GM Approves Beat`s Production

GM has said the official “YES” to one of the three Korean-made minicar prototypes that were unveiled earlier this year.

The Beat along with similar Groove and Trax concepts were firstly represented at last spring’s New York Auto Show. GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz asked potential buyers to vote online for their favorite. The results showed that more than 1.9 million votes had been tallied, with the sporty Beat overwhelming its competition, with 875,000 digital ballots in its favor.

Lutz said that Chevy Beat got their? vote, too, because that was the one? they intended to do in the first place. They will be building a car based on the Beat in the very near future. The Beat is the only “runner” which has a fully functioning powertrain and combines the interior features and options of the three concepts.

By the way, the interior is definitely not what you’d expect from a traditional econobox. The dash is hand-stitched, multi-color cloth. Speaking of seats, they use an Aeron-like mesh therefore permitting more knee room for backseat passengers. Belonging to the subcompact segment, the pint-sized Beat would be the smallest car in the GM lineup. It is even much smaller than the current Aveo minicar. But while a production version will be rolled out in most of GM’s global markets, Lutz was cautious about the minicar’s potential in the U.S. He is quite sure that the car will come to the States.? However there is a good possibility some? kinds of cars? ”with all those design cues will come to the U.S. at some point. Perhaps the car might be somewhat larger.

One can meet many problems with products as small as Beat. This also includes the tough U.S. safety standards. However such cars have also a number of advantages which make basis for bringing ? the Korean-designed car to America, including Chevy General Manager Ed Peper. He stressed that the decision had still to be made but also added that he thought there was going to be a great opportunity for something of such a small size.

[VIA: thecarconnection.com]

Tags: cars, car