Turbochargers are back, and Chevrolet's compact car is getting one in a wheels-up redesign that aims to add fuel economy without subtracting performance. It's another sign that General Motors is once again serious about cars.

What We Know About the 2011 Chevrolet Cobalt

Sources had been expecting a redesigned 2011 Chevrolet Cobalt, but didn't know much about it until last summer, when General Motors inked a new contract with the United Auto Workers. Thanks to future product plans detailed therein and made public, plus more recent statements by GM officials, we now know the once planned Cobalt replacement will instead be called the Chevrolet Cruze. The current Cobalt will soldier on for now, perhaps beside the Cruze through 2010. Details are still sketchy, but it is possible that there will still be a redesigned Chevy Cobalt.

The 2011 Chevrolet Cobalt would likely switch from the company's Delta platform to the global Gamma architecture. Current Gamma vehicles include the Opel Corsa subcompact, and the next-generation Chevrolet Aveo is reported to be a Gamma. GM's South Korean branch, GM Daewoo Automotive Technology, has assumed responsibility for GM's development of the Gamma platform that originally was developed by Opel and Fiat. The next Cobalt would presumably use an updated "Gamma 2" structure that is stretched in both length and width to accommodate a larger-than-Aveo package. The new Cobalt would likely fit between the Aveo and Cruze in Chevrolet's lineup.