Auto car sports

General Motors today released a new teaser photo of its upcoming 2012 Buick Verano compact sedan together with the news that the vehicle will be built alongside Chevrolet's new small car [we assume GM means the Aveo ] at the Orion Assembly Center in Michigan. The Detroit automaker said it plans to invest $145 million to upgrade the factory for this reason. "[The] Verano will bring premium styling, performance and content to Buick buyers wanting a smaller car than Regal," said GM North American President Mark Reuss. "The investment in Orion Assembly also extends GM's local small car footprint, again increasing the number of U.S.-made small vehicles available in showrooms." Although the company did not get into any specific details on the new Verano, the cropped picture confirms our previous reports that it will be the same car sold in China as the 2011 Buick Excelle GT, which in turn is essentially the sedan version of the latest generation Opel Astra. The s...

Finally, we've got live pics of the new Chevy Orlando. Essentially the General's answer to the European mid-size MPV question, the small, Cruze-based 7-seater had a bunch of promise back when it originally debuted as a concept. Somewhere between there and this year's Paris Motor Show , all the old, Judge Whitey executives in the General's back pocket found a way to crush any chance of it being cool by turning the stocky little MPV into an ass-in-the-air high-ish-riding mini-minivan...unless there's an air suspension system I don't know about. You can see that the interior keeps the decent styling inherited from its platform-mate and appears to actually be sourced from the original concept. Too bad the same can't be said for the rest. When this little box goes on sale in early 2011, methinks the best things about the whole package are the trick dashboard cubby and its two available diesel torque-makers. As for the rest, attractive European MPV it ain't. F...

When Holden axed its Opel-sourced Astra small car in Australia in 2009, it also dealt a death blow to Holden Special Vehicle's wicked 177kw (237 hp) / 320Nm VRX hot hatch. Now the high performance brand is searching for a replacement for its entry level model, setting its sights on the Daewoo / Chevrolet-sourced Cruze. In the event that Opel does come to Australia as a stand-alone brand, HSV is looking for its own hot hatch to go up against the likes of the Focus RS and Subaru WRX, and the Australian developed Cruze 5dr hatchback is on the cards. In a recent interview with news site GoAuto, HSV Managing Director Phil Harding confirmed that HSV was investigating a performance version of the Cruze: "I am not saying we are doing it, but we are looking at it. We would be silly if we didn't." Mr. Harding also stated that the proposed model would have to fit in with HSV's brand image, delivering performance, driving pleasure and style. "I am not going to screw wit...

South Korea is really getting serious about electric vehicles. Following the news last week of a Kia CUV EV to join Hyundai's BlueOn i10 , GM has announced it will build a demonstration fleet of battery-powered Chevrolet Cruze sedans from the end of October. The cars will be deployed in Seoul, with GM planning on testing them in other, unspecified urban markets at a later date. The idea is to test the market needs and consumer acceptance of battery electric vehicles and to gather data on real-world driving patterns and charging behavior. The demonstration vehicles will be badged both as Daewoos (as the Lacetti Premiere) and Chevrolets (as the Cruze), despite the fact the latter is not sold in South Korea. The project is a joint venture between GM Daewoo, LG Chem (who make the batteries) and LG Electronics (who make the motor and invertors). GM and LG Chem have been working together since 2008 with this being their second project together after the Chevrolet Volt. The Cruze EV fea...

As promised, here are the respective promotional videos of Chevrolet's Paris Motor Show-bound Aveo sub-compact, Captiva 7-seater SUV, Orlando 7-seater MPV and the Cruze five-door hatchback. From these four cars, only the Aveo has been confirmed for the U.S market with sales of both the five-door variant and the yet-to-be-revealed sedan model to start sometime in 2011.

While we're on the topic of bringing you pics of GM's debuts, here is the interior of the Paris Motor Show Cruze Hatchback . Much like the Orlando, the interior shouldn't come as a shock. After all, this is just a Chevy Cruze wearing a backpack. The Cruze Hatchback, which was designed by Holden in Australia, will appear in Paris as a pre-production Chevy show car; however, as we recently showed you, it will also appear Down Under wearing a Holden nose and badges . As for North America, there's no telling as of right now (but keep your fingers crossed). Under the hood we'll get the regular Cruze engine options, meaning your choice of a 113-horsepower 1.6-liter (gas), a 141-horsepower 1.8-liter (gas), or a 123-horsepower 2.0-liter turbodiesel. One wonders if the car may one day show up with the Orlando's high-output diesel engine. Either way, the new Focus hatchback is going to have some stiff style competition when vying for consumer cash. Oh, and we need to get...