You don’t have a clue as to how vehicle development works. 19mos may have passed between the concept version’s debut and the production version, but you can bet your ass that the Sienna was already being developed 24 months before that. What, was Toyota waiting until they saw reaction of the concept to introduce a replacement for their mainstream MINIVAN? No, they already had the older-gen model in production, and had been working on a replacement for a couple of years before they released the concept. The Camaro’s development (as well as the Solstice’s and these GMDAT triplets) had no direct predecessor. Their programs were started from scratch, and began with concept models. Which is completely different.

No one’s lead times are 19 months, unless all they’re doing is rebadging.

1c3d0g, do you know how much more expensive diesel engines are to produce? They cost about twice the money to make, actually. And since the US government now has diesel tailpipe emissions standards that are about 50x more stringent than those in Europe, diesel engines are getting even more expensive to build relative to their petrol counterparts. And small cars have very, very small profit margins. Plus, with diesel prices outstripping petrol prices in the US, and almost no supply infrastructure for biodiesel, the demand for diesels is tiny.

Would you pay $22,000 for a subcompact like this with a diesel engine whose benefits are offset by the fact that the fuel costs more than gasoline? Because those are the market realities at present.

Why doesn’t GM just make cars out of concrete, titanium, and NASA foam padding, make them get to 60 in 2 seconds, price them at $2.99 a pop, make them run forever, and make them run on fairy dust and children’s wishes instead of fuel…and do it RIGHT NOW? What you’re asking for, at this time, is about as ridiculous.

GM moves like an oil tanker – slowly. Plus changing course is a nightmare.

In addition to the potential crash worthiness and U.S. regulations surrounding the Beat, perhaps the marketeers at GM decided that a large percentage of the population might not fit comfortably in the Beat??? Jay Leno is always commenting on how large we are getting in the U.S. Perhaps someone is listening?

and Chrysler is rushing to get the “pulling your goalie ” model to market.

As for bringing it in 2011, why bother. According to the Mayan calendar we’ll all be dead by the end of 2012 so who cares. We all know the Mayans can’t be wrong because they were indigenous, earthy people who never bathed so you just know they are freakin’ smart & stuff.