Two years ago, GM brought a trio of small cars to the New York Auto Show and asked fans to go online and vote for their favorite. In the time since, the Chevrolet Beat has emerged as the favorite and today, those watching MSNBC's "Today Show" got a sneak peak at the production Beat that will debut at the Detroit Auto Show next week.
From what we can see, GM has only made small revision to the production car's sheet metal. The grille appears to be larger, wider and rounder, but retains the same basic shape. The headlights have been changed, as have the fog lights. Down below, the front spoiler and radiator opening appear less pronounced than on the concept (pictured left), while the hood appears more pronounced. Overall, the car retains the same basic shape, and the modifications we are able to see suggest that the car will not look radically different than the 2007 concept.Since the 2007 New York Auto Show, the Chevrolet Beat has popped up in various places while the Trax and Groove quietly disappeared. It was recently spotted on the set of the Transformers movie sequel along with the Chevrolet Volt electric car, leading to speculation that the Beat may soon see production. Today, GM shocked the automotive world with a sneak peek at the production Chevrolet Beat just ahead of its official launch at the Detroit Auto Show. When the Beat concept first premiered in New York, it was powered by a 1.2L turbocharged gasoline engine mated to an automatic transmission. GM design chief Ed Welburn revealed very little about the car during the Today Show interview, saying only that it would be "very affordable" and that over two million fans had voted on the concepts after they debuted. The rest, we'll have to find out next week in Detroit.