2012 Chevrolet Optra Magnum Diesel Sedan

The Chevrolet Optra Magnum, which first began life as the Daewoo Nubira and then the Lacetti is a South Korean car that has been selling in India for more than half a decade, in the form of the Optra initially, and then as the Optra Magnum. The car, which sits in the Indian C-segment in terms of positioning is available only with a turbo diesel engine heart, and a stonker at that, with 120 Bhp of peak power and 305 Nm of peak torque. The car, although priced well never really took off in India. Now, the car has reached the end of its model life cycle with GM India planning to discontinue it over the next few months.

2012 Chevrolet Optra Magnum Diesel Sedan

2012 Chevrolet Sail Hatchback India

The 2012 Chevrolet Sail hatchback will be launched in India before the Indian festive season of Dusshera-Diwaliand this car will be positioned in the B+ hatchback space, populated by the likes of the Maruti Swift, the Hyundai i20 and the Ford Figo. This car will replace the Aveo U-VA hatchback, which has been a perennial dud for GM India, ever since it was launched in the Indian market many summers ago. The 2012 Sail hatchback, developed by GM’s Chinese partner SAIC, will also bring a key change to the table, in the form of a diesel engine under the hood.

2012 Chevrolet Sail Hatchback India

GM slows down the new car development

Facing the brunt of dismal car sales across its portfolio, General Motors India is slowing down of new car development for the Indian market. Almost all of GM’s cars in India, save for the Beat, have not been performing well at the hustings and this factor, combined with the overall slowdown in car sales across the county due to the twin factors of high interest rates and fuel prices has prompted GM to rejig its launch plans. The first casualty will be the LCV that GM planned to launch in India, in partnership with its Chinese partner SAIC.

2012 Chevrolet Sail Hatchback

Facelifted 2012 Chevrolet Captiva SUV

General Motors India has launched the facelifted model of the Captiva SUV. The facelifted Captiva, which was showcased at the 2012 Indian Auto Expo comes with two engine options, both of them being turbo diesel engines. While the base 2 Liter engine is the same unit that used to power the previous model, the new engine is a 2.2 Liter unit capable of generating 186.5 Bhp of peak power and 424 Nm of peak torque. This engine is mated to a 6 speed automatic transmission while the older engine now comes only with a 5 speed manual gearbox. The older 2 Liter turbo diesel engine produces 148 Bhp-320 Nm.

Facelifted 2012 Chevrolet Captiva SUV

2012 Chevrolet Cruze Sedan

Well, we’d call it one update that car nuts would love to have instead of the now mundane bits like a new grille and assorted cosmetic bits. General Motors India will give their flagship sedan, the Cruze, a brand new Z-Series two liter turbo diesel engine and the engine is where all the action really is. The existing Chevrolet Cruze, which incidentally is available only in diesel engine guise for India, is one fast sedan with power and torque figures being at the very top of its class, the D-segment. Now, the 2012 Cruze with the new Z-Series diesel heart will only get much faster than ever before.

2012 Chevrolet Cruze Sedan

Apple iPhone Siri Eyes Free support for Chevrolet Spark USA

General Motors is all set to bring the Siri Eyes Free support for the apple iPhone to even its budget range of cars. Siri is a voice activated assistant that works on the iPhone, that allows users to carry out a range of functions, from playing music to sending text messages, all through voice commands. This feature, which is available in the latest Apple iPhone 4S will also be available on GM cars of the future, albeit in the  form of an Eyes Free version. In this version, drivers can activate the Siri using a steering mounted button.

Eyes Free Siri for Apple iPhone