#NAIAS During the afternoon press conference for the Chevrolet Aveo RS concept, Mike Simcoe, GM's North American design director, went out of his way to make it known that the production Aveo will be sporty(ish). It's "European-inspired," he said, not to mention "aimed at young buyers and enthusiasts."
In talking to GM Vice President Bob Lutz afterward, we learned there might actually be some basis for that claim. The production Chevrolet Aveo, which launches in 2011, will be based on the European-market Opel Corsa.
Indeed, said Lutz, "that's the whole purpose of the exercise.
"But the Aveo and Corsa will be entirely different cars. The customer can drive them back-to-back and never be able to tell that they're from the same architecture. That's how we save a lot of money."
In addition, he said, the Aveo RS is likely to share plenty of parts with the hot-hatch version of the Opel, the Corsa OPC.
"Anything the Corsa OPC gets, we can, of course, pick up for the Aveo, provided it meets emissions. European emissions standards are a little more lax than American ones, so we might not be able to pick up the full OPC treatment, but for certain all of the OPC parts that are available for Europe can immediately get on the Aveo for over here."
The Opel RS concept on stage is said to have the 138-horsepower turbocharged 1.4-liter inline four-cylinder that will be used in the Chevrolet Cruze. The Corsa OPC, on the other hand, has a turbocharged 1.6-liter good for 192 hp. Of course, that engine might or might not be capable of meeting U.S. emissions standards.
the_big_al says:
03:56 PM, 01/11/10
I think that is a really good looking car...
compliance says:
04:19 PM, 01/11/10
It's a dinky little econobox with a more aggressive look than the Camaro. I think it looks dumb with its angry eyes.
efinils2 says:
05:03 PM, 01/11/10
I got to give it to GM for staying fairly true to their concepts as of late, just give it an engine worth of its looks and its on.
inlinesix says:
05:33 PM, 01/11/10
I like the look of these over the Camaro.
efinils: +1
moparbad says:
07:36 PM, 01/11/10
Yep, it is mean mugging you Al.
f1ndler says:
01:05 AM, 01/12/10
Finally something that is worth looking at. And why would this company had to go through so much trouble before adopting the european style? Couldn't they do it earlier?
estreka says:
06:00 AM, 01/12/10
It's a good design. I'm curious what it'll look like in other colors.
kingfish4 says:
03:42 PM, 01/12/10
Look, GM made the 4 door Gremlin that Richard Teague wanted to produce!