The 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit next week will host the world premiere of the Chevrolet Aveo RS Concept car handing us our first look at the next-generation Aveo that will be sold on both sides of the pond competing with superminis like the Ford Fiesta and Toyota Yaris.

Longer, wider and more spacious than the current production Aveo, the five-door concept adopts several styling cues including the dual element grille, round tail lamps and fender flares from other Chevrolet models such as the Spark and Cruze.

Being an RS version, the concept model sports several unique features like the 19-inch, five-spoke alloy wheels that cover the large Boracay Blue brake calipers, a roof spoiler, a specific front bumper with large air vents, exposed motorcycle-inspired rear taillamps that feature tinted aluminum housings and a rear diffuser with a center-mounted exhaust and chrome exhaust tips.

Though virtually production ready, the concept model’s interior has been adorned in leather with contrasting blue stitching, special decorative trim and a pair of sport front seats.

Under the hood, the Aveo RS houses the same 138-horsepower 1.4-liter turbocharged inline-four Ecotec engine that will be available in the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze. Power is transfered to the front wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.

Needless to say, the series production model will be far less aggressive in the details inside and out, though there is a chance that we might see a similarly styled and powered sporty RS model added in the Aveo’s range.

GM said that the production Aveo will be manufactured at its Orion Assembly in Orion Township, Michigan starting from 2011.

Looks like Bob Lutz was right after all when back in July he said that the Pontiac G8 would live on as the Chevrolet Caprice – even though shortly after he hastily took his words back. Apparently, what Lutz meant to say was that the G8 would live on as a law enforcement car as GM revealed the all-new Chevrolet Caprice Police Patrol Vehicle (PPV) at the annual International Association of Chiefs of Police convention, in Denver, Colorado.

Set to join the ranks of law enforcement departments across North America in 2011, the new Caprice is essentially a remasked version of the Australian Holden Caprice and Statesman models which in turn are more luxurious, long wheelbase versions of the Holden Commodore and its American counterpart, the Pontiac G8 that will soon be discontinued.

And just to confuse you a bit more, the Holden Caprice and its Statesman twin are already sold in the Middle East as the Chevrolet Caprice.

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If you have recently been curious as to what that number 23 next to a smiling, cutesy electrical outlet meant, the secret is now out. The cryptic ad campaign was the new GM’s way of dropping hints to the expected 230-mpg city rating for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt.

In a press conference this morning, CEO Fritz Henderson discussed the new methodology under development by the EPA for rating plug-in hybrids that leads GM to expect a 230-mpg city score for the range-extended electric Volt. This new system weights vehicle ratings based on the expectation that they will travel more city miles than highway miles on electricity only. To define the electrical efficiency of plug-ins, the EPA calculates the kilowatt hours used per 100 miles traveled. GM is expecting the Volt, which is said to travel up to 40 miles using only electricity stored in its 16-kWh lithium-ion battery pack, to use as little as 25 kilowatt hours per 100 miles in the city. Using a national average of about 11 cents per kWh, GM anticipates the average Volt customer would pay about $2.75 for electricity to travel up to 100 miles.

Henderson is withholding a highway fuel-economy rating but said it and the overall combined score will also be triple-digit numbers. Pricing for the Volt is still up in the air but many expect to see it top the $40,000 mark, although a government tax credit of $7500 is projected. The 230-mpg city fuel economy estimate further adds to the mountain of hype surrounding the Volt and Henderson assures that GM is not “over-promising” on the numbers. We sure hope GM delivers, in these times we all know it can’t afford to fall short of its promises.

We’ve had our share of Daewoo-engineered cars in North America. There was the late-1980s Pontiac LeMans, the forgettable Suzuki Reno and Forenza, and Chevrolet’s uninspired Aveo econobox—all products of the Korean automaker. And don’t forget the actual Daewoo-badged cars that were sold here. Why give the Korean company another chance?

Unfazed by criticism of previous Daewoo-designed cars, GM gave the Koreans design leadership for the new Chevrolet Cruze compact car. A true world car to be sold around the globe, the Cruze will take the place of the Cobalt in Chevy’s U.S. lineup. Moreover, the Cruze is the first iteration of GM’s Delta II platform, which will host a number of new, global vehicles, including the Chevrolet Orlando MPV, the next-gen Opel/Vauxhall Astra, and an upcoming Buick version of the Astra. Read more »

Next month’s Geneva Show will see the world debut of the 2010 Chevrolet Spark which is set to go on sale in Europe towards the end of the year with the U.S.A and other core international markets following suite in 2011. Due to replace the Matiz in the ‘Old Continent’, the Spark was inspired by the Chevy Beat 3d concept, the most popular of a trio of mini-car concepts that were revealed back in 2007.

2010 Chevrolet Spark Even though the production Spark comes with a five-door body style, it retains all of the concept’s styling cues adding a few more interesting details such as the ‘hidden’ rear door handles. With an overall length of 3,640 mm and a 2,375 mm wheelbase, the Spark is slightly larger than Fiat’s A-Segment Panda that measures 3,538 mm in length.

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