DETROIT—Momentum. That’s the word floating most assuredly through Cobo Hall, the site of the 2011 North American International Auto Show. Optimism and enthusiasm, too. After two seasons of sluggishness, auto-industry leaders are convinced that the automobile business is back, and the Detroit show is resuming the prominence it enjoyed over two decades.

Hardly a discouraging word can be heard on the show floor, either from company presenters or from the journalists and industry people who’ve come to learn about the revival and all the new products.

Some of those new vehicles are worth the trip, to be sure. So are several redesigned models. Despite all the cheers, though, barely a dozen new and reworked production vehicles with conventional powertrains are making debuts in Detroit. More than a dozen automakers held no news conference at all, and a couple of the 19 that did make presentations had no new products to promote. Surprisingly, in view of continued truck popularity, nearly all the and and redesigned models are passenger cars.

Looking at brand-new models first, Buick introduced the 2012 Verano—the company’s first compact luxury sedan, and the first compact since the Skylark of the 1990s. Though related to Chevrolet’s compact Cruze, the Verano gets more powerful engines. Borrowed from the bigger Regal and Lacrosse, the standard 2.4-liter four-cylinder makes more than 180 horsepower and promises at least 31 mpg on the highway. A 2.0-liter turbo comes later. “Like all Buicks,” said marketing vice-president John Schwegman, “Verano is library-quiet,” helped by such noise-reducers as a five-layer headliner.

First seen at the Paris Motor Show in September, the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic was unveiled in Detroit in both hatchback and sedan form. When it reaches dealerships this fall, it will be the only subcompact car manufactured in the U.S. Replacing the Korean-made Aveo, the Sonic can have a standard 1.8-liter engine with five-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission, or an optional 1.4-liter Ecotec four-cylinder that produces 138 horsepower and might achieve 40 mpg in highway driving. GM president Mark Reuss noted that the Sonic chassis has been “tuned for the U.S. market by our Corvette suspension engineers.” More...

Sharing of new models among several brands has a long history at General Motors, as well as at Ford and Chrysler. In the past, as many as three or four GM makes sometimes offered closely-related cars. So, the fact that Buick’s forthcoming Verano compact luxury sedan stems from the basic configuration as Chevrolet’s recently-launched Cruze isn’t exactly stop-the-presses news.

As in past periods, Buick isn’t merely tacking its own badge on a Chevrolet. Instead, engineers have added distinctive Buick touches to give the compact sedan a luxurious flavor. They’ve also given it a considerably more powerful engine than Chevrolet offers, along with bigger wheels.

Scheduled for launch at Detroit’s North American International Auto Show, the Verano is Buick’s third new model in two years, following the recently-added Regal. It’s the first new model in the compact luxury segment–an area that Buick has not occupied for quite a few years.

Beneath the hood lies GM’s Ecotec 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, driving a six-speed Hydra-Matic transmission. Developing an estimated 177 horsepower and 170 pound-feet of torque in the Verano, the Ecotec engine will deliver an estimated 31 mpg in highway driving. Acceleration to 60 mph should take about 8.0 seconds. A 2.0-liter turbocharged engine for the Verano lies further in the future. Chevrolet’s standard Cruze engine, in contrast, gets by with 138 horsepower. More...

OnStar has long defined telematics and revolutionized in-car communication. Once again, the General Motors subsidiary is expanding its services to include location-based updates on Santa Claus’trek across the globe Christmas Eve.

Like last year, the special holiday service is provided in partnership with North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), a bi-national United States and Canadian organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America. For more than 54 years NORAD has used its North Warning Radar System, geo-synchronous satellites with infrared sensors and other technologies to monitor Santa’s travels and share the information with families around the world.

Beginning at 6 a.m. EST on Christmas Eve, OnStar subscribers can press the blue OnStar button in their vehicles to request a “Santa Update.” OnStar advisors will share Santa’s whereabouts through 5 a.m. EST Christmas morning. OnStar is available on more than 40 GM models for the 2011 model year. OnStar provides services to nearly six million subscribers in the Canada and the United States.More...

People do seem to love contests. And winners. What movie fan can ignore the Academy Awards? Theatergoers turn to the Tony Awards. TV shows vie for Emmys, and musicians cultivate Grammys.

Automobiles are no exception when it comes to annual awards. Each January at Detroit's auto show, winners of the North American Car of the Year and Truck of the Year are announced–chosen by a panel of auto journalists. Various publications and organizations issue "car of the year" honors, generally selected by members of that particular group.

Voting is now underway for a contest that's a little different, in that consumers themselves make their voices heard. For the second season, vehicles are being considered for Internet Car of the Year and Internet Truck of the Year.

As founder Keith Griffin puts it, both "Internet Pros and the Average Joes" can pick car and truck of the year. Griffin says his is the only Internet site not dominated by automaker advertising, which lets consumers express their preferences. The site does not accept advertising from automakers with eligible vehicles. More...

General Motors has raced from last year’s assisted bankruptcy proceedings and federal funding to profitability, and now the leaner automaker is ready to go public. This afternoon, GM filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed initial public offering. GM hopes to raise $12 to $16 billion from the move.

The intent is to sell about 20 percent of the government’s share, leaving taxpayers still holding near 50 percent of the company. Automotive News explains that for the government recoup its full investment, GM’s value would have to be $70 billion. The more profitable Ford Motor Company has a market cap of about $42 billion.

The future is looking up for General Motors, with $1.3 billion in profit last quarter and a battalion of new, promising product coming down the pike.

Expect the SEC to quickly approve the IPO, and hedge funds and personal investors to rapidly buy up this initial offering. They aren’t over yet, but the days of Government Motors' days are numbered.

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GM Wraps Up Arbitration, Launches New Car Dealer Network

An unfortunate outcome of the carpocalypse that rocked the domestic auto industry last year was that hundreds of car dealers found themselves on the outs with Chrysler and General Motors. Through the bankruptcy proceedings, many dealers were culled from the collective or told their franchise agreements were not going to be renewed, potentially ruining their businesses, impacting local economies, and inconveniencing customers. Many challenged the decisions, and today the arbitration for GM dealers was finalized. Among those that contested, 39 won and 23 lost.

But that is just part of the story. In total, 1,176 dealers filed arbitration cases. Only the 62 cases were completed with decisions rendered. GM offered 702 Letters of Intent to involved dealers, and the automaker reached 408 individual resolutions with other dealers, most of which call for the dealer to continue the wind-down process. Four cases were dismissed.

Effective November 1, GM will have a network that totals 4,500 U.S. dealerships for Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC – down from just over 6,000 a year ago.

"Our dealers are the face of GM to our customers and valued members of the communities where they do business across America," said Mark Reuss, president, GM North America.  "We're confident our dealer network will be the best in the business.  It will be the right size with the right dealers to give our customers great service during and after the purchase.” More...