finally getting past the need to build huge SUVs…people want small efficient cars for commuting…good job losing the market to BMW (MINI), Toyota (Scion), Honda….better late then never i guess.

These fit in with the current trend of small cars. Very Asian in styling. GM should resist the urge to copy styling from Asian and European offerings and try to be a bit more original IMHO. But overall a decent offering and efficient diesel to boot.

I hope nobody mentions how their SUV will crush it.. I know i just did but you know what i was trying to say .. LOL

Chevrolet Beat – Citroen C2 VTS
Separated at birth?

I like the Trax, but they could lose the SUV tyre.

Yeah yeah very good for poor people and urban dwellers, but where is my 6.2 zeta Impala SS?

The Groove looks good. Maybe its just the color. I would buy one if the diesel had some power. I am thinking 1 liter wont be enough.

Hopefully they put a little more effort into this than they did Geo. I get the feeling that they now realize that these small cars can be profitable, rather than just way to meet CAFE.

I think they should develop a whole new brand to move vehicles like this, just like Scion. that way they can dump all the baggage associated with the old badges. There is nothing in their heritage they could use to maket these cars, other than the hyperactive American flag waving that is.

‘but where is my 6.2 zeta Impala SS?”

With any luck, only in the history books.

Why should i destroy my standard of living by buying and driving something like this? These are nothing more than vain attempts to appease the radical left and elevate their CAFE rating. I should these cars to my friends just now and they all started laughing. Pathetic little peasant mobiles. Gm should devote all resources to the buick roadmaster, impala, camaro, G8, GTO and the DTS. Cars people actually want to drive, buy , live with and be seen in

roadmaster96, do what I did. I wanted a nice powerful sedan and neither of my 2 faves FoMoCo or GM would build it so I jumped and bought a Chrysler 300 SRT8. Had it a year and a half and its been perfect.

They look like toys, but GM gets kudos for heading in the right direction with models that are viable in today’s world.

These are a step in the right direction. Something a bit more bold.

They should have just produced the Groove instead of that garbage HHR

I didnt think i would like theese when i heard the rumors, but i really do like them. good job gm, one eye is open to what people want now open the other.

Can the HHR throw in the volt drivetrain with that 1.0 Liter Diesel engine into that any of them and I think that you would have winner.

I may not be a huge fan of GM/US but I think they are finally taking the hint…It’s really bold and I hope the concepts do make it to production( of course I hope the production modles would be a little more dulled down)…I could see the groove and the beat driving down the interstate…Trax looks like it should be toned down (not a fan of the front end).

Roadmaster98, Why should you lower your standard of living (if that is what you call driving a small fuel efficient car)? how about global warming, conserving some resources for future generations, smog, pollution? GM is trying to gain market share not make a political statement…I’m glad they are going to build something that has some cargo room and does not get 16 MPG and cost 40K. Hell; even Daimler Chrysler is going to invest 3 billion in designing more fuel efficient cars. You drive a car to be seen in? If that’s the case I hope you are not driving the car in your user name “Roadmaster98″. I will never understand why people use the car they drive as their user name on these websites.

these are pretty cool. groove gets my vote. finally a small car i’d consider buying. good job GM

Holy over-conceptualized interior on the Beat, Batman!

Not my kind of cars, and I’d probably never own one, but it’s good to see GM reaching out into new areas. Anything is an improvement over the current Aveo sub-compact.

The Beat and Groove will probably be nice production cars when their appearances are fine-tuned, but the Trax? At home on the trails, WTF? Yea, I’m going to take a 1.0L engine off-road…

On the downside, I’m disappointed that this seems to be combining with the new Buick Super models to take up most of the “7 all-new models” we’re supposed to see at New York. A huge let-down.

jonstew whats wrog with displaying what you drive pos or not? i use cts but it could be cts/frontier/vfr/ducati driver, displaying what you drive especially if it is something controversial lets us be judged my people like you, and that takes some balls on this site to do it. everybody bashes my car when i post, but at least some people here are open minded and dont mind being judged. and seroiusly what makes you so special you can judge roadmaster98?

^^lol^^

CTS DRIVER, you ever noticed how many times people make derogatory remarks towards your user name and choice of car (I have), by using it people take pot shots at you and what you drive, and besides what are you going to do when you get a new car….open a new account? It’s stupid and coming up with something more creative is easy and you won’t have to change it.

What I really like is the direction that GM is heading regarding lighting, and the three vehicles above demonstrate part of this direction. Here is an explanation of the second-generation CTS, by GM’s John Howell, regarding lighting. I’m not big on the BMW angel eye circular lightpipe being done in vertical, but I guess GM is trying new avenues. The video is interesting.

First to roadmaster i have to say not all of us have the cash for the cars you mentioned. i love the beat if they can make it light nippy and fun to drive. a small city car makes a lot of sense for the daily comute you usally do with one or two ppl. also all the cars you mentioned roadmaster wont sell out of america, with these other cars gm could have a hit in europe america and asia.

Honda used to have a car named “Beat”.

Roadmaster96, you should REALLY explain that last comment of yours.
As to these concepts here, oh good: Chevy tried.
Beat’s probably the best.

Scrap the Aveo for a Beat, GM. Put the Daewoo factory kids to meaningful work.

We will turn into Europe soon, in politics, enviromental law, and car size.

The US Constitution is a dead piece of paper, we the people no longer control the government.

CTSdriver, good on you for proudly displaying your dodgy choice. I hope those who have a problem with it will notice that you could have chosen a far more flashy name. Stay strong (at least until you sell it, take the depreciation hit, and buy more wisely).

“Get Real”, your two sentences could have been placed anywhere on any site regarding any topic. What exactly are you saying?

The market is dictating a shift to smaller cars, not the government. When gas eventually hits $4/gallon, how many will run to these cars?

“CTS DRIVER, you ever noticed how many times people make derogatory remarks towards your user name and choice of car (I have), by using it people take pot shots at you and what you drive…” -jonstew
. . . . . . . . . Forgive me if I’m wrong…but isn’t that what he was trying to say in his last post. He’s trying to make a POINT. Instead of going with the flow and saying “oh yeah, those CTS’s…man, they suck”. You don’t have to agree with it, but that’s the point of free speech. To me, he (and other people with similar names) is saying a lot..especially if he isn’t biased.

Well said Impulsive – go and join your friends in the mountains Get Real

All three look great. That’s a tough choice. If pressed I’ll take the Groove.

Results thus far look tight
.
… Beat 35.4% … 21,996
… Groove 31.9% … 19,827
… Trax 32.8% … 20,388

My name is in reference to my first car. I currently drive a 300C and $40-$50 in fuel every 2 weeks does not break my budget or that of anyone else that I know of. I just learned that these cars were all designed in Korea and are for overseas markets. They are a stupid waste of resources. GM can barely defend it’s own turf and with these cars it thinks it can go right into the heart of the home Asian markets of Toyota and the Koreans. It’s foolish. GM needs to focus on cars that the vast majority of middle and upper income Americans want (middle/ large crossovers, mid/large sedans coupes, muscle cars and full-size SUVs) before it embarks on foreign adventures.

P.S. Transportation accounts for only 20% of “greenhouse” gases, and of that, about 9% is attributable to personal transportation such as cars trucks and motorcycles. Buying an energy star appliance does far more for reducing resource consumption than riding around in a POS.

john, if the new cts is good then i will still be cts, if not we will see.

thanks lotusfire.

Ricardo, not quite a statistical dead-heat! Shortly after LLN posted, the Trax was up by nearly 1000 over the other two. I chose the Beat.

This should be fun to watch…
Beat 35.2% 22958
Groove 31.6% 20592
Trax 33.1% 21595

eurospective, it has served me well, and the resale dont matter never has, when im done with it nextyear it will be a perfect gift for my neice to have as a first car. safe, 8 air bags, onstar, reliable and will be better than the some of the cavaliers her friends are getting. tell me eurospective what should i go buy next year, i was thinking a cts with awd but with your infinate wisdom i should ask you instead of shopping around i dont want to make another mistake.;)

Lotusfire, did you read that before you hit the “Submit Comment” button? You certainly do not have to have your car brand or model as your user name to not be biased on here. He is not saying **** and neither are you by having it there other what he drives (or in your case wishes) and is opening himself to up insults, it doesn’t take balls just a lack of creativity.

Build all three. The variety of these cars is nice to see from GM. From their size they would be slotted below the Aveo. Not a bad choice for say a $9,000-$14,000 model range. The previous generation Aveo 5-door started under $10,000 and these would be of similar size, perhaps even smaller. Someone wrote that GM is lagging behind Toyota and Honda, but you’re mistaken the Yaris and Fit are actually one size larger then these concepts and not direct competitors.

john calm down bro its just a name for petes sake geez. anyways i kind of like the beat, want to see it in person for sure, looks like i need to buy a ticket to new york.

Guys, these cars should all weigh 1 ton or less—a 1.0 L engine is middle-of the range for vehicles in this segment, and the 1.2 Turbo could probably run with a Civic Si. The current Chevy mini car, the Matiz, starts at 775 kg/1709 lb with a 0.8 L 3-cyl, and tops out with a 1.0 L 4-cylinder. The larger Opel Agila MPV (similar to the Groove), starts with a 1.0 L 3-cyl (a turbo version was used in the Volt) at just 2127 lb and tops out with a 1.3 L diesel. The raison-detre for these cars is high mileage, easy parking and low-impact on infrastructure (they get tax/registration breaks in Korea and Japan).

“Lotusfire, did you read that before you hit the “Submit Comment” button? You certainly do not have to have your car brand or model as your user name to not be biased on here. He is not saying **** and neither are you by having it there other what he drives (or in your case wishes) and is opening himself to up insults, it doesn’t take balls just a lack of creativity.” -jonstew = miss.

Yes, I read my post. I read a lot of posts. “v-seires” comes on the board and acts as though everything Cadillac is perfect = expected. CTS DRIVER admits he would have bought German if his wallet didn’t say “no” but respects the CTS as a REAL WORLD alternative and up and coming competition = I respect his opinion. It’s a simple concept really, and that’s just one example. I have more, trust me.

So, he doesn’t get any points for creativity, maybe it’s not your style…I understand that, but why do you have to be so hostile about it? It’s just a name.

PS: For the record, I’m with you in your argument agaisnt Roadmaster98..besides the name part.

The Aveo lagged only the Rio and Accent in the B-segment, and was the first to get noticeable sales (the Echo was a size down)—hardly lagging Toyota and Honda. It is still second only to the Yaris in sales. These concepts are A0-segment—a size down from even the Mini and the old Echo, and two sizes smaller than the Aveo, Fit, xD etc. Honda, Nissan, Mazda and Mitsubishi have nothing in this segment outside Japan (where even smaller engines are required), and only Mitsubishi builds there own (Honda’s are built by a strategic partner building minicars especially for Honda). Toyota only produces the Aygo, a new European model built in co-operation with Peugeot, and elsewhere leaves the segment entirely to Daihatsu (seen one in the US lately?). Suzuki is the big player in this segment, and their WagonR+ is already a joint project with GM (many built in a GM plant with GM engines). Meanwhile GM Daewoo (the origin of these concepts) is on at least their 3rd generation minicar (the second to be badged Matiz), which has long been one of it’s most successful models worldwide, and rated higher than the Japanese in the European press..

All hyperactively ugly.

I love these! If GM can make them with the fit and finish of the Jap cars then they got a hit! Looks like these little guys mean business!

Lets not forget, Deantj = Impulsive.

Good for GM to develope these cars, but they should still continue to develope more efficient full size vehicles as well. The market will always be there for those as well.

“Fatstrat”, you’re lost in the woods, bud. I am NOT him … seriously, if I was, I’d freely admit it, what do I have to lose by pretending I’m not.

But live in your dreamworld, it must be nice there.

I love the Beat’s styling and its cute 1.2L turbocharged engine. I’ll take one with a MANUAL TRANSMISSION, however.

I don’t care for the styling of the Trax… at least not in the “Woody” look they’ve given it.

I do like the Groove. A lot. Why won’t it be offered with the diesel engine mated to that “low cost” AWD system? Come on, GM. The reason I love the Scion xB is because it’s a small van that looks purposeful. The reason I won’t buy it is that it has no torque or towing capacity…. and it’s front wheel drive only. You’ve got the parts build the RIGHT car, so do it.

Thanks for the info griffon.

thanks again lotusfire you put it better than i could, and i also agree with you and and johnstew about roadmasters remarks, i think theese cars are exactly where gm needs to focus, small cars are their weakest departmant now the larger cars have received some attention.
if any of you all end up in by neck of so cal ill buy you a beer, imported or domestic…your choice.

lol, np.

Most likely this cars were developed by GM DAT (Daewoo) in Korea.

All of these cars are awesome! The styling is very modern and up to date. It always bugs me more than anything when companies like GM come out with awesome concepts like these, but if and when they do decide to build any of them, they always seem to tone down the styling for production. This makes the cars all the more boring and discourages me from GM’s products altoghether. The only case where this doesn’t apply to is the new Camero. I can hardly wait for that car to get here.

GM should make those cars soon, without changing a thing. They will make a pile of cash if they do.

Damn these are nooiiiiiccce!!

The Beat looks nice, but it’s obviouly gonna get toned down.

The Groove looks like what they we’re trying to make when they **** out the HHR.

The trax looks like a fake jeep.

I think GM has FINALLY found their mojo. I LOVE the new Camaro, and I really like the new Malibu, and I’ll bet the new Impala will be great when it comes out, but those are all relatively old school. These three new cars show that GM is genuinely serious about “thinking outside the box”. I think GM has figured out that their larger cars should be mildly retro, but that their new, small cars, that are supposed to appeal to 20 year olds, can be, and should be, clean-sheet designs.

There are elements of all three of these cars that I like, but my favorite is the Groove.

Now they need to do Ford a favor and go rub elbows with them for a while.

I like them all, but I’d love it more if GM builds the WTCC ULTRA for the US market.

scion give me a share of your sales

I think this is one of the better things they’ve done with their cars for once. Yeah the Camaro definitely needs to come out so they can salvage GM’s car market, same with Chrysler and the Challenger. I’d definitely drive the Beat, especially with all the city driving I do, not to mention looks a hell of a lot better than the Scion xA. The Trax looks like the runt of a Land Rover. The Groove, doesn’t do much for me.

3 Cars obviously isn’t a necessity, and you could probably merge the Trax and Groove. I see all the new gas guzzlers more frequently since I’m in the area of the Big 3 – all they need to do is get the gas mileage up and they’d actually start climbing the ladder over Toyota for a change.

To all the GM Freaks who like to say that all Toyota does is rip-off of Domestics… this should proove the opposite!!!

These things are no more than cheap rip-offs of Scions (I wouldn’t be caught in a Scion or any one of these GMs anyway).

(First Post!)

YAY! These cars should be a wake up call for the old farts that insist on holding us back! Gen Y isn’t at all interested in the dinosaurs our Boomer parents baught and quite frankly – they’re dead already (the cars, not the boomers.)

I’m so proud of GM and Ford. They’re on their way to realizing that if they stay the same, they’ll die.

All 3 of these vehicles are breaths of fresh air!

Bimmer is correct, these cars were developed by GM Daewoo in Korea, and in particular the Korean design team led by Mike Simcoe, formerly of GM Holden, GM Daewoo’s majority shareholder (minority shareholders include SAIC of China, Suzuki and Korean banks). GM Daewoo has the lead in developing GM’s future Global Minicar architecture, which will underpin the successors to GM Daewoo’s current Daewoo/Chevrolet Matiz and the Korean-market Damas/Labo minitrucks, and possibly other models for Opel and SGM Wuling (GM’s Chinese microcar affiliate). The Beat is a running concept built in India, a huge market for these small vehicles, the Groove and Trax are mockups built in Warren, MI. Although some people have compared these concepts to the Scion xA and Aveo, GM says these are Matiz-sized, some 15″ shorter than the 5-door Aveo. If you consider the Mini 1 size down from the Aveo, then the Matiz is 2 sizes down.

Matiz, Panda—A0-segment (4-seat hatches under 3.6 m)
………………….Mini, Swift, Yaris—A-segment (4/5-seat hatches 3.6–4.0 m)
……………………….Aveo, Fit, Corsa, Accent, Rio—B-segment (5-seat hatches 3.8–4.2 m)
………………………………Rabbit, Focus, 1-series, Versa, Astra, Optra—C-segment (5-seat hatches 4.0–4.4 m)
GM Daewoo is also developing the first model on the new Global Compact Car architecture developed by Adam Opel AG/GM Europe, a vehicle previewed by WTCC Ultra concept which will replace both the Cobalt and Optra in the near future. Given the acceptance of 5-door compacts such as the Vibe, Mazda3 and Caliber wagons and the Versa and Rabbit hatchbacks, and GM’s apparent confidence in the Astra hatchbacks, the hatchback Cobalt could indeed be headed to the US.