The Chevy Sonic is the newly announced member of the Chevy family and one that might be the source of lots of future ECOtec fun. Sonic has the highly anticipated LUJ powerplant that we covered last year, LUJ Delivers on ECOtec Promise, and have seen previously only motivating the Chevy Cruze. Now imagine having the 138hp iron block, turbo 1.4L having to propel only about 2400lbs. That sounds like it could be a serious street terror with a little tuning.

The only issue we see, is that there are two flavors of Chevy Sonic to be had – one with a hatchback, and one in the traditional sedan layout. So which one to choose? Do you stand on the side of increased utility in the five-door, or ditching the euro-styling in favor of the classic American lines that a sedan offers?

The choice is yours, let us know what you think is the winner. To help you choose, we’ve included some clean shots of both to give you an uncluttered opportunity to decide what you’d rather sit in come this fall.

Vote now in the poll to the right and get in your thoughts below. Go!

We all remember and love the speedy, blue hedgehog of our childhood. As iconic as Mario is to Nintendo, our friend Sonic the Hedgehog was the symbol of SEGA. And what a symbol he was. Fast, nimble and full of energy, Sonic was the digital cartoon equivalent of what many of us were after downing a two-liter of Surge. Transfer that youthful energy to GM’s latest small car, and you have the brand new Chevrolet Sonic.

The Sonic doesn’t just bring new life into the Chevy small car line from its name. The new Sonic is a far departure from the ubiquitous rental car, the Aveo, it replaces. Propositioned as “roomy, stylish and fun to drive” the Sonic sounds promising, but the proof is in the pudding, or in this example, the giant metal container filled with possessed woodland creatures.

Either way, we’re excited to see the new Chevy Sonic hit the streets. And we’d be even more excited to see how it responds to 75-shot of nitrous – we bet that version might even qualify for the “Super Sonic” name.

Kick the tires and light the fires, you can now take a cruise in a real topless Camaro! Sure there have been companies in the past year that have taken a sawzall, some bondo and duct tape to a beautiful factory Camaro coupe to try and sell you a ‘verted Camaro, but this is the real deal baseball and apple pie Camaro which features a seamless top that won’t leak on your duds as you head out for a night on the town.

Now we’ve personally seen this specimen in testing over the past year and we knew it was going to be a hit once the official version got signed off on. When we first saw the original lab mules, we whipped out our cell phones to get some shots only to receive a scornful look from the development team. That prompted us to place our phones back in our pocket - where they belong, supposedly.

The secrecy surrounding the development of the convertible was well warranted though, as the GM design team went out of their way to keep the factory lines in tact with this transformation (no movie pun intended) and the result is a sports car that looks just as good as a hardtop as it does with a soft-top – something that we can’t say rings true for a lot of other “sports” cars out there.

The Camaro convertible will come in many of the same configurations that the Camaro coupe has as options. The V6 model still receives the hardcore 312-horsepower direct injection motor we all love and the optional LS3 V8 in the SS still pumps out 426 horsepower – no compromises for style here.

Final packages come in 1LT/2LT (V-6) and 1SS/2SS (V-8) trims and will cost you a flat $30,000 MSRP (including $850 destination). You can have your choice of one of nine brilliant exterior colors sprayed onto the paintwork and the tops are offered in black or tan.

If you haven’t seen one in person yet at your local auto show, you can check out just how slick the new Camaro convertible looks for yourself in the gallery below:

Well it's that time of the year again - SEMA 2010. As most of you know, SEMA is the largest aftermarket auto show in the country and where the top players in the aftermarket world come out to show off their new parts, accessories and trends. Custom car builders come out by the thousands and show off some of the world’s top automobiles. Media come from all over the globe to cover SEMA and at times dedicate a whole site or magazine to just SEMA coverage.

GM has notoriously come out with many great cars and products at this event. If you remember about 4 years ago, GMTS here was able to show off the very first in person pics of the brand new Cobalt SS Turbo. Funny though, because at the time many of you thought this car was a fake and not real. Hey, we don't fault you for that and understood your excitement for that upcoming vehicle. Last year, GMTS brought you the top Camaros at the show and some of the top builders putting these cars together. Given that this was one of the hottest cars at the event, we also broke rumors on who was building what and how they were planning to debut their projects.

Today I am excited to tell you that GM has been hard at work again. There is some really exciting news that will be coming out on Tuesday Nov 2nd at the show that I am sure all of you enthusiasts will love to hear about. We will be bringing you this coverage fast right from the show and the announcement. I believe you will see GM's commitment to the enthusiast market and their desire to help you, the enthusiasts, continue to build your cars in the personalized and custom way as you have done for years.

We will have teaser photos starting on Monday morning Nov 1, and then coverage daily from the event. We are excited to hear your feedback and comments about the announcement and the custom cars there at the event.

I leave you with this quick teaser video from GM.

Enjoy. 

All of us over here in the colonies have historically never treated the ole hatchback concept with any fervor. This disdain for the “junk in the trunk” versions of our favorite sports cars has been declining lately as more and more hatchbacks, shooting brakes, fastbacks and slant backed-whathaveyous have been making their way across the pond in recent years. Some have succeeded, some have failed, some have just meh’d. What the latest Cruze is bringing to the table however, seems to be a prime example of a hatchback done right.

Now before you get all hissy, keep in mind that this model isn’t set to invade U.S. shores… yet. It was just announced for the rest of the globe in Paris last week and since then, has been developing quite the brew ha-ha for U.S. duty – which is why we have brought it to you, the live free or die GM fans, to discuss, rant, rave or dismiss.

From a purely subjective standpoint, the Cruze hatchback seems to translate over well the clean, simple and forward design of its trunk-laden counterpart – a plus for sure. With some high-offset wheels and a lower stance, this version has the opportunity to even be better looking than the Cruze sedan.

Look over all, that’s right we said ALL, of the shots in the gallery below and then share with us your thoughts in the comment section below. Should we throw this one off the boat, or bring out the welcome wagon?

We know, we know. You want to pick up a Cruze the first day they hit the streets but you’re not exactly sure what options you want yet. Luckily, the Chevy team feels your pain and has supplied a handy dandy Cruze configurator so you can let your imagination run wild. Feel free to customize as many Cruzes (Cruzi? Cruzeses?) as you can and let us know what your favorite package would be in the comments section. For the uninitiated, the whole Cruze deal starts at $16,275 for the LS model and if you want to get hooked up with the turbocharged LUJ, the boosted Cruze kicks off at $18,175. The Cruze comes pretty well stocked from the factory, but there are a few options you can cycle through to make your Cruze your own. Get to work on your custom Cruze here - http://www.chevrolet.com/vehicles/2011/cruze/build.do