GM shows off lively surprises

General Motors might be down, but it is far from out. Exhibit A: The vehicles the nation’s top automaker showed at the recent Detroit auto show.

Three of the vehicles were ones GM already had said it would roll out at the show: the redesigned 2010 Chevrolet Equinox, Cadillac SRX and Buick LaCrosse.

But the automaker also showed three others that weren’t expected: the production version of the compact Orlando crossover vehicle, whose concept was unveiled at last fall’s Paris auto show; the Converj, a Cadillac version of the planned Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car; and the Chevrolet Spark, a very fuel-efficient minicar that GM plans to introduce in the U.S. market in early 2011.

And in all, the automaker paraded 17 vehicles through the show’s media days that will be on the market as new or significantly revised products during the next two years.

One of the surprises was the Orlando, a seven-seat crossover based on the architecture of the soon-to-be-offered Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan.

The Orlando “offers the versatile attributes of a sport utility, family van and wagon,” GM said. It’s considerably smaller than the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse, although both have a third row of seating.

The Orlando is intended to be a lower-priced, highly fuel-efficient people hauler, more in the vein of a Toyota RAV4. It will come only with a four-cylinder engine. The concept was powered by a 2.0-liter turbodiesel engine, but there is no word yet if that engine will be offered in the U.S. market.

GM says the Orlando has “reconfigurable, theater-style seating,” and that both the second and third rows can be folded into the floor to create a completely flat load floor when extra cargo space is needed.

As for the Spark, the Detroit version was the concept, while the production version will be shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March. GM said the Spark will go on sale in Europe in early 2010, but it won’t be available in U.S. Chevy showrooms until early 2011.

Cadillac’s Converj has the same Voltec electric propulsion system that GM will roll out next year on the Chevy Volt, but the comparisons to the Chevy end there.

The Converj is a grand-touring coupe with a bold design that’s lacking in the Volt.

The exterior draws a lot of its appearance from other newer Cadillac vehicles bearing the “art and science” design philosophy.

With room for four, the Converj “is intended to show how GM’s revolutionary Voltec electric propulsion technology can power a luxury coupe with a typically Cadillac ‘no compromises’ design,” the automaker said. “It enables up to 40 miles of gas- and emissions-free electric driving with extended-range capability of hundreds of miles.”

As for the 2010 Buick LaCrosse, the full-size sedan is a completely redesigned car intended to build on the success of Buick’s Enclave large crossover vehicle, GM said.

Among its features will be available all-wheel drive, a variety of new technological options and a choice of two fuel-efficient V-6 engines.

The basis for the car’s design was the Buick Invicta concept introduced at the 2008 Beijing auto show. Buick is the most popular luxury brand in China.

Chevy’s redesigned 2010 Equinox will come with a choice of new engines, including a 2.4-liter, direct-fuel-injected four-cylinder that GM says will lead the compact crossover segment in fuel economy —- ahead of the segment-leading RAV4 and Honda CR-V. Highway mileage is expected to be 30 miles per gallon.

With seating for up to five, the Equinox has styling influenced by the newest version of the Chevy Malibu sedan.