BY ALISA PRIDDLE

This concept is a runner and could be built, if GM decides the design is right.

That Hummer plans to continue to downsize and create a Jeep Wrangler“sized H4 has been one of the worst-kept secrets in the industry. Each new Hummer entry has been smaller than the one before it.

But for three new designers at General Motors, the timing couldn’t have been better. The recent graduates of the College for Creative Studies in Detroit were hired by GM a couple years ago, about the time the automaker decided it wanted a concept in a new segment to augment the mid-size H3 and the full-size H2 SUVs. (more…)

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BY TOM LUDWICK AND ALISA PRIDDLE

This trio of electric vehicles uses a variety of powertrain alternatives to extend their B-srange.

Chrysler wants to spark interest with three electric concepts to be unveiled in January at the North American International Auto Show in what appears to be a showdown with General Motors and its Chevrolet Volt family of EVs.

Chrysler is using a lithium-ion battery pack with a 200-kilowatt electric motor to drive the wheels, into concepts for Chrysler, Jeep, and Dodge. Shown here are early sketches of the Chrysler ecoVoyager concept, the Dodge Zeo concept, and the Jeep Renegade concept. (more…)

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BY ALISA PRIDDLE

Front-drive Malibu was to be followed by rear-drive Impala, but those plans still are in limbo.

Dealers should start receiving the new 2008 Malibu, available in four trim levels including a hybrid version, in November.

The Malibu is the last General Motors vehicle to come from the outgoing Epsilon platform that is being replaced by the new Global Midsize Vehicle Architecture. Cars from the next-generation architecture start rolling out next year with a new European-market Opel Vectra, with a steady stream to follow. (more…)

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BY ALISA PRIDDLE, PHOTOGRAPHY BY MARTYN GODDARD AND THE MANUFACTURER

The 2008 CTS is only the start. We clue you in on the rest, including a sub-CTS model, an upcoming diesel, and the next-gen SRX and DTS.

Cadillac is launching a much-improved, second-generation CTS for the 2008 model year. The car will initially launch as a sedan in more than 40 countries worldwide. It should be in U.S. showrooms in mid-August. (more…)

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By ALISA PRIDDLE, PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS DOANE FOR BRENDA PRIDDY & COMPANY, MORGAN SEGAL, AND THE MANUFACTURER

Lutz: Like developing a new Corvette.

It appears the Blue Devil Corvette already is so quick it has even outrun a freeze on large and powerful rear-drive cars at General Motors, and it’s not even finished yet.

That one is too late to stop. That’s almost finished. It’s in the final stages of tuning, Bob Lutz, vice-chairman in charge of product development, told Car and Driver during a recent interview in which he outlined a series of rear-drive projects that have been put on hold until the automaker knows how strict the proposed new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) regulations will be. (more…)

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BY ALISA PRIDDLE

V-12 remains an experimental engine for now.

Work on an ultra Cadillac is on hold until General Motors has a better idea of where the Bush Administration is going on fuel economy legislation, vice chairman Bob Lutz told CARandDRIVER.com in an exclusive interview at the New York auto show. (more…)

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