Soon the Chevrolet Orlando will go on sale in Europe but not in the U.S. as reported again by our friends at CarandDriver.com. We posted on this vehicle a few months back hoping the folks making the calls at GM would wisely reconsider selling the 3 row and hyper fuel efficient Orlando in the U.S., Canada and anywhere they can ship this vehicle. The Orlando is exactly the type of vehicle that GM should be designing for all the North American market regardless of what other current offering they have. Nothing, I repeat nothing in their stable is a direct competitor with this product. The Traverse offers 3 rows but is much larger and consumes way more fuel than the Orlando and the Equinox only offers 2 rows. A current design with 3 rows and great fuel economy is what many consumers are looking for in this market.

Precisely two years after its debut at the 2008 Paris show in concept form, the production-ready Chevrolet Orlando will bow at this year’s Paris auto show. It will go on sale across Europe early next year. Despite earlier confirmation that the Orlando was destined for the U.S., GM has since decided the Orlando will not be sold here.

The Orlando is a seven-seat mini-minivan based on an elongated version of the Chevrolet Cruze’s platform. It’s easy to see similarities to the Cruze in the bold front grille with massive Chevy bowtie, although the rest of the vehicle diverges, especially the upswept beltline and subtly sloped roof. Wheel sizes will range from 16 to 18 inches.

It will be sold with a choice of three engines: a 141-hp, 1.8-liter gasoline four-cylinder; a 131-hp, 2.0-liter diesel; and a 163-hp, 2.0-liter diesel. Standard equipment includes stability control, six airbags, air conditioning, power mirrors, and a USB audio input.

Read the full article here.

GM hits a homerun with the new LaCrosse! There are plenty of unanswered questions out there on whether GM will make it in the long run but for now they have a true winner on their hands. A near luxury sedan like the LaCrosse normally doesn’t catch the eye of the more selective crowd but this car has done just that! With sleek styling, 30mpg on the highway and a price that is affordable to many you have to give props to The General on the Buick LaCrosse.

From the Detroit News:

General Motors Co. just doesn’t get the credit it deserves some times.

A few years ago, GM was the first carmaker — in the world — to mate a six-speed transmission to a four-cylinder engine for a midsize car. Everyone had been talking about it, but no one else had done it.

But when GM announced the Chevy Malibu would include an optional four-cylinder engine with a six-speed tranny, creating a car that hit 32 mpg on the highway, no one seemed to care that much, though many carmakers have followed suit.

Read the rest of the article here.

This spanking new offering from GM appears to be the right car at the right time. This is the car that could put GM back in the minds and wallets of those looking for efficiency, fuel economy and some styling to go with a small car. There has been a lot of hype around the partially electric Volt but the Cruze is the car that can make or break GM with a new generation entering the market for vehicles.

Even though I’m not sold on the styling yet, at 40m.p.g. on the highway and more trunk space than it’s competitors the Cruze has a real chance to be a top seller for the new GM.

From the Detroit Free Press:

Chevrolet has built a better mousetrap. The 2011 Cruze sedan gets better fuel economy than most subcompacts and offers the passenger and luggage space of a midsize sedan.

Those achievements will mean nothing unless Chevrolet convinces customers to check out the Cruze before they buy a better-known model like the Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra and Toyota Corolla. Years of reliability and fuel-efficiency give those models credibility with small-car buyers.

Chevy can’t match that history. The mousetrap needs cheese.

“Our job is to tell buyers why they have to look at the Cruze: fuel economy, safety, refinement and quality,” said Margaret Brooks, Chevrolet director of small-car marketing.

Read the full article here.

I had to wait a few days before commenting on the so called death of the Chevy name. A memo was leaked from inside GM and it appears the brass in marketing want to move the nickname of Chevy aside and refer to the brand only as Chevrolet. I just said Chevrolet a few times and you know what? It sounds so good that I’m sure GM can add a few thousand bucks to each Chevrolet they produce because it just sounds more expensive. That little Chevrolet Aveo can now easily fetch what a Jaguar would set us back right? Ok let’s get serious here. The nickname Chevy is going nowhere and with the pull back we now are watching from the bigs at Chevrolet they realize it too. Long live the Ford Vs. Chevy wars!!!

From the Detroit News:

GM makes Chevrolets, but people own Chevys.

That’s the message lost in all of the silly name games that hit the fan Thursday.

If you haven’t heard, here’s the short version: GM tried to kill the Chevy name, and the automaker now faces attempted manslaughter charges in the court of public opinion.

The more realistic version is this: A couple of bigwigs — namely Alan Batev, vice president of Chevrolet sales, and Jim Campbell, GM’s vice president of marketing — drafted an internal memo to the marketing team declaring “Chevy” was now a dirty word and to never use it.

Read the full article here.

Between new Cadillac dealers coming back online and strong sales GM will be building more Cadillac SRXs. I can say that of all of the SUV’s on the road today that the SRX is one of the best looking and right sized of them all. Cadillac got it right on the SRX and since it is still a relatively new design (launched last summer) this should turn into a solid profit center for The General.

From AutoNews.com:

DETROIT — General Motors Co. is planning to make more Cadillac SRX crossovers, in part to supply reinstated franchises, a Cadillac executive said Tuesday.

“We have some plans to increase production, but probably not till the fourth quarter,” said Kurt McNeil, Cadillac’s U.S. sales chief, in an interview.

About 500 former wind-down Cadillac franchises are rejoining the fold this summer via reinstatement or arbitration after being prohibited from ordering new vehicles for about a year. GM’s need to restock their lots and the expectation of growth in U.S. light-vehicle demand figure in to the automaker’s plan to increase production.

Read the full article here.

Gas mileage is all the rage now, even in your favorite pick up trucks. Very good to see and we welcome the focus on efficiency! GM is testing new grilles on the big boy trucks and according to the design engineer the new grille works like a flap, with movable louvers, integrated with the grille assembly. Hey, they actually don’t look bad either.

From AutoGuide.com:

With fuel economy still one of the primary buzz words in the auto industry these days, manufacturers are looking to do what they can to boost the mileage of their vehicles. When it comes to light trucks, any savings in gas mileage helps, especially in view of impending CAFE regulations. One method General Motors is seriously looking at, concerns louvered radiator grilles.

Read the full article here.

News flash! Another dumb idea from GM! The brain trust at GM have apparently decided against selling the all new Chevy Orlando in the U.S. because they want to focus on “other” Chevy products??? OK, So GM is calling this new stylish and sensible vehicle a “minivan” and guess what? 1.) GM/Chevy have no minivan for sale in the U.S. 2.) GM/Chevy have no other vehicle with 3 rows that compares to the Orlando 3.) With gas prices likely to rise soon the Orlando (which is off the same platform as the Volt and Cruze will get close to 35mpg on the highway) would be a home run in the U.S.

Oh well, I guess GM/Chevy are happy with losing market share to other companies like Ford and Hyundai so keep one of the better new products to come out of their stable in awhile and sell it basically everywhere but the U.S.

From AutoGuide.com:

The Chevrolet Orlando crossover will not be sold in the United States after all. In an interview with Bloomberg, Margaret Brooks, GM’s product marketing director for small cars and crossovers said that “The best thing to do for Chevrolet is to focus on the brands we’ve already brought to market: the Traverse, Equinox, Malibu and, soon to come, the Cruze.”

Read the full article here.

Is it or isn’t it? Rumors were strong and and judgment passed that the Cadillac Converj was dead and now it shows up in Beijing. That’s right the Cadillac Converj is back into the “still kicking” mode and just might see an assembly line one day in the future. GM needs to build this vehicle as it is one of the sleekest cars on the circuit.

From AutoGuide.com:

Cadillac’s Converj electric car, reported to be dead, has made an appearance at his year’s Beijing Auto Show, sparking speculation that the opulent alternative fuel vehicle is still alive and kicking.

The Converj, which mates the Chevrolet Volt’s electric powertrain with the features and amenities of a Cadillac, can travel about 40 miles on electric power alone, and then uses a gasoline motor for propulsion. The car can be plugged in to recharge its batteries as well. And did we mention it looks awesome?

Read the full article here.

The Beijing auto show is opening and guess who is making a statement there? It’s Buick and if anyone ever wondered why GM kept Buick this show is one of the main reasons. Buick is still on fire in China and it shows no signs of relenting.

From the Detroit News:

Beijing — In China, Buick has a cachet that might surprise many Americans.

The brand struggles with image problems at home, but Buick has been crucial to General Motors Co.’s success in China.

In this market — the world’s largest — Buick attracts the kind of young, wealthy customers that GM dreams of capturing in the United States.

“The average Buick customer is 28 years old, university educated, fast-tracked in his company, with a wife who has a career,” said GM China President Kevin Wale.

Buick is one of GM China’s strongest brands, with sales up 53 percent this year. The automaker is showcasing three Buick models at China’s premier auto show here that feature some of the latest European and American technology: the Excelle XT hatchback, and new Regal and LaCrosse sedans.

Read the full article here.