LORDSTOWN ASSEMBLY PLANT General Motors chooses name for Cavalier's replacement

The car will have a more upscale design, dealers say.
& lt;a href=mailto:shilling@vindy.com & gt;By DON SHILLING & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
The new model to be built at the Lordstown Assembly Plant will be called the Chevrolet Cobalt as the Cavalier name is being retired, car dealers say.
Chevrolet unveiled the new name a couple of weeks ago when it showed off the car at a dealers event in California.
"It was a sharp-looking car," said Barry Gonis, general manager of Spitzer Autoworld in North Jackson.
Diane Sauer, owner of Diane Sauer Martin Chevrolet in Warren, said keeping the Cavalier name wouldn't have seemed right.
"I like the idea of a totally different name because it's a totally different vehicle," she said.
GM is remodeling its assembly and fabrication plants in Lordstown and will begin producing the new model next year. The two plants employ about 7,000.
No official word
Carolyn Normandin, a Chevrolet spokeswoman, confirmed that the 22-year-old Cavalier name is being dropped but declined to comment on Cobalt's being the replacement.
"We're in the process of finalizing the new name, and we will make an announcement soon," she said.
She said Chevrolet intends to inform employees first and then the public. The announcement should come in a matter of weeks, she said.
Dealers said Chevrolet was clear that Cobalt was the choice.
Cobalt is a chemical element that is used in alloys to make cutting tools, jet engines, high-strength magnets and other products. A radioactive isotope, cobalt-60, is used for cancer therapy and in industry for detecting flaws in metal parts.
Impressive car
Gonis said he was impressed that Chevy had a 6-foot-6-inch man drive the Cobalt onto a stage in California to show that the interior was large enough for tall drivers.
Sauer said the Cobalt is longer and bigger than the Cavalier with a more upscale image. The rounded design has the same styling cues as the Chevy Malibu and Impala, she said.
"I think it's very attractive," she said.
Chevy is making the new car bigger than the Cavalier as it adds a new small car to its lineup. The Aveo is due out early next year. It will be produced in Korea by GM Daewoo Auto & amp; Technology Co., which was created last year when GM bought the bankrupt Daewoo Motor Co.
Sauer said she was most impressed with the Cobalt's interior. While dealers weren't allowed to get close to the car in California, Sauer was able to sit in the interior at a Michigan design studio in January.
"It's more upscale looking. It has more metal and upholstery and less plastic," she said.
Automotive News, a trade publication, said this week that Cobalt will have more standard equipment than the Cavalier and will come in LS, LT and SS models. The SS version will have a 220-horsepower engine that is expected to sell in low volumes but attract attention to the Cobalt.
GM hasn't announced if the Lordstown plant will continue to make a Pontiac. The twin of the Cavalier, the Sunfire, also is made at Lordstown.
& lt;a href=mailto:shilling@vindy.com & gt;shilling@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;