GM left drawings of a proposed Mini Cooper-fighter in a design studio room where journalists got a preview of the work being done on the production Chevrolet Volt.
The drawings illustrated what appeared to be a BMW Mini copy, a two-box, threedoor hatchback design with a conventional, vertical B-pillar. Both were illustrated in green with a white top, and one drawing showed what looks like a lift-off roof panel between the A- and B-pillars. It had a large, egg-crate grille and Chevy bowties.The other was a profile view of a light-blue car with a white top, its B-pillar raked, like that of a Chevy Nomad wagon.
The car, if GM goes forth with the project, will not be a Chevrolet. To make a profit for GM, it would probably have to sell in the $20,000-plus price range. One published report suggested it could go to any of GM's 'tweeners -- Pontiac, Buick, Saturn, or Saab -- and that it could be built on a reardrive platform, either Kappa or the larger, upcoming Alpha.
Drawings of the green car suggest front drive, however. Even as a premium small car, it doesn't seem to fit where Buick is heading. Cadillac, as we've reported, will get a version of the rear-drive Alpha and shouldn't go any smaller and certainly not front drive.
Our guess: a Saturn at the very least, or, more likely, a Saab, which has more room in its pricing and could sell such a car in the $25,000 range. Saab needs a higher-volume car as the ill-fated 9-3x was designed to be and has a European dealer network.