2009 Pontiac G3: Chevy Aveo now Available in the States with Pontiac face

Now repeat after us: hip, hip hurray for General Motors’ badge engineering! For all you folks that don’t like the bowtie logo and the split grille of the Chevy Aveo5 which itself is a rebaged version of the Korean market Daewoo Gentra (previously known as the Kalos), GM has stuck BMW-esque nostrils and a Pontiac logo to the Aveo5 and renamed it the G3. Available exclusively in five-door hatchback form, the Korean econobox will hill Pontiac showrooms in the U.S. in spring 2009. -Continued

According to GM, the Pontiac G3 “proves that you don’t have to sacrifice sporty design and responsive driving to achieve impressive fuel economy.” Don't you just love marketing talk?

The ‘sporty’ Pontiac G3 will be offered with a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine generating 106 HP that can be mated to a five-speed manual or an optional four-speed automatic transmission. According to GM, the G3 can get over 30 miles per gallon on the highway. While prices have yet to be disclosed, GM said that standard features will include air conditioning, a CD/MP3 audio system with auxiliary input jack, fog lamps, rear spoiler, OnStar and four airbags.