[espo19047]

Chevrolet to get a new compact car for sale early next year


Jamie LaReau
Automotive News
June 2, 2008 - 1:52 pm ET

DETROIT -- General Motors will unveil a Chevrolet compact car at an auto show this fall, with production slated to begin early next year, say sources familiar with GM's product program.
The vehicle will be built on the Delta compact car architecture at GM's plant in Lordstown, Ohio.
The car will use a new 1.4-liter global engine that GM developed and recently announced in Europe. The turbocharged four-cylinder engine will be used in several GM vehicles worldwide.
The Chevrolet compact will not be called the Cobalt, says one source familiar with the plans. GM will produce the current-generation Cobalt through June 2010 as a 2009 model. It was unclear from sources whether GM will continue to build the Cobalt after that.



More: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080602/ANA02/847106937&nocache=1

 

[CobaltSScrazy]

and I thought balt was not being produced at lordstown anymore and it would be built on Delta II this is conflicting with what we've been hearing all along.

Guess I'll have the glorified Cobalt next year in SS Trim, loaded...haha

unless this next model is just PURE SEX ON WHEELS like more than a Vette/CTS Coupe/SKY wrapped into one vehicle, I'm going forward with the Cobalt SS purchase. It's my time to buy (in ~6 months) and be a GM Owner and if it doesn't happen with the ultra new platform, so what. this one is great as I've driven it and know it.

CobaltSS

 

[t-rex]

and I thought balt was not being produced at lordstown anymore and it would be built on Delta II this is conflicting with what we've been hearing all along.

If the article's correct, this suggests GM is ditching the Cobalt name :woot:likely in favor of a new name that'll be common across the globe.

The Delta-II Chevy product will come as a 2010 model, so they'll produce the Cobalt, likely as a "budget" model, or for fleets, for half that model year, so they can shut the plant down and retool for new products.

Since elsewhere we've read that Lordstown is getting an Aveo replacement and also the "Alpha" RWD product, it'll take a lot of changes at Lordstown to produce two platforms. The plant will have to be rejigged with GM's "C-Flex" production equipment.

It'll be no different than when the Lumina ran for a year alongside its effective replacement, the 2000 Impala.

 

[A.J.]

The Chevrolet compact will not be called the Cobalt, says one source familiar with the plans.

Let the speculation begin!

Possible Names:

• Cavalier (maybe)
• Nubira (possibly)
• Chevette (not likely)

 

[CobaltSScrazy]

if GM is smart, they will keep the equity of the cobalt which has NEVER Been a 'bad' car or a POS...

if they MUST change the name, do NOT let it start with the letter "C"

Cavalier and Cobalt both started with C and thats a problem...

 

[t-rex]

Let the speculation begin!

Possible Names:

• Cavalier (maybe)
• Nubira (possibly)
• Chevette (not likely)

Well one area Americans have superior taste is that we wouldn't want anything called Lacetti. YUCK! Sounds like a familiy name you'd see on a Long Island mailbox. Good for people. Bad for cars.

Despite its soggy past, Cavalier is still strongly recognisable, though I'd advise against digging it up. Nubira and Optra both sound like good possibilities, and could be used globally, though I'd lean to using Nubira, which has a suggestion of strength to it (much like Cobalt does).

I think it's important, especially in today's "small" world, that given the significance of this product, it being GM's first truly global small car, that it bear the same name everywhere, much like the Corolla and Civic do.

 

[Astra RL]

Ooh 1.4 turbo, but I hope it has more than 140 HP or it will get ripped by the press for being underpowered.

 

[F14CRAZY]

The sources weren't not "clear", so nothing is definite, but ditching the Cobalt name, after ditching the Cavalier name, would be dumb unless they go back to Cavalier

 

[genjy]

So... when will Pontiac get its version?

 

[Xenon]

Cobalt = done?

Couldn't find a working link that doesn't require a subscription....
http://www.autonews.com/article/20080602/ANA02/847106937/1176

Chevrolet to get a new compact car for sale early next yearJamie LaReau

June 2, 2008 - 1:52 pm ET
DETROIT -- General Motors will unveil a Chevrolet compact car at an auto show this fall, with production slated to begin early next year, say sources familiar with GM's product program.
The vehicle will be built on the Delta compact car architecture at GM's plant in Lordstown, Ohio.
The car will use a new 1.4-liter global engine that GM developed and recently announced in Europe. The turbocharged four-cylinder engine will be used in several GM vehicles worldwide.
The Chevrolet compact will not be called the Cobalt, says one source familiar with the plans. GM will produce the current-generation Cobalt through June 2010 as a 2009 model. It was unclear from sources whether GM will continue to build the Cobalt after that.
Shared among five nameplates
The car's engine will be capable of developing between 120 and 140 hp. Sources say mileage could easily exceed 40 mpg.
"It's a pretty incredible engine; it's direct-injected with great power," the source says. "The small-displacement turbos make it possible to get great power so that GM might put it in the mid-sized products, too. It's an extremely important engine and a very capable powertrain."
The new engine will be shared among five nameplates: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Saturn, Opel and Daewoo, sources say. That means the Lordstown plant could build cars for export.
The engine continues the trend that GM started with such cars as the Pontiac Solstice GXP and Saturn Sky Red Line. Those cars use smaller engines and high-technology devices such as direct fuel injection and turbochargers to boost fuel economy and performance.
Lordstown plant retooling
GM is retooling its plant in Lordstown for a new vehicle, sources say. Lordstown union officials have heard that GM plans to add a shift.
GM now is building between 1,400 and 1,500 cars a day at Lordstown; adding a shift would increase that output to 2,100 cars a day. GM builds the Chevrolet Cobalt as well as the Pontiac G5 and its Canadian counterpart, the Pontiac Pursuit, at the Lordstown plant.
Meanwhile, GM is reconsidering bringing the Chevrolet minicar, the Beat, to the United States.
"The Beat for the U.S. is getting a pretty thorough examination now that you see what's going on with fuel prices," says a source close to GM's product development. "It isn't definitively on there as a go product, but there is a lot of inside chatter and it's on the consideration list."

 

[Hitman1970]

So... when will Pontiac get its version?

How dare you insinuate shameless rebadging!!!

The Pontiac will be completely different. You see, there will be double kidneys and a red arrow up front. The instrument guages will be RED too. So there.

See.......completely different.

 

[HoosierRon]

I really do not like Nubira. I keep wanting to say Nu-bree-a. And from the spelling, I cannot tell if it is supposed to be Nu-bye-ra or Nu-bee-ra. And don't bother telling me, because people buying Civics and Corollas aren't going to bother to ask. You will end up with people saying it both ways, which is not good for a product's reputations.

There is absolutely no reason to not use Cobalt. Has GM learned nothing from the Ford Five Hundred debacle?

 

[Scarlet2200]

Re: Cobalt = done?

that depresses me. A 1.4 liter?? 140hp a lot?? What's wrong with the 2.0Liter Ecotec Turbo?

 

[63GrandSport001]

Re: Cobalt = done?

that depresses me. A 1.4 liter?? 140hp a lot?? What's wrong with the 2.0Liter Ecotec Turbo?

Im going to guess but I dont think that the 1.4L turbo is the SS model.

 

[crooner214]

Re: Cobalt = done?

All speculation on what the new car will actually be aside, I hope they keep the name Cobalt. I think it is a great name for a small car, and it has only been through one life cycle so far. Imagine the headlines reading "New Cobalt better than the last" or "Chevy gets the Cobalt right this time" instead of "Chevy tries again with another Newborn"...

...or whatever the clever media lemmings come up with. My point is, give the Cobalt name a chance to really get established in the marketplace.

 

[j_granlund]

Re: Cobalt = done?

:repost:

 

[mgescuro]

If the article's correct, this suggests GM is ditching the Cobalt name :woot:likely in favor of a new name that'll be common across the globe.

The Delta-II Chevy product will come as a 2010 model, so they'll produce the Cobalt, likely as a "budget" model, or for fleets, for half that model year, so they can shut the plant down and retool for new products.

Since elsewhere we've read that Lordstown is getting an Aveo replacement and also the "Alpha" RWD product, it'll take a lot of changes at Lordstown to produce two platforms. The plant will have to be rejigged with GM's "C-Flex" production equipment.

It'll be no different than when the Lumina ran for a year alongside its effective replacement, the 2000 Impala.

Heh heh heh....
http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f32/commentary-what-chevrolet-needs-compete-32862/

I said this YEARS ago.
Common platform.... Common name....

 

[Slideways]

There is absolutely no reason to not use Cobalt. Has GM learned nothing from the Ford Five Hundred debacle?

I agree, I'd just gotten used to the name Cobalt.

 

[Stéphane Dumas]

A global name: Corsa, as for the Cobalt name. Instead of using names like LT, LZ, LTZ, etc.... why not giving the Cobalt as the base model instead of LT with the Corsa/Lacetti/Nubira will be the upper just like the Biscayne/BelAir/Impala lineup?

Or another possibility, recycle the Cobalt nameplate for the Alpha platform if Chevy got a variant.

 

[CobaltSScrazy]

it would be stupid to lose the brand equity by launching yet ANOTHER nameplate and retiring the Cobalt name. Its easy to pronounce, its cool, and has potential staying power.

CobaltSS