Autoblog

click above for high-res gallery of next-gen Chevy Cobalt spy shots

Workers at GM's Lordstown, OH plant just got another shot of good news from the General: the next-gen compact car from Chevrolet will be built there. The Chevy Cruze will replace the Cobalt, which recently had a third shift added to its production, and will make its initial debut at the Paris Motor Show in October. Europeans will get the first shot at the new car with sales beginning in April of 2009. The U.S. won't get the car until the following year, as the Lordstown plant begins phasing out the Cobalt and ramping up production of the Cruze in June of 2010. Both cars will be built simultaneously for a short time, according to UAW Local 1714 President Dave Green, who represents the workers at the Lordstown assembly plant.

A look at recent spy shots has our interest piqued over the new small sedan. Styling looks to be worlds better than the just decent Cobalt and the promised forty miles per gallon sounds like just what the doctor ordered in the face of ever-increasing gas prices. Thanks for the tip, Tony!


[Source: WKBN News]

GM made big promises when the Cavalier was finally supplanted by the Cobalt. It was to be a departure, a break from the not-so-fondly-regarded J-Body to an all-new vehicle capable of competing head-on with the Civic. Yeah. Then it debuted and reality was "not so much." It's worlds better than the Cav, but for a car that was supposed to be a clean break, it certainly looks like a continuation of the J, no matter how much pent up lust we harbor for the Cobalt SS in any form. Pardon us if we're going with Dubya quoting The Who, but fool us once.....won't get fooled again.

Leave it to spy photographers to at least assuage our fears about the styling of the Cobalt's replacement. The Malibu's grille and the Equinoxes lamps get scaled down and applied to a body that's wholly removed from the neo-Cavalier we've got now. This time around, Chevy seems far more serious about being a leader, and they're focusing on more than just dissecting Jetta suspension bushings. The Cobalt moniker might not make the transition to the Delta platform; Rick Wagoner avoided any mention of the name while comparing how much better than the incumbent the incoming model will be. Wagoner did go on to promise more of everything; from quality and equipment, to safety and fuel economy. We'll see. Thanks for the tip, Noe!

[Source: Motor Trend]

For you Cobalt fans, GM race driver and director of high-performance vehicle operations, John Heinricy, gives the 2008 Cobalt SS Turbocharged a sound thrashing on the Nurburgring. Even better, he talks you through it for much of the way. There's an interlude where he gets quiet, and if you didn't hear the car's tires squealing you'd think he was doing nothing more than going grocery shopping. So the car doesn't best the Nissan GT-R's lap time -- the track was wet, see -- but you can at least get a good idea of what the quite-capable Cobalt can do. That is, if you have a professional racer at the wheel. Follow the jump to check out the whole video.

[Source: GM Inside News]

Sometimes news is just too good to keep to yourself. Just ask GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz. With his company supposedly claiming 13 spots on Edmund's Consumers' Most Wanted list, Lutz just had to brag a bit on the corporate blog before the winners were made public.

And he should brag. Most other car of the year awards are chosen by us automotive writers who usually prefer horsepower over hip room. As the name implies, Edmund's CMW awards are chosen by the car-buying public. And despite not voting with their wallets, the car-buying public who visits Edmund's really like their GMs.

The GMC Acadia got Most Significant vehicle of the year, beating out Honda's Fit, the Toyota Camry Hybrid, the Ford Edge and the Toyota Tundra.

Click through to see Edmund's press release as well as the other category winners.

[Source: Edmunds, GM FastLane Blog]

In an obvious effort to keep its readership alive (and in turn circulation numbers up) Forbes magazine has made a list of the least safe cars of 2007. Before the flame wars start, note that cars on the list are not necessarily unsafe, but instead are not as safe as other cars available. Therefore, they are the least safe 2007 model year cars.

Most of the vehicles on the list are there because they don't have standard side air bags. But three -- Saturn's Ion, as well as Suzuki's Aerio and Forenza -- made the cut even with side air bags. To understand why these particular vehicles were named in the article, Forbes outlines its methodology, which includes crash tests, injury claims and the opinions of Consumer Reports' researchers.

The seven models named by Forbes are after the jump.

[Source: Forbes Magazine]

It seems that the Chevy Cobalt has become quite the bright spot for GM. Through August, Cobalt sales are at 163,300 -- up 10% versus last year, when they sold 212,700 total. The rise in sales has reportedly prompted the General to consider bumping up its 2007 forecast for Cobalt by 24,000.

GM won't comment on the possible forecast adjustment, but it did confirm that additional overtime has been approved for the Lordstown, OH plant where the car is built. Sounds to us like more Cobalts are in the works.

Since we're talking about Cobalt sales being up, we'd like to take this opportunity to encourage GM to drop the blown 2.0L Ecotec into the engine bay of its Cobalt SS sedan (above). We have a feeling that there's a market for just such a car, seeing as Honda just unveiled their Civic Si sedan. This'd be a good time to answer with a supercharged Cobalt 4-door, don't you think?

[Source: Vindy.com]

We at Autoblog love our eagle-eyed readers. From pointing out any spelling/grammar gaffes in our posts, to sending in cameraphone spyshots unsolicited, our site wouldn't be as good a product as it is without your help. But sometimes, your attention to detail and command of minutia can even scare surprise a jaded bunch like us.

So it is with tipster Neal M, who clearly has way too much free time lives and breathes cars as much as we do. How else to explain the fact that he's pointed out a possible snafu and/or future product teaser in General Motors' new Pontiac G5 microsite on the basis of an extra couple of switches?

Scan the photo above. See anything unusual? Neither did we, at least upon first glance. But as Neal M correctly points out, there's a set of rear window toggles– odd, considering the G5 is only slated to be available as a coupe when it arrives this August.

So what gives? Did GM's people just Photoshop a Pontiac badge on a Chevrolet Cobalt sedan's interior photograph? Or (more likely), did they just use a stock shot of the Canadian-market G5 Pursuit, where the re-schnozzed Cobalt can be had in two or four door configuration? Either way, should anything be divined from this apparent slip-up?

Okay... so it's probably nothing. But we're suckers for a good conspiracy theory.

Click on the photo above for a higher-resolution image, or check out the company's site to see for yourself by following the link below.

[Source: Pontiac]

(Tip-top, Neal M!)

 

Mercedes Sprinter a bit too big? Renault Kangoo a mote... quirky? Well, General Motors of Europe might have just the thing: The Vauxhall Astro Man Astravan. The UK-built panel wagon debuted Tuesday at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham, England.

Set to go on sale in September, the two-seat Astravan has been fortified to carry more handyman detritus than previous iterations, and a range of turbodiesel fours make time with a single 1.4-liter gasoline powerplant to ensure thrifty (if deliberate) progress. Saturn Ion commercial wagon, anyone?

(Press release and specs after the jump)

[Sources: Top Gear, Opel]

Over three dozen high school students will compete at this year’s National Automotive Technology Competition. The competition is to be heldduring the New York International Auto Show, and will pit students (paired in teams) with the task of diagnosing and repairing MINI Coopers. Prizes to be awarded include a pair of Chevrolet Cobalts and various scholarships.

The contest will be held on Tuesday, April 18th, and Wednesday, April 19th. More information can be found here.

[Source: Press Telegram]