Chevy Spark First Look

We were a bit peeved GM didn’t roll out the Chevy Spark at the Detroit auto show, instead holding it for the Geneva show in March. Today, the company released new details about the car, including more photos (below) and drivetrain information for Europe. It still hasn’t revealed any specs about the U.S. version, slated for a 2011 on-sale date. Yeah, 2011.

The new photos reveal a very stylish interior for a car slated to be extremely affordable. From what we can make out, though, the gauge cluster looks very small. No images of the seating configuration or cargo area were released.

At 143 inches long, the four-door Spark is shorter than a two-door Toyota Yaris. The company says it will feature standard safety features like stability control and side curtain airbags.

What Happened to the Chevy Spark at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show

In one of the untold stories of the 2009 Detroit auto show, General Motors inadvertently confused millions of TV viewers, car enthusiasts and even automotive journalists. It all started with a glowing series of segments on NBC’s Today Show last week.

During an interview with Matt Lauer — which you can watch here — GM executive Ed Welburn revealed the front end of an all new subcompact car that he said the company would reveal at the Detroit auto show on Sunday. Lauer repeated that it was a big deal that he couldn’t pull off the rest of the tarp or he’d get in trouble. Websites all over, including this one, concluded that it was the production version of the Beat subcompact that had debuted as a concept two years earlier.

GM didn't deny the reports once they hit hugely popular enthusiast sites like Jalopnik.com. Come Sunday, though, GM rolled out … the exact same 2007 Beat concept car it had showed two years ago — not a production version — in a rolling parade onto its stage for the company's press conference. On GM's media website, it released one lone image of the production vehicle, now called Spark, along with a formal announcement that the Spark would go on sale in the U.S. in 2011.

2010 Chevy Spark at 2009 Detroit Auto Show

• Competes with: Smart ForTwo, Toyota Yaris
• Looks like: Chevy’s small design is actually hip
• Drivetrain: Unknown
• Hits dealerships: Late 2009

In its rush to show the public its upcoming subcompact car, the Spark, GM rolled out a concept show car from two years ago. Usually when a company announces a new production car to go on sale in less than a year, the car shown is a pre-production version of the actual car they're going to sell with a working engine and an interior that's basically what you'll find at the dealership.

The Spark was so rushed that the concept shown is the same exact "Beat" show car from the 2007 New York auto show. The car above is the actual Spark, however, yet it didn't materialize here in Detroit. There are standard headlights, and the big news is that there are four doors instead of two from the Beat.

Chevy was light on details about the engine or any other specifics about the Spark. We'll follow the development of the car as its on-sale date at the end of 2009 approaches. We’d guess the production-ready car will debut in the flesh at a future car show in Washington D.C., Chicago or New York.