Chevy calls their AVEO RS show car “a wake-up call for the small-car segment”. Whether it is that remains to be seen, but they also point out, right off the top as a matter of fact, that the Aveo RS is ” designed to appeal to young enthusiasts,” has “personalization is built into the design,” and a “1.4L I-4 Ecotec turbo delivers exceptional fuel economy with performance when needed.”
Hmmm, who does that remind me of?
Scion?
Chevrolet will be showing Aveo RS at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in a few days. They say that it ” … features a European-inspired hot hatch look designed to appeal to young enthusiasts, and hints at the next-generation Aveo.” It might as well be the next-gen Aero, but that only pointing out what you can already tell.
What the Aveo RS is, is yet another stab by General Motors to make a type of car, “a European-inspired hot hatch”, that seemingly every other carmaker out side of North America can knock out with out even breathing hard (i.e. Volkswagen, Toyota et al).
How far has Chevy come since the days of the Vega?
Well, on the one hand, the Aveo RS is not that bad a car. But on the other hand, the standards, the goalposts if you will, keep moving upward.
“We hope the Aveo RS show car will demonstrate that we are as serious about redefining the Aveo and its place in the small-car segment as we were about reinventing the Malibu,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet general manager.
OK, right … but does anybody have the sales figures for the Malibu handy? Is Toyota or Honda worried about the Malibu? Yeah, my point exactly.
The Aveo RS does take a stab at least at looking the part. Chevy has always done very nice shades of blue, and in this case, the color is called electric Boracay Blue. The company points out that the car “wears global Chevrolet design cues” like a dual element grille, round tail lamps and fender flares. There are also bits and pieces that are in brushed and polished aluminum, which always looks nice if you handle the design details right.
The Aveo RS also has outboard fog lamps, which, if you ask me, every car on the road should have. The fog lamps are integrated into an exaggerated brake-cooling inlet “creating an aggressive-looking face.” Boy, they’re trying hard, ain’t they?
“The Aveo RS show car demonstrates how progressive design can inject personality into a small car,” said Michael Simcoe, executive director, North American Exterior Design. “We want customers to see it and have an emotional reaction to it.”
The Aveo RS rides on 19-inch, five-spoke wheels with a gun metal metallic finish Chevrolet logo. There are Boracay Blue brake calipers too because, as Chevy puts it “No performance-minded car earns its street cred without large wheels and tires.” Out back there are such niceties as an integrated spoiler, a center-mounted exhaust with chrome exhaust tips, and exposed motorcycle-inspired rear tail lamps.
Inside you’ll see things like a matte black interior with gloss black highlights, metallic and blue accents, Boracay Blue accent stitching across the dual cockpit instrument panel, front and rear door insert, steering wheel rim, gear shift boot, parking brake, leather seat bolster and floor mats. The integrated center stack holds the gearshift, HVAC controls and the sound system, including a USB port. Ice-blue backlighting on the audio display, telltale indicator screen and knobs augment the blue stitching.
The Aveo RS is motivated by the same 138-horsepower 1.4L Ecotec turbocharged four-banger that will be available in the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze. Power gets to the tarmac via a six-speed manual transmission.
In the past, the Chevrolet Aveo was seldom remembered by any, because of some unfortunate design ideas and a cheap feel, but now Chevy is determined to change that. Starting with next week’s 2010 Detroit Auto Show, they expect to change the Aveo’s image into a more desirable product with the Chevrolet Aveo RS concept. The Chevrolet Aveo RS, mostly a styling exercise, provides a preview of what to expect from the next-generation production of Aveo.
Chevy says “the Aveo RS concept was designed to have an innovative look that is meant to be appealing to young enthusiasts“, and gives some hints about the latest concept car. The concept is longer and wider with more interior space than the current one. This profile makes the car look much more aggressive than its predecessor.
The Aveo RS design seems to have adopted some of the styling cues from the smaller Spark, but without the smaller area as in Spark. The scooped out rocker panel sculpting also resembles the Spark.
Like all new Chevys, the Aveo RS gets a dual port grille and round tail lamps, exaggerated for effect on the Aveo RS concept. The brake cooling inlets are extra-large, aiding the concept of “aggressive face”. The exposed headlamps and rear lamps resemble those on motorcycles. At the rear, the roof tapers low and the rear door handles are hidden in the rear pillars, which gives this five-door car a three-door hatchback look. The same motorcycle inspiration produced the instrument pod consisting of a round speedometer and a rectangular digital display to the right, with a milled metal surround and round cutouts on top of the steering column. An entertainment display system sits in the hooded pod above the center stack.
The blue theme is maintained throughout the interior of the car. The instrument panel, door inserts, and the leather trims for the parking brake, gear-shift, and steering wheel rim, the knobs and floor mats all include stitching that matches the blue exterior. The audio display, indicator screen, and other elements have been lighted in ice blue color. Blue stitching runs across the seats that are finished in actual leather.
Power in the RS comes from a 1.4-liter turbocharged Ecotec four-cylinder engine, estimated at 138 horsepower and 148 lb-ft of torque. The torque gets sent over to the road via the giant 19-inch, five-spoke wheels and tires through a proper six-speed manual gearbox. Brake calipers are large enough to be visible through the wheels. Chevrolet had earlier announced that it would build the new Aveo in 2011 at its plant in Orion Township, Michigan.
Chevrolet Beat
New Delhi, India – General Motors India has launched the Chevrolet Beat. The model will be sold in over 150 markets in the future, including North America, Europe and other parts of Asia.
Based on GM’s global mini-vehicle architecture, the company took 27 months to develop the Beat. It joins the Chevrolet Cruze in the Indian market.
“With its best-in-segment design, performance and safety, the Beat is destined to become an industry benchmark and a winner among consumers in India,” said Karl Slym, president and managing director of GM India. “Aimed at meeting the highest quality and performance standards in the most sophisticated markets in a competitive environment, the global vehicle was put through over one million kilometres of intensive durability tests in extreme weather conditions and crash tests both in India and abroad. It has high-strength and ultra-high-strength steel over key areas of the body to ensure segment-leading occupant protection.”
In India, the Beat comes in three trim levels of 1.2, 1.2LS and 1.2LT. The LT can be optioned with a package of alloy wheels, dual airbags, seatbelts with load limiters, and anti-lock brakes. All use a newly-developed 1.2-litre four-cylinder engine with five-speed manual transmission.
Chevrolet Volt OnStar mobile app
Chevrolet doesn’t want owners of its upcoming Volt plug-in hybrid to just have a car to get them from A to B. For Chevrolet, owning a Volt is all about the experience of having one of the most advanced cars on the road, a feeling the automaker wants owners to be able to take away with them once the drive is over.To that effect, Chevrolet and OnStar will be giving Volt owners 24-7 connection and remote control of vehicle functions via a new industry first wireless smartphone application.
Using smartphones like the Apple iPhone or Blackberry Storm, owners will be able to perform tasks from setting the charge time to unlocking the doors. Other features will include displaying the charge status of the batteries or the remaining driving range (electric and total), remotely starting the vehicle, and displaying mileage and odometer readings.
Traditional OnStar features such as door lock, unlock and remote horn and lights--which have typically been accessible only through a call into the OnStar call center--will now be available via the application.
The OnStar mobile application will be available for Volt owners at launch, which is expected shortly after production starts late in the year.
