GM Teases 2012 Buick Verano [aka the Opel Astra Sedan], Will be Built in Michigan

General Motors today released a new teaser photo of its upcoming 2012 Buick Verano compact sedan together with the news that the vehicle will be built alongside Chevrolet's new small car [we assume GM means the Aveo] at the Orion Assembly Center in Michigan. The Detroit automaker said it plans to invest $145 million to upgrade the factory for this reason.

"[The] Verano will bring premium styling, performance and content to Buick buyers wanting a smaller car than Regal," said GM North American President Mark Reuss. "The investment in Orion Assembly also extends GM's local small car footprint, again increasing the number of U.S.-made small vehicles available in showrooms."

Although the company did not get into any specific details on the new Verano, the cropped picture confirms our previous reports that it will be the same car sold in China as the 2011 Buick Excelle GT, which in turn is essentially the sedan version of the latest generation Opel Astra.

The small Buick is built on the same platform and shares basic engine architecture with the Chevrolet Cruze.

GM said the Orion Assembly is currently in the process of retooling the plant for the Verano and the small Chevy, with the improvements expected to be finished by summer 2011, which should allow for Buick to launch the car into the U.S. market before the end of the same year.

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Opel's Hot GTC Paris Concept: Live Photos and New Video Trailer

Meet the star of Opel's Paris Motor Show stand and probably one of the best looking concepts of this year's show, the GTC Paris Concept that will spawn next year's three-door Astra model.

Even though the mainstream variants of the production Astra GTC will lose the muscular bumpers, LEDs and tall 21-inch wheels of the design study, it's safe to say that what you see here is more or less what you'll get when the car arrives in Opel and Vauxhall showrooms across Europe in 2011.

For those wanting something closer in looks to the concept, there's good news as the flagship OPC model is expected to keep most of the styling features including the chunky bumpers.

The same goes for the GTC Paris Concept's direct injection and turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 290-horsepower that strongly hints at the specifications of the Golf R / Scirocco R-rivaling Astra GTC OPC model, which is also due in late 2011.

For full details on Opel's Paris Show attention-grabber, hop over to our previous story here.

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