Frankfurt: 2008 Chevrolet Aveo Hatchback

Our jaws practically hit the keyboards when we encountered the first official images of the facelifted variant of the subcompact offering from Chevrolet (*cough Daewoo). The first official images of the European Chevrolet Aveo Hatchback were released by GM today, ahead of its official unveiling in Frankfurt.

The Kalos, the original marque the European Aveo5 wore, will be renamed to Aveo Hatchback just like its four-door brother. However, the big news ought to be the reworked front fascia. Headline: Daewoo injects abundant doses of the bold juice. It seems the folks at Daewoo worked a tad too hard in an effort to make the new hatch stand out. The front Chevy split-grille, found on the new Malibu and Uplander, has been taken to the extreme and it's frightening to some. Couple that with the enlarged Epica headlights and you have a real eye-catcher. The front fascia is completely overhauled and new side vents add an extra oomph into the car.

Our late spyshots of the Aveo5 testing showed the new interior lifted from the current Aveo Sedan, which indicates the interior issue has been solved. New engines are also being offered for the European model: 84hp 1.2L petrol and a 98hp 1.4L petrol. GM's press release hints of the rear of the new Aveo, albeit not releasing images of the view. The "round tail lamps" should evoke that of the HHR. More information will be available when it shows its face to the media on September 11th. For now, two press images and an official press release after the jump will do.

[Source: GM]



PRESS RELEASE: Striking exterior and high-class interior

New Chevrolet Aveo celebrates its world premiere in Frankfurt

* Launch in Europe as of March 2008
* Two petrol engines with 84 or 98 hp; manual or automatic transmission

Zurich. Chevrolet Europe will present the Kalos' successor at the Frankfurt Motor Show (13 to 23 September 2007). The most significant features of this completely reworked model are its striking exterior, its high-class interior and a new, even more efficient petrol engine. Like its notchback stable mate, the new hatchback model will now bear the Aveo name throughout Europe. Sales will start in March 2008.

The Aveo hatchback sports Chevrolet's new design features, as characterised by the big horizontally split radiator grille with a body-coloured crossbeam and the brand logo sitting prominently in the center. The dynamic detailing includes large, curved, clear-glass headlamps and fog lamps that project like spotlights from the lower part of the bumper. In profile, the body's prominent shoulder lines catch the eye, while the back of the car is dominated by the solid bumper and the round tail lamps in a clear-glass housing.

There is a choice of two petrol engines: a new 1.2-litre unit with an output of 84 hp, and the existing 1.4-litre engine, which now develops 98 hp and is available with automatic transmission.

Spied: 2008 Chevrolet Aveo5 caught, interior shot

The Chevrolet Aveo, a rebadged GM Daewoo Kalos, was The General's answer to the rising popularity of the subcompact cars in North America. The Aveo Sedan and Hatchback were unveiled in 2004 and sales were going strong. The cars offered sub-par fuel economy and poor driving, but offered the features for a relatively cheap price and that was enough to win over the hands of many Americans. By 2006, the Aveo was lagging behind its competitors and made the move of redesigning the vehicle, only 2 years after the predecessor was shown. While the sedan received the new design, the more popular hatchback model stayed as is and continued on for 2007.

In an amusement park lot in South Korea, the photographer spotted the updated Aveo5 and managed to snap three pics. We think the black camo and the distictive yellow paint was enough to grab his attention. The front will receive the signature Chevy grille similar to the Malibu, while the rear will receive new taillights. The interior will be lifted from the current Aveo Sedan, but that's what we wanted and that's what we'll get. Something that caught our attention was the existence of side fender vents. On a sub-$18K car? They're likely non-functional, but GM seems to know fender vents are the new black these days.

The Aveo and the Aveo5 are both assembled in GM Daewoo's Bupyong plant in South Korea. Sales speculations have been pushed further to the fourth-quarter of 2007 or even next spring. Continue reading to view two more images.

Chevy Beat production confirmed as Matiz-replacement

Autocar got an advanced previewing of the next Chevrolet Matiz recently. They are happy to report that one of the trio concepts unveiled at the Big Apple will be the main influence for the design. The Matiz will depart from the vanilla-esque look of now and will move into the hot-hatch sector for the successor.

The Matiz, which will heavily influence styling from the Beat Concept, will be available in three or five-door configurations. The Matiz will grow in size in accordance to South Korea's new regulations on city cars.

Autocar also got some hints on the reskinned Aveo hatchback which will go on sale next spring. The new Aveo Hatchback will feature a sharper exterior with interiors shared with the new Aveo Sedan, which is on sale currently. The new Aveo will most likely debut in Bologna later this year. Follow the jump to view a hi-res image gallery of the Beat Concept.

[Source: Autocar via GMInsideNews]

Spied: 2009 Chevrolet Nubira

The third generation Nubira has been caught testing at the Nurburgring recently. The prototype shows an all-new design with a rounder roofline. The C-pillar cues the Chrysler Sebring and the new design is more European than its predecessor. It is also designed under GM unlike its predecessor which was designed by Pininfarina. Headlights that cue the Epica mid-size sedan can be visible under the tapes. From what we can see, it also appears to have 4-wheel disc brakes. Sources say that GM will drop the Lacetti name in 2009 and rename all variants to Nubira. Head on over to WorldCarFans to view more shots.

[Source: WorldCarFans]