GM shifting tiny Chevy Beat car to U.S.

"NEW YORK - General Motors will shift its Chevrolet Beat concept car to the U.S. market as the ailing car maker attempts to lift its fortunes from its lowest stock price since the Eisenhower administration, according to a report Thursday. The perky two-door, which packs a gas-sipping 1.2 liter turbocharged engine, had been targeted for the Asian and Latin American markets, gets about 40 miles to the gallon."

image: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?pid=avimage&iid=ikv142mkyatQ
"In November, GM said it approved a model based on the Beat prototype for markets outside the U.S. and Canada starting next year. GM wouldn't disclose where the new vehicle would be built. GM may also expand the Volt electric car program. GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz, 76, said last month the company currently plans to build about 60,000 Volts a year after they go on sale in late 2010." GM shifts tiny Chevy Beat car to U.S. market - MarketWatch

Also: A "small pickup GM is considering for the U.S. would be similar to the Chevrolet Montana, according to the people with knowledge of the plans. The 174-inch Montana is sold in Brazil and in Mexico as the Tornado and in South Africa as the Opel Corsa Utility. The Chevrolet Colorado, GM's smallest U.S. pickup, is 192 inches." - Bloomberg.com: U.S. - Yesterday, there were several articles that I read that said the over the past decade the size of trucks has ballooned compared to the pickup trucks that were on the market ten years ago. The truck market needs to go back to where it was - a lot of people want to buy those little four-cylinder pickup trucks that are the size of an economy car.