General Motors is considering building a micro-premium car, a new report finds. The model — which is being considered in the wake of new CAFE regulations and $100 a barrel oil — would compete against the MINI Cooper , BMW 1-series and Audi A3 .
However, GM is still deciding which architecture to use in the new car. The Detroit automaker recently announced that it will build a production a version of the Beat concept in the coming years, but its fuel-efficient front-drive setup wouldn’t translate well into a driver-focused premium package. The Kappa platform remains a possibility — the same that underpins the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice — as does a new small rear-wheel drive platform still under development.
What also remains unclear is what brand GM would sell the vehicle under. The Cadillac brand isn’t a candidate for the new model as GM wants to keep the luxury marque for bigger, high-powered cars, and the Chevrolet brand is likely out because it couldn’t command the price of a luxury model.
With Pontiac vehicles focusing on strictly performance vehicles, that leave Buick , Saab and Saturn. While a decision is still a ways out — GM hasn’t even built a clay model of the vehicle yet — it would seem that Buick would be a perfect fit for the new model. Its not-quite-Cadillac premium image and new focus on style — see the Enclave CUV — would lend itself seamlessly to a premium small car.
Whatever the car ends up being, it shows a new way of thinking at GM and a general shift in what a premium car can be. As one GM executive said, “It’s a given that everyone will have to de-couple luxury from size if we are to make that 35 mpg.”
