GM announced the company will unveil a new Chevrolet compact car at an auto show this fall with production to begin early next year.

The future will be built on Delta compact car architecture at GM’s plant in Lordstown, Ohio. Under the hood there will be a new 1.4-liter global engine that develops between 120 and 140 hp. Sources say mileage could easily exceed 40 mpg.

The new engine will be shared among five nameplates: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Saturn, Opel and Daewoo, sources say. That means the Lordstown plant could build cars for export. The engine continues the trend that GM started with such cars as the Pontiac Solstice GXP and Saturn Sky Red Line.

GM also announced it will keep building the Chevrolet Cobalt through June 2010 as a 2009 model. Also, the Chevrolet minicar, the Beat, will come to the United States.

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