How's chevy's future?

I HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE, AND IT IS GOOD! YDU MAY HAVE HEARD THAT THE "NEW GENERAL MOTORS" INVITED A PASSEL OF AUTO MEDIA AND ANALYSTS TO ITS WARREN, MICHIGAN, TECH CENTER LAST AUGUST If (A MONTH AND A DAY AFTER IT EMERGED FROM CHAPTER If DANKRUPTCYJ TO OPEN ITS CORPORATE KIMONO AND SHOW WHAT'S COMING IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS.

I was part of that group and can report that just about everything looked pretty fine. New President and CEO Fritz Henderson began with a one-hour live webcast and Q8A. "Our goal is to make the customer the center of our universe," he asserted, adding that GM would use its "fastlane" blog (www. fastlane.gmblogs.com/blog) for customer research. And he said to expect no fewer than 25 new GM cars and crossovers in the next 24 months.

Then he made the announcement that would dominate auto news for the next several days: The Chevy Volt range-extender electric vehicle's projected EPA city rating should be "at least" 230 miles—based on early drafts of an EPA rating process that will see most drivers use zero fuel for the first 40 miles of battery electric driving and very little once the extended- range engine cranks up to keep it going. (The actual EPA city test covers 51 stop-and-go miles, of which only the last 11 will burn any fuel.) And he added that even the EPA "combined" city/highway rating should come in at better than 100 mpg.

GM began building pre-production test and development Volts in mid June at a rate of 10 a week and will have completed its run of 80 by mid- September. Speculation is that the sticker will be in the $40K range (minus a $7,500 federal tax credit) when the first production examples arrive in late 2010. "We haven't priced it yet," Henderson said. "But it's a Gen

I vehicle, and the cost is high. As with all Gen I vehicles, the objective is to get to Gen II." Long-term, as costs go down, they'll have to price it more affordably to get the volume they'll need to help meet CAFE standards.

Next were visits to Buick and GMC design studios, where we were treated to off-the-record looks (they even taped over our camera-phone lenses) at a variety of future models. These included 2011 mid-size Regal and 2012 compact (Chevy Cruze-size) Buick sedans and a very distinctive-looking compact crossover for each brand.

Then we hiked to GM's Design Dome to inspect an impressive array of 2010, 2011, 2012 and beyond Chevrolet cars and CUVs, so many that — even without any trucks — they were spread most of the way around the vast viewing floor. Smallest of the bunch was the youthful, sporty Spark, which won a consumer competition over two other concepts, is already marketed as the Beat in India and will arrive stateside in early 2012. "It's not a penalty box," said Chief Designer Dave Lyon. "It has wonderful detailing, style and character."

Next up was the next-gen (Korean-built) Aveo, which looks nothing like any Aveo to date. It may be polarizing but looked pretty cool to me, and it'll certainly stand out among cookie-cutter small cars. Then came the much more conventional compact Cruze, which will replace the Cobalt in the third quarter of 2010. Its projected EPA highway rating has been touted as 40 mpg, yet — like every new and future a wonderful interior.

The next-gen Malibu, probably a 2013 model, is a handsome, cleanly sculpted piece with a surprisingly rich interior that looks like twice its (expected) price. "Our job is to make Chevys look like $40,000 to $50,000 cars," Lyon said. Its only sour note is a near copy of the tall, bustled decklid (good for aero and trunk room) that was widely reviled on recent big BMWs.

An especially pleasant surprise was the 2011 Orlando. A Cruze- based crossover substantially smaller than the excellent new 2010 Equinox CUV, it offers three roomy rows of seating...highly unusual in this fast-growing class. Also on display were a 2010 Corvette Grand Sport (a fairly affordable base-powertrain 'Vette with Z06 bodywork and exterior, interior and chassis enhancements), a gorgeous 2011 Camaro Convertible and a black Volt with a pair of interior bucks — one with white, the other black, ultra-modern touch-button trim surfaces.

Notable for its absence was a next-gen Impala. There has been speculation both inside and outside the company that the hot Australian Holden-engineered PontiacG8 rear- drive sedan (now that the Pontiac brand has been summarily axed by GM's government overseers) could be re-faced and rebadged as a high-performance Buick and/or a new full-size Chevy. Latest word from on high: Ain't gonna happen- too costly, not enough volume and not fuel-efficient enough (given future CAFE requirements) to make a large, rwd sedan a viable business case. For late-breaking news on future rwd Chevys, read about the Caprice PPV on pages 10 and 11.

Unveiled last were a stunning pair of future Cadillacs: a sleek, rear-drive coupe (there will also be a sedan) smaller than the current CTS and a regally handsome Mercedes S-Class-size front-drive sedan to replace the long-running fwd DTS and rwd STS, probably by 2013.

We also toured the pre- production build shop where those 80 test and development Volts are being assembled and drove a variety of new GM products at the Milford Proving Grounds.

"I now have no doubts about the future of this company," said a magazine-editor friend at the end of the day. Provided that the government gets out of its way, I couldn't agree more.