GM Teases 2012 Buick Verano [aka the Opel Astra Sedan], Will be Built in Michigan

General Motors today released a new teaser photo of its upcoming 2012 Buick Verano compact sedan together with the news that the vehicle will be built alongside Chevrolet's new small car [we assume GM means the Aveo] at the Orion Assembly Center in Michigan. The Detroit automaker said it plans to invest $145 million to upgrade the factory for this reason.

"[The] Verano will bring premium styling, performance and content to Buick buyers wanting a smaller car than Regal," said GM North American President Mark Reuss. "The investment in Orion Assembly also extends GM's local small car footprint, again increasing the number of U.S.-made small vehicles available in showrooms."

Although the company did not get into any specific details on the new Verano, the cropped picture confirms our previous reports that it will be the same car sold in China as the 2011 Buick Excelle GT, which in turn is essentially the sedan version of the latest generation Opel Astra.

The small Buick is built on the same platform and shares basic engine architecture with the Chevrolet Cruze.

GM said the Orion Assembly is currently in the process of retooling the plant for the Verano and the small Chevy, with the improvements expected to be finished by summer 2011, which should allow for Buick to launch the car into the U.S. market before the end of the same year.

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Cadillac Recalling 2010MY SRX Crossover to Fix Power Steering Line

General Motors said on Thursday it is issuing a voluntary safety recall of 3,996 Cadillac SRX crossovers from the 2010 model year due to a possible damage to the power steering line. According to the company, if the line is damaged, power steering fluid could leak and make its way onto hot engine parts resulting in a fire. GM said it is aware of one such fire in an unattended SRX related to this condition.

"Based on GM analysis, the issue is believed to exist in only two or three of the recalled vehicles," the company said in a statement.

The affected vehicles were built in December 2009, with 3,460 of those sold in the United States, while 341 were exported to China.

The Detroit automaker said it will notify owners of the recalled SRX models and schedule an appointment for inspection with any necessary repairs to be performed free of charge.

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General Motors's Opel to take on Fiat and its 500 with New Mini Car

Last month, we told you that General Motors' European Opel / Vauxhall division announced the development of a new small car below the Corsa. Now, Autonews is reporting the car, which is codenamed "Junior", will be a funky upscale proposal designed to compete with Fiat's 500 mini in one of the smallest - literally - segments of them all.

Opel/Vauxhall's sales and marketing head Alain Visser hinted that the car will be an "iPod on wheels" and aimed squarely at young consumers with their high-tech needs. The "Junior", which begins production in Germany in 2013, will also be offered in an electric flavor.

Opel CEO Nick Reilly says. "It will have the latest infotainment systems and good fuel economy to make it environmentally friendly. For that, buyers will pay a little more."

In addition to being willing to pay more,potential buyers will be green, cool, and all the other bla-bla everyone's pushing these days. Regardless of the marketing gibberish, Opel's recent offerings have been attractive enough to indicate a promising 500-fighter.

By Phil Alex

Source: Autonews

Note: All photos are of the 2004 Opel Trixx Concept Model and NOT of the new mini GM is readying

GM's South Korean Plant First to Produce New Chevy Aveo

General Motor's South Korean Daewoo unit announced today that it will handle initial production of the new Chevrolet Aveo at its local Bupyeong plant in Incheon. The new Aveo will make its debut under the Daewoo brandname in the South Korean market in the first half of 2011 before a global rollout as a Chevrolet.

"GM Daewoo is proud to be the first member of the GM family to produce and sell GM's next-generation global small car," said GM Daewoo President and CEO Mike Arcamone. "With demand for small cars on the rise worldwide, this is great news not only for GM Daewoo and our suppliers, but for Korean consumers as well."

The Detroit automaker has previously stated the North American market Aveo will be built at its Orion Assembly in Orion Township, Mich., in 2011, a move that is said to restore around 1,200 jobs to Southeast Michigan.

The production version of the new Aveo hatchback was given its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show last week.

In European guise, Chevrolet will offer the Aveo with four petrol engines, including two 1.2-liter units delivering 70HP and 86HP, a 100HP 1.4-liter and a 115HP 1.6-liter powerplant, plus a 1.3-liter turbo diesel engine featuring Start/Stop technology that will be available with either 75HP or 90HP.

Chevrolet is also planning to introduce a four-door sedan version of the Aveo, which will most likely make its debut either in LA this November or in Detroit in early January 2011.

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September Sales USA: Chrysler up 61%, Hyundai +44%, Ford +40% and GM +11%

The numbers are in for the month of September, and for the most part, they're looking good as industry wide deliveries were up 28% over a year ago according to a report from Autonews. Chrysler Group exec should be feeling extra happy as sales soared 61 percent over the same month a year ago, rising from 62,197 to 100,077 units.

Ford Motor Co, which includes the Ford, Mercury and Lincoln brands, recorded a 40 percent gain in September with sales of 160,375 units, whilst deliveries at GM climbed a far less impressive 11 percent from a year earlier to 173,031 units.

The Hyundai Group (Hyundai and Kia) had yet another solid month posting sales of 76,627 vehicles, which represents a 44 percent increase over last year.

With a few exceptions such as Suzuki, which saw its sales slide 12 percent to an embarrassing 1,641 units (even Porsche sold more cars - 1,971 units recording a 25 percent increase), and Volvo, which reported sales of 4,152 units, a 12 percent decrease from last year, most automakers posted gains:

Toyota Group (+17% - however, Lexus was down 8,9%), Honda (+26%), Mitsubishi (+5%), BMW Group (+20.5%), Mercedes-Benz Group (+15%), VW/Audi (+14%) and Nissan/Infiniti (+34%).

Source: Autonews (sub. req)

First Publicly Available 2011 Camaro Convertible Fetches $205,000

The promise of being the owner of the first available production version of the yet-to-be-released 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible was more than enough to make an unnamed collector drop $205,000 for the car at last weekend's Barrett-Jackson Auction. But at least the sale was for a good cause as 100 per cent of proceeds from the winning bid will go to the YMCA of Southern Nevada.

The car shown at the auction was the Camaro Convertible Concept. The actual production model seen in the teaser shots we added in the gallery below is scheduled to make its world premiere later this fall -most likely at the LA Auto Show- and go on sale across the States early next year.

General Motors said that for historical purposes, it will keep the first production example of the 2011 Camaro Convertible.

GM to Auction Production 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible on Friday, Debut Announced for this Fall (LA?)

We've yet to see the final production version of the 2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible, but one lucky collector will have the chance to be become the first owner of the car on Friday, several months before it arrives (in both V6 and V8 flavors) in showrooms in the first quarter of 2011.

To explain, General Motors has tied the knot with Greg Heinrich, owner of Fairway Chevrolet in Las Vegas, to offer the second production example of the upcoming 2011 Camaro Convertible at the Barrett-Jackson Auction on Friday (Sept. 24) at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. All proceeds from the auction will benefit the YMCA of Southern Nevada.

For the record, the first production copy of the car will be kept by GM for historical purposes.

The Detroit automaker said the winning bidder can opt for color, engine, transmission, trim and factory installed equipment. The buyer will also have the option to take delivery of the car at a dealership in their hometown OR at the GM Heritage Museum in Detroit.

Understandably, GM will show the concept version of the car at the auction and not the actual production model which according to the company, will make its debut later this fall. We assume this means GM will unveil the 2011 Camaro Convertible at the Los Angeles Auto Show in late November.

Chevrolet Camaro Convertible Concept

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2011 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible [Pre-Production Teasers]