The 2011 Chevy Camaro gets a V6 upgraded to 312 HP and no price change on the base V6 and SS models. The 2LT and 2SS models, however, get a $350 increase for the now-standard Heads Up Display. [Camaro5]

General Motors has just announced the X06 Carbon Chevrolet. It features a lightweight body with 7.0 liter engine.

The Z06 Carbon was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first appearance of the Corvette at the 24 Hours of Le Mans when John Fitch and Briggs Cunningham won their class and finished eighth overall. The Carbon edition is essentially a Z06 with a ZR1 chassis and some of the carbon skin. When production starts this fall, only 500 examples will be made and they will only come in two colors, Inferno Orange and Supersonic Blue. All examples get black-painted wheels and a black interior upholstered in leather and suede.

General Motors Co. has been reported to be dropping plans for a Cadillac-badged version of the Chevrolet Volt.

Apparently a Cadillac version of the Volt would be too weighed down by the expected luxury and comfort features to replicate the Volt’s 40-mile electric-only driving range without extensive extra cost, a Bloomberg report said. Sources suggested achieving even a 20-mile driving range solely on battery power might require $30,000 of added cost, the report added.

The loss of the proposed Cadillac variant of the Volt casts more doubt on the near-term applicability of the Volt’s battery-intensive, series-hybrid design.

Some GM executives had argued a Cadillac version of the Volt would help reduce costs – mostly centered around the expensive lithium-ion batteries – and speed wider adoption of the Volt’s technology.

Danica's Debut Marred By Pile-up

IndyCar driver and commercial darling Danica Patrick made her NASCAR debut at Daytona on Saturday, moving up and down the driver rankings before getting caught up in a 12-car pileup that effectively ended her day.

NASCAR may not have much of a following across the pond from the U.S., but Patrick’s debut was marked by a full-scale coverage blitz by almost every media outlet, the equivalent of Sky Sports showing a full length story of a GP2 racer.

Sponsorships are no longer guaranteed in either NASCAR or F1 because of the economic climate, and it will be interesting to see Patrick’s progress, and whether any private F1 teams will take advantage of a similar driver to offset developmental costs next season.

In the auto industry there is currently a very big focus on making smaller more efficient cars and the new Chevrolet Aveo RS looks like it could win some market share. The Aveo RS is of course based on the tiny Aveo, and Chevy has decided to give everyone a sneak peak at their new model.

As per the Detroit Motor Show, the Aveo RS features a 1.4L, 138hp turbocharged inline-4 mated to a six-speed manual turning 19-inch alloys.