Chevrolet UK gets into the Christmas Spirit, Offers Free Gift Wrapping Service for New Sparks

If you happen live in Britain and have decided that a new Chevrolet Spark is the perfect Christmas gift to yourself or someone (*cough sugardaddy cough*) close to you, then you'll be happy to know that the GM brand is offering a free gift wrapping service on all orders received by December 21. The... festive bow tie initiative is being offered by Chevrolet UK across the country.

A team of expert gift wrappers will make the best use of ninety nine rolls of adhesive tape and forty six square meters of limited edition festive Chevrolet wrapping paper to hand-prepare the Spark supermini for Christmas.

“Everyone loves unwrapping presents," says Les Turton of Chevrolet UK. "It’s one of the highlights that all of the family can enjoy on Christmas Day. For those lucky people who will receive a Chevrolet Spark for Christmas we wanted to do something a bit special this year to make the present opening ritual a bit more fun. With so much time being spent wrapping and hiding gifts under the tree, we wanted to take the hard work away and provide a bespoke service that would make our customers smile.”

Those who want to take advantage of Chevrolet's offer, need to contact the company via email [Chevrolet(at)mischiefpr.com] or call 0207 100 9999 for more details by 12pm on Tuesday 21st December.

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Chevy Showcases Z-Spec Line Concepts of Volt, Cruze and Spark at SEMA

General Motors' Chevrolet division unleashed three prototype models fitted with bits and pieces from its forthcoming Z-Spec line of accessories at the SEMA Show today. The cars chosen to showcase the new dress-up parts were the 2011 Cruze compact, the new Volt extended-range electric vehicle and the soon-to-be-launched Spark minicar.

The Detroit-based automaker has not yet released details on its Z-Spec concept models, but from what we can tell by looking at the photos, all three cars receive similar upgrades including unique alloy wheels wrapped in chunkier tires, exterior graphics, mild body modifications and numerous touches inside like the sports steering wheel and niftier materials and colors. Photo gallery after the jump.

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Chevy Spark to Debut as Holden Barina Spark at Sydney Motor Show

GM is gearing up for the Australian launch of the new Chevrolet Spark, which has been on sale in Asia and Europe for some months now. The first step towards its local launch is an appearance at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney next week, before it goes on sale locally as the Holden Barina Spark in late 2010.

Oddly enough, Holden sells the first-gen Chevrolet Aveo as the Holden Barina with a range consisting of three- and five-door hatchbacks and a four-door sedan. The Barina Spark will most likely be slotted in as an affordable entry level model.

The Barina Spark is equipped with a 1.2-liter 4-cylinder petrol engine and a 5-speed manual transmission, with fuel economy said to be around the 5.6lt / 100 km (42 US mpg) mark. Standard equipment will include alloy wheels, fog lamps, six airbags and Electronic Stability Control (ESC).

John Elsworth, Director of Sales, Marketing and Aftersales at Holden has great confidence in the Barina Spark:

"This is a very style-conscious market and with Barina Spark we have a really fresh and energetic design that breaks the 'cute car' mould. It's fun, fuel efficient and offers class-leading safety features and value for money in the best Holden tradition."

Pricing and detailed specifications will be released at the Sydney Show, which runs from the 15th to the 24th ofOctober. The U.S. launch of the Chevrolet Spark is set for 2012.

By Tristan Hankins

Chevy Spark to Make its German Market Premiere in Frankfurt

General Motors' new city car, the Chevrolet Spark, will make its German market debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. The Spark, which was shown in final production form at the Geneva Salon earlier this year, is due to go on sale in the majority of European markets at the beginning of 2010 where it will be offered with a choice of two newly-developed, all-aluminum 1.0 and 1.2-liter gasoline engines, generating 66HP and 78HP respectively.

Both engines are mated to a five-speed manual gearbox with the 1.2-liter unit expected to deliver zero to 100km/h (62mph) acceleration in 12.4 seconds while returning a combined fuel consumption of under 5.0lt/100 km (47+ mpg US).

The Spark is expected to arrive at U.S. showrooms during the first half of 2011.

2010 Daewoo Matiz aka the New Chevy Spark Scooped in Korea

What we will get to know as the new Chevrolet Spark in North America and Europe will be sold in South Korea and perhaps other Asian markets as the Daewoo Matiz. Spotted by the crew over at Noticias Automotivas somewhere in Korea without any sort of camouflage whatsoever, the 2010MY Matiz is a carbon-copy of its Spark sibling minus the Chevy grille, side skirts and large alloy wheels which seem to make a big difference in the city car's appearance.

Same goes for the interior which is identical to the Spark, although the Korean market version of the car does get its own unique trim options.

The 2010 Daewoo Matiz will most likely be offered in Korea with a similar engine lineup to the European Chevy Spark that is powered by a choice of 1.0 and 1.2-litre gasoline engines developing 66 and 78HP respectively. European sales of the new Chevy Spark will start towards the end of the year while North American customers will have to wait until the end of 2010 - beginning of 2011.

Via: Noticias Automotivas

GM Selects Orion Plant in Michigan to Build its New Small Car in 2011

General Motors today announced that it has chosen its assembly plant in Orion Township, Michigan, to build its future small car with stampings provided by the nearby Pontiac Metal facility. The company said that its decision to build the car in the States will reinstate approximately 1,400 jobs in total, 1,200 of which at Orion Assembly and 200 at Pontiac Metal Center, Building # 14.

"Small cars represent one of the fastest-growing segments in both the U.S. and around the world," said Troy Clarke, president of General Motors North America. "GM will be the only automaker, foreign or domestic, to build small cars in the U.S."

With the addition of the yet to be revealed small car, the Orion assembly plant will churn out 160,000 small- and compact-sized vehicle annually. Production of the new small car (the forthcoming Chevy Spark is a possible candidate though it could be a different model altogether) will begin in 2011.

"This is great news for our members at UAW Local 5960, Oakland County, and the State of Michigan, and shows the world the UAW can compete in the most competitive segment of the automotive industry," said Cal Rapson, UAW Vice President and Director, UAW-GM Department."

As for the two other assembly plants that were also under consideration to build the future small car, GM said Spring Hill will be placed in standby capacity status in Nov. 2009 but could be reinstated if additional capacity is required while the Janesville that was placed on standby capacity in May 2009, will remain in that status until further notice.

New Chevrolet Spark: 24 High-Res Photos and Details

General Motors chose this year's Geneva Motor Show to unveil the all-new Chevrolet Spark supermini that will go on sale in Europe later this year followed by the USA, India and other core international markets. Derived from the Beat concept car, the most popular of a trio of Chevy mini concepts that toured international motor shows in 2007, the five-door Spark is powered by a choice of 1.0 and 1.2-litre petrol engines developing 66 and 78HP respectively.

Both engines are mated to a five-speed manual gearbox and are expected to offer a combined cycle fuel economy of below 5.0L/100 km (over 47mpg US), together with CO2 emissions of less than 120 gr/km. Chevrolet said that the 1.2-liter engine is expected to deliver zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) acceleration in 12.4 seconds.

Packing a 2,375 mm wheelbase into its 3,640mm long body, the Spark offers 170-liter trunk volume, which can be increased to 994 liters by lowering the 60/40 split-fold rear seat-back.