Chevy Beat Coming to Detroit Auto Show

GM dropped a huge surprise on NBC’s “Today Show” this morning. We in the press had been told that GM would have three new production cars debuting at the Detroit auto show – our live coverage kicks off Sunday morning, well before any NFL playoff games. This morning, however, Ed Welburn, GM’s design chief, showed Matt Lauer the front end of the upcoming production version of the Chevy Beat which will join the 2010 Cadillac SRX, 2010 Buick LaCrosse and 2010 Chevy Equinox on stage Sunday.

You might remember the Beat as a concept car from the New York auto show two years ago. After a lot of hoopla about the concept, GM quietly let it be known that the compact car would not be hitting the U.S. because of a lack of demand. A lot has changed since the spring of 2007, and now we know GM’s big surprise in Detroit will be the Beat.

We can only guess, but we’d expect it to be priced slightly higher than the current Chevy Aveo and debut as a 2011 model in early 2010. If it is made overseas like the current Aveo is, however, it might be available here earlier.