I am somewhat confused about the two upcoming models from Chevrolet. One is the next generation Cobalt, and the other is a new, smaller Chevrolet that is rumored to be coming with 1.4L turbo engine...

This new, smaller car - does it have a name? Does it have a code name? What do we know about it? When is it supposed to hit dealerships? What about price - is it going to be priced higher than Cobalt? If so, why?


Also, when is the next-gen Cobalt supposed to hit dealerships? Will it retain the name?

And last, but not least, those pictures of a white sedan floating around - are those pictures of next-gen Cobalt or this new small car?

 

^ And is this new small car replacing Aveo?

 

No, I believe it is not. There is 2009 Aveo5 coming, and my understanding is that the new car will be bigger than Aveo.

 

it should.

 

I know CAFE is coming hard, but four entry-level cars is ridiculous. Put a couple options on one and you have enough to step up to the next one.

Let's not forget the Beat. From what I understand, it will go like this, and correct me if I'm wrong...

Beat>Aveo>Cobalt>New 1.4L small car

 

There will be 3 compact cars. The Beat, an Aveo or Aveo replacement, and the new Cobalt.
The Aveo replacement will be bigger and built along side the Cobalt replacement.
There is talk of the Cobalt getting a different name, but Im not sure if this new name is for the new car or for Cobalt as the Cobalt goes world wide. Cobalt does well here, but Lacetti and the others name's dont have that great of a rep. Top Gear uses a Lacetti for the Celebrity Track Competition, and they kinda rip on the car.

 

It makes sense the same way having Equinox, Trailblazer, Tahoe, and Suburban made sense during the height of the SUV craze. You build what the people are buying, and make them want to buy more. Right now people are buying small cars. We can only hope that under the new global development model, GM can finally make a buck on these little guys.

 

To correct something: the Cobalt is a compact, the Aveo is a subcompact, and the Beat would be a sub-subcompact (it is smaller than a Mini Cooper).

I personally think the new 1.4T car should go to Buick. It will be upscale, in powertrain and definitely interior quality and build materials. That would give Chevrolet a delta coupe and sedan, Pontiac a coupe, and Buick an upscale sedan. I think this plan makes SO much more sense than having 2 Chevrolet delta compacts.

 

I dont think Buick should have an entry level car in America. Buick should start with the LaX/Invicta and thats go up. Maybe have a coupe model, but overall I wouldnt bother going down market. Leave that to the Pontiac brand to make smaller sporty cars.

 

They're actually the same car. Some folks mistook the new Delta Chevy as the next gen Cobalt when in fact it is a different car (name tbd) that will be priced slightly higher than Cobalt.

As for the actual next gen Cobalt... who knows?

http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/06...rting-in-2009/

 

Well lets look at the luxury players w/ compact cars: BMW 1/3 series, Audi 3/4, Lexus IS, Mercedes C class (w/ the B class coming). In the near lux segment: Volvo S40, Acura TSX, VW Golf, SAAB 9-3.

Why shouldn't Buick have a competitor to these cars?

 

I'm still not fully convinced it's not the new Cobalt. When they announced that they were going to build the new Malibu at Fairfax they said they were going to "add a vehicle in addition to Malibu and Aura." They didn't say, we're going to build the next generation Malibu there. But it was really just the latter (after a buildout of the "Classic" Malibu for a while).

 

How does the Volt fit into all of this? Isn't it on Delta as well?

 

Yes, Volt is on Delta II (I believe it's pretty heavily modified to support the e-flex architecture, though). I have it on good authority that Volt will be quite heavy -- around 4000 pounds.

It bugs me that people equate small cars with entry level cars. It doesn't have to be huge to be nice! Personally, I'd jump at the chance to get a premium-class car in terms of features and materials, but in a subcompact size. 95% of my driving is just me in the car -- no people and no cargo. 4% is just me and my wife, and still no cargo. What do I need all that space for? The fact is that I don't. I don't want to have to carry around a full-size sedan (or worse, SUV) just to have some luxury features.

BMW seems to get it, sort of. The 1-series is fairly small, and fairly premium, but there's still a lot of stuff you can get on the 5, 6, and 7 series that you can't get on the 1.

 

I don't think we need a repeat spreading things around like the J-Bodies in the 80s. Anybody remember how many GM had.........Chevy Cavalier, Pontiac Sunbird, Buick Skyhawk, Olds Firenza, Cadillac Cimarron. Small cars will be the next boom, again but I don't think Buick should have small car.