General Motors

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GM taking center stage at last L.A. auto show held in January By AUTOMOTIVE NEWS AutoWeek | Published 01/02/06, 7:54 am et AT A GLANCE: L.A. SHOW STARS These vehicles will make their world debuts in Los Angeles. PRODUCTION 2007 Chevrolet Suburban 2007 Chevrolet Aveo sedan 2007 GMC Yukon XL 2007 Mazda CX-7 crossover 2007 Pontiac Solstice GXP 2007 Toyota Yaris sedan CONCEPT Saab 9-5 Aero BioPower Volkswagen three-wheeler -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisement -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- General Motors will dominate the last Los Angeles Auto Show held in January. GM will introduce the restyled 2007 Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon XL, a high-performance 2007 Pontiac Solstice, the redesigned 2007 Chevrolet Aveo sedan and a Saab concept. Volkswagen plans to unveil an unconventional small car, while Mazda will introduce a crossover developed on the Mazda6 platform. Toyota's stage will spotlight the second model in the Yaris line. Press events are scheduled Wednesday, Jan. 4, and Thursday, Jan. 5. For 2006, two auto shows are planned in Los Angeles as the event switches to a new month. Organizers will move the show to December beginning in 2006. Press days will be Nov. 29 and 30. The move is a response to pressure from automakers and journalists. They complained that the current schedule required them to travel around the holidays and to rush to the Detroit auto show afterward. The earlier date is expected to increase world debuts and boost the show's importance. Here are the world debuts planned in Los Angeles. Chevrolet Chevrolet will unveil three vehicles: the re-engineered and restyled 2007 Suburban, the redesigned 2007 Aveo sedan and the 2006 Corvette Z06 pace car for February's Daytona 500 race. The Suburban is built on the GMT900 full-sized-truck architecture. It features new sheet metal, a redesigned interior and a six-speed automatic transmission. It will offer GM's cylinder deactivation system for improved fuel economy. Sales begin in the second quarter. GMC The 2007 GMC Yukon XL, also built on the GMT900 architecture, is re-engineered and restyled. It boasts a slight increase in fuel economy. Sales are scheduled to begin in the second quarter. Mazda After teasing buyers with the MX-Crossport concept last year, Mazda finally will show the production version, the CX-7. The 2007 CX-7 is based on the Mazda6 platform. It's larger than the Tribute and seats five. It will be powered by a version of the turbocharged 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine that is in the MazdaSpeed6. The CX-7's engine will generate 244 hp and 258 pounds-feet of torque. Sales begin in the spring. Pontiac Pontiac unveils the 2007 Solstice GXP, a performance model with the most powerful version of GM's four-cylinder engine. The 2.0-liter turbocharged engine features direct-injection. Saab Saab takes the wraps off the 9-5 Aero BioPower concept. The concept features a 2.3-liter turbocharged engine powered by bio-ethanol fuel called E85. The engine delivers 310 hp, compared with the gasoline version's 260 hp. Torque is rated at 325 pounds-feet. That's 25 percent more than the gasoline engine gets. Gauges are clustered in the center of the instrument panel of the Toyota Yaris. Toyota With the Echo gone, Toyota is counting on the Yaris to attract entry-level buyers. Toyota introduced the 2007 Yaris three-door hatchback in November at the Specialty Equipment Market Association convention in Las Vegas. The sedan version will debut at the Los Angeles show. The two vehicles do not share sheet metal. Yaris models are larger than the Echo. For example, the Yaris hatchback has a 96.9-inch wheelbase; the sedan's is 100.4 inches. The wheelbase for the 2005 Echo is 93.4 inches. Volkswagen Is it a car or a motorcycle? Volkswagen is short on words, saying that the concept to be unveiled is not a traditional small car. Expect a three-wheeler. Automotive News staffers Jamie LaReau, Diana T. Kurylko, Mark Rechtin and Rick Kranz contributed to this report