New Chevy compact to be built alongside Cobalt starting in 2009

In recent weeks, we've seen several spy photos of a new small Chevrolet sedan that we've all been assuming would be the replacement for the Cobalt. It now appears that the Cobalt may stay with us for a while with the newcomer being built alongside it. The car built off the next generation Delta or Global Compact Car platform will apparently not be called the Cobalt. The new car will be built at the Lordstown, Ohio assembly plant with the Cobalt and Pontiac G5. Power for the new Delta car will be provided by GM's new global 1.4L four cylinder turbo. Depending on the application, the engine will reportedly be rated between 120 and 140hp. Like the 2.0L turbo used in the Solstice GXP, HHR-SS and others, the 1.4L will use direct injection. With this new engine under the hood of at least five different models from Chevrolet, Pontiac, Daewoo and of course the Saturn and Opel Astras, fuel efficiency numbers topping 40mpg are possible. The Cobalt will apparently stick around until at least mid-2010 likely in stripped down form as a budget alternative to the new models. GM may end up adding a third shift at Lordstown to increase output from the current 1,400-1,500 cars a day to 2,100. With gas prices well on their way to $5/gallon, GM is apparently seriously considering bring the micro sized Beat to the U.S. as well.

[Source: AutoWeek]