Chevy planning new NASCAR model for 2013 season
www.GMInsideNews.com
March 13, 2012
By: Nick Saporito
Chevrolet announced that the brand will be showcasing an all-new racecar during the 2013 NASCAR season. The new car will be replacing the Impala, which has been Chevy’s NASCAR racer for many years. While that in itself is a sizable announcement, the rest of the story is even more interesting. Chevrolet states the new NASCAR will have a production sister car under an entirely new nameplate.
Now, we at GMI do not like to speculate, but for months we’ve been reporting that GM has plans to bring the Holden Commodore back to North America under the Chevrolet brand. The latest information we’ve gotten suggests Chevrolet will bring the Commodore back to North America as a high-performance Chevrolet sedan. The car will be very low volume and likely V-8 only.
At last report, this sedan was slated to launch in spring 2013, which happens to correlate with Chevrolet’s stated scheduled release date for the new production car and corresponding NASCAR racer.
The timing also aligns with Holden’s scheduled update to the Commodore for 2013. The revamp is said to include revised styling inside and out, better aerodynamics and an overall design theme that fits better with new Holden’s (thus Chevrolet as well).
It’s very possible we’re entirely off base here, but needless to say, today’s press release is foreshadowing a new product for Chevrolet. It just so happens that we at GMI know Chevrolet’s future product portfolio really well and the only one that seems to fit this mold is the supposed Commodore import.
Read More: http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f70/commodore-returns-chevy-announces-new-racecar-109445/
How Kia wants to tease U.S. buyers with rwd concept car
RICK KRANZ
February 17, 2012 – 3:09 pm ET
DETROIT — Kia seems to be prepping America for the brand’s first luxury sedan, one auto show at a time.
Executives say no decision has been made to sell its first rear-wheel-drive sedan here, but Kia is sure spending a lot of time and effort moving its big, head-turning GT concept across the show circuit. So far, the sporty-looking GT is slated for four U.S. shows and one in Canada.
Thus it appears Kia will soon be competing with the Audi 6, BMW 5 series, Mercedes-Benz E class — and the Hyundai Equus.
This week, Kia Motors Corp. announced that the sedan will be unveiled in Korea by this summer.
The production car, code-named KH, will be sold globally. Much of the GT’s design will appear on the KH, which shares a platform with Hyundai’s Equus sedan.
Today, Kia’s most expensive U.S. sedan is the Optima Limited, which stickers for about $35,000. If the KH is sold here, it would presumably be priced similar to the Equus, which ranges from about $59,000 to $66,000.
Tom Loveless, Kia’s North American sales chief, said that if the rwd sedan is sold here, it would be slotted above the Cadenza, a new Kia sedan that goes on sale here next year.
The front-wheel-drive Cadenza is larger and more luxurious than the Optima and aimed at buyers of the Chrysler 300, Ford Taurus and Toyota Avalon. Loveless didn’t talk pricing, but the Cadenza will likely sell in the mid-$30s to low $40s.
Michael Sprague, Kia’s North American marketing boss, wouldn’t say if the KH is coming to America, but revealed a little bit of the strategy.
“It would definitely be a halo vehicle, limited number,” Sprague said. “You don’t want to build anymore than you have to. You want it to be unique vehicle for the brand.”
Kia released drawings of the KH after my conversations with the Kia team at the Chicago Auto Show. Those drawings reveal a similarity to the GT concept, which debuted last September at the Frankfurt auto show and has been shown in Los Angeles and Chicago. The concept is now is heading to Toronto, Atlanta and New York.
What’s been the public’s reaction?
“Overwhelmingly positive, here and overseas,” Sprague said. “We know L.A. loved it. We want to get a Midwest perspective. We want to get a Southern perspective and then a Northeast perspective.”
He added: “People are asking, ‘When are you going to build it?'”
You can reach Rick Kranz at rkranz@crain.com.
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20120217/BLOG06/120219880#ixzz1nJkU7hN3