we'd do it at some point, but now it obviously enjoys a much higher priority." Based on what the Journal says, this loosely translates to "the 2012 timeframe." Unfortunately for GM, this is a car that its U.S. operation needs approximately yesterday. It would behoove the brain trust in the RenCen to stop debating this and simply end all the speculation by formally announcing a U.S. Beat and attaching a timetable, already (as in, now). We think that the car's appearance as an Autobot in next summer's Transformers follow-up will help create enough public interest for that GM will be forced to make some sort declaration if they haven't...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Economy , Hatchbacks , Chevrolet , GM Click image for a high res gallery of the Beat GM knows it needs an economical, mass-market, mass-appeal small car -- badly. Yes, it has the Aveo, but it's underwhelming in all respects, and sure, it's currently pimping the Cobalt XFE , but that car's about as exciting as an episode of Antiques Roadshow . Corsa? Not engineering the current one to be U.S.-compliant probably wasn't the greatest idea. The answer? MarketWatch says The General has summoned its inner Janet and cried, "Gimmie a Beat!" GM has yet to make a formal announcement, but word is, the Chevy Beat is indeed coming to the U.S. market. The broader public will get a really good look at it next Summer in the Transformers sequel , and as was the case with the Camaro, they'll be looking at a car they'll (apparently) be able to buy. If GM is smart, the screen-to-showroom transition won't take two years as it has with Camaro....
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Filed under: Concept Cars , Economy , Chevrolet , GM , Celebrities We knew the Chevy Beat was making an appearance in the overly-named Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen . The new news is that one of its "triplet" siblings, the Chevy Trax concept, is joining it, as you can see above. The two are chasing/following Bumblebee on Philadelphia's JFK Boulevard. Proof of GM's new commitment to building more smaller, fuel-efficient cars, you ask? Eh, well, as you may remember, Trax and the third triplet, Groove, were not slated for production like the Beat, so this is (unfortunately) probably just a movie special. At least one Autoblogger is happy, though (raises hand), because Trax is the one he voted for last year. Transformers Live Action Movie Blog wonders if the Beat and Trax might be portraying the Autobot "Twins" in the sequel. Sacrilege? Well, if the movie Bumblebee can be a Camaro instead of a VW beetle, there's no reason Sideswipe and Sunstreaker can't...
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Filed under: Economy , Etc. , Marketing/Advertising , Hatchbacks , Chevrolet , GM You know how there was a question of whether or not we'd ever see the Chevy Beat for sale in North America? The answer to that question is looking more like a big fat yes. Of course, a subcompact like the Beat makes perfect sense in a landscape where gas is selling for well over $4 a gallon in many areas. Our quasi-confirmation comes not from El Generalissimo, however, but from the set of Transformers 2 , which was recently given its tagline: Revenge of the Fallen . In the photo above, next to Bumblebee, is the Chevy Beat -- partially covered, but the Beat nonetheless. You know what putting it in the movie does, right? It makes people want it. Last summer, it was the Camaro. Next summer, it looks like GM's gonna make the Beat a big star. You can see the above photo and more from the set at the Transformers Live Action Movie Blog . Thanks for the tip, Cory! Gallery: New York Auto Show: 2007 Chevy Beat...
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Filed under: Economy , Hybrids/Alternative , Green , Cadillac , Chevrolet , GM Click above for a high-res gallery of the Chevrolet Beat Concept. Aside from possibly offering a hybrid version of the Camaro , Chevrolet is looking to do everything it can to meet new fuel economy regulations. Despite Bob Lutz' assertion that diesels are not the answer to increase fuel mileage, Ed Peper, Chevy's general manager, pointed out that GM's European diesel technology could find its way here to the States. The 2.9-liter turbodiesel V6 soon to be equipped in Euro-bound Cadillac CTSs is one possibility, as is the utilization of Opel's 1.3-, 1.7- and 1.9-liter oil burners. Chevrolet execs are also looking to see how the public responds to the smart fortwo. If the reception is good, there's a possibility that Chevy might introduce a vehicle that would slot in below the Aveo both in size and price. A version of the Beat would be an obvious choice, even though GM only plans to sell it...
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Filed under: Concept Cars , LA Auto Show , Trends , Economy , Hybrids/Alternative , Sedans/Saloons , SUVs , Trucks/Pickups , Green , Tech , Crossovers/CUVs , Chevrolet , GM Promising the best possible fuel economy for whichever type of vehicle its customers choose, GM's Bob Lutz and Ed Peper trotted a full lineup of green vehicles from their arsenal. The Aveo5, Impala E85, Malibu Hybrid, Tahoe Hybrid, Silverado Hybrid, Volt, Equinox Fuel Cell, Beat and Groove were used to show off that Chevy will be the brand carrying the greenish flame most prominently into the future for GM. Lutz talked about having a whole range of options available to meet future trends, from hybrids, to flex-fuel burners, to fuel cells, to electrics like start/stop technology and good old-fashioned economy cars that get great fuel economy. Gallery: 2008 Chevy Hybrids at the LA Auto Show Gallery: 2008 Chevy Aveo5 Continue reading LA 2007: Lutz and Peper show off Chevy's high efficiency fleet Permalink | Email...
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