Jimal: “I believe the first generation of the Nissan Pathfinder also had a similar door handle arrangement. I can’t recall if it was blacked out, but the rear handle was in the C-pillar.”

The Nissan truck-based SUVs (Xterra, Pathfinder, Armada) all have the rear door release handles in the C-pillar but they’re not concealed in any way. None of the other vehicles previously mentioned with this sort of arrangement are available in the US.

Why not try to keep things in perspective? No one is suggesting that this is the “perfect” solution to all of GM’s problems. The current Aveo couldn’t be any more boring. This looks like an improvement. The ugly, unimaginative Scion Xb seems to do just fine when it comes to controversial styling.

Twenty years ago I would have said it must be French or from a soviet puppet state. But sadly its American.

Not even. While it’s carrying the American flag and an American nameplate, the only way GM would ever have done this (it’s proven) is to contract it out to their South Korean discount subsidiary.

That’s easy:
If you look in his CV, he joined GM in 1981. He left to Fiat in 1985.

@rudiger :
Hiding the rear door release handles in a matte-black section next to the C-pillar is kind of a clever trick, though.

It works very well on the Alfa 156 and 147, the Honda Civic hatchback and the Seat Leon… to name only a few.

It’s nice to see small wheels from the aspect of lower unsprung weight, plus a lower cost when the tires need replacing. And really, who needs a wheel size larger than 15″ on a sub-150 hp econobox?

I also have heard and read that GM chose the name “Beat” for this concept, or future model, as the case may be. I thought that Honda owned the rights to that particular model name?

http://www.chevrolet.co.uk/conceptcars/conceptcars-wtcc-ultra.html

I’m sure that GM will determine if there’s a spark of interest in this vehicle at Detroit – we’ll see if it’s displayed prominently, or jammed into a back corner (so GM can claim “lack of interest” and abandon plans for a USA version).

Just keep it away from the Volt – we don’t want a fire…

That and the color. But even if those things are fixed, this is still obviously a captive import with a bow tie slapped on it. It’s no more a Chevrolet than a 9-7X is a Saab.

This is just a bit too busy, but the form factor is essentially unchanged.

FWIW, the addition of the deeper pleats and the extra doors does make it look like an Aveo, especially since Chevy chose to adorn the (otherwise unchanged) crapbox with their “corporate” grille. If they had just left the Aveo with the “old” styling, there would be less confusion – a percentage of buyers will make the mistake of thinking it’s an Aveo and pass it by.