It's still micro compared to Camaro.

I think your perception may be a bit off. FWIW, the other day my wife saw a 2010 Camaro (she was by herself, so it wasn't my typical "NEW CAMARO!" cry each time we see one when we're together.) Her comment, "I pulled up next to a new Camaro on the freeway. Its a small car, smaller than your green Camaro." When I informed her that it was bigger and outweighed my '95 Z28 by more than 400lbs she was surprised. "Looked smaller to me." she said.

 

What isn't?
Well.....that settles it then.


Did she think it was smaller than her Tahoe?

 

She was driving the Tahoe, so I'd say "yes."

In all seriousness, that may have something to do with it. When I'm driving the Tahoe and see a Chevy Traverse on the street, it appears a lot smaller than the Tahoe. Yet when I see one while out walking, especially with no full size SUV around, it looks big. (Probably one reason my wife thinks the current Aveo is a deathtrap!)

 

It is. Sure, for a small car, it probably does okay in crash tests. But it is still small, and when it meets a much larger hunk of steel, it can only save so much. In fact, that may be a limiting factor to why they wouldn't consider a larger motor up front. Too heavy an engine/front cradle and vectors of offset force might make the passenger compartment collapse too easily. In that case, a small displacement, H.O. engine makes sense. Keep it light and roomy.

Even if they could get 160hp out of a 1.4L....we're displacement fans, right?! It doesn't matter if 454ci only makes 230hp...But if it can twist an old-growth cedar to toothpicks and if it sounds like the kingdom is coming, we'll love it! Of course, a 454 is a little old-school.

That's what I loved about those older Z24's with the 2.8/3.1. Growly sons of bitches. Up to 135 or 140hp. The only small-feeling part of the car were its dimensions.

If I can't have that, then I'd be an advocate for the 2.0L LNF. But overall, I'm just not a fan of small, buzzy motors.

 

I'll pass on some sad sack 230hp 454 thanks. Adding a turbo on small engine makes it feel larger. Don't assume it will be buzzy.

Good to hear some people at GM aren't totally stupid.

The Aveo RS does need a sold 30+ more HP. Now why weren't they behind a Cruze SS?? The Focus with an Ecoboost sounds alot better then the nothing they have planned for the Cruze

 

I'm wondering if since Aveo is up-sizing, that GM is now moving to separate their FWD sport models from their economy models. Cruze will be their global economy car and Aveo will be their entry level/sport model. If you think about it, it would allow them to focus on specific demographics for each... not that they're vastly different.

Which also allows them to create a separate 4-cyl performance "brand" with RS, while the SS "brand" can be reserved for higher end/higher content pricier V8s.

I'd still like to see an LNF AWD Malibu. (Heck I finally got the turbo Aveo I was asking for, so it doesn't hurt to ask. )

 

Upsizing pisses me off.

Aveo becomes Cobalt-sized, Cobalt becomes Malibu-sized, Malibu becomes Impala-sized, and Impala becomes... um... Lincoln Town Car sized.

If there's demand for a car larger than Impala, build a new car in that size. Stop the upsizing! Some of us want the small cars you're not building any more!

 

At your Buick dealer, soon.....

Agree all the way.

 

While I don't disagree; it unfortunately is the byproduct of human evolution's impact on the automotive industry. Humans are getting bigger. Therefore our environments are getting bigger as well. Turn back the clock to the early 1900s and homes and vehicles were much smaller than they are today. People simply want more space.

That said, while Aveo becomes larger and a separate compact car branch (from Cruze) on the Chevrolet vehicle family tree; I see Cobalt fading off into the sunset rather than growing larger. Malibu then gets stretched ever so slightly to make it a more serious mid-sized sedan. Making Impala bigger isn't a negative in my book, after all, its origins are as a larger vehicle than what we've had since GM killed the RWD Impala.

I'm actually more excited about what Buick has on the horizon. However I'd still like to the see the Chevrolet styling and lower frills interior added to the equation.

 

Larger humans can buy larger cars. I'm small; I want a small car. Smaller than Cobalt. Aveo is close to the size I'd want, but the styling is awful (speaking of the one you can buy today) and it doesn't meet the other criteria that interest me.

I want my small car to be available with lots of amenities and high-end materials. Just because I don't require a lot of space doesn't mean I don't want a nice stereo with bluetooth phone integration, heated and cooled leather seats, a powerful engine, a stiff chassis with a sporty suspension, etc. I'm willing to pay for the features, but I'd rather not compromise on size.

I imagine that there are people who want an even smaller car than I do.

Okay, then Cruze-sized. Whatever.

I just bought an Aura (basically same as a Malibu), and I'm quite happy with its size for what I bought it for (which, I should note, is not to fill the small-car criteria I listed above). If you need more space than Malibu offers, get an Impala (let's assume that Impala is going to get the update for which it's due).

I don't have a big problem with the largest car getting a bit larger, especially in the case of Impala which isn't very big as full-size cars go. The thing that bugs me is the chain of consequences -- make Cobalt/Cruze bigger, now they're as big as Malibu, so we have to embiggen () Malibu so that it differentiates itself, and then ditto for Impala. That, combined with the fact that every model is always getting larger, is my problem.

I commute by myself, every day, for six miles. I use my car for very little else. I don't need to haul around an extra thousand pounds, and I don't need to take up every last inch of a standard parking space, in order to get to work. I do, however, want to make the drive in comfort and safety, with all of the conveniences I can get in a larger car.

I have other cars (the Aura and the Bonneville, and even the Camaro) which I can use when I need more space.

 

How do you feel about Lotus Exige? Seriously? I thought the Solstice coupe was an excellent idea until GM killed Pontiac. I still see a market for a small two passenger sports coupe, however I'm sure the Corvette prevents much of a likelihood of GM bringing it back as a Chevrolet. What about as a Buick or Cadillac?

Don't take my size comments the wrong way. I still think Chevrolet needs a "hot hatch" 2-door VW Golf-like vehicle at the bottom of their line-up. While the Aveo RS is a move in the right direction, they still need something smaller.

 

Its an ebb and flow. In the late 1800s they were small, then in the 1910-1920s they grew, then shrunk in 30s and 40s, then started to get big in the 50s and 60s, then shrunk in the 70s and 80s, started to gain in the 90s and 2000s...

 

I am not sure your right about this upsizing...

New Aveo is bigger then old but not by much I'd bet--no where near Cobalt sized.

Cruze is shorter then the Cobalt. It has noticabley more interior room though.

New Malibu will be smaller then current gen.

 

The Exige is sweet for what it is, but too racy for what I want. I want to ride in comfort, with a radio and A/C and all that. To be honest, an Exige plus a luxury interior with all of those features I mentioned before would probably be really close to what I want, although I'd prefer a V6 powertrain. The Evora might be closer to what I want.

Having said that, Lotus cars are quite a bit more expensive than I'd like. I just bought a Saturn Aura XR V6 with nearly all of the features and amenities I want, for a third of the price of an Exige 240S (which has less power). What I'm asking for is something that's as nice as the Aura, but smaller, with only two seats and a reasonable-sized trunk (or hatchback). There's no reason it couldn't be less expensive than the Aura was, since I'm taking content away and not adding anything (the only thing I'd really like to add is cooled seats).

To be honest, I don't really care which badge the end result wears, as long as they build it. Saturn or Pontiac would have been perfect, but given my remaining choices, I think it should be a Chevrolet. I'm thinking <20k, and nowhere near 400hp, so it really shouldn't encroach on Corvette's territory.

I really, really want a Solstice GXP Coupe. I also like the Sky Redline. These cars are the closest I've seen to what I'm asking for.

I was speaking generically to illustrate the problem I have, not predicting what's going to happen to the model names I used in my example.

Where did you hear that? I heard it was getting stretched a few inches like jg95z28 said.

 

That Aveo looks smaller than a Cobalt to me. Also the Cruze is only 0.7" longer than Cobalt so basically the same. 2012 Malibu will be on the shorter EPII platform, not the bigger one the Lacrosse is on. A 2010 Malibu is 191.8" and a 1997 Malibu is 190.4" . 2010 is only 1" wider than the 1997. The next Impala won't be any bigger than the current one. Lacrosse shrunk by 1" for 2010.