GM exec confirms Cadillac XTS, GMC Granite, Chevrolet Aveo RS for Detroit via Twitter

2011 Cadillac CTS Coupe – Click above for high-res image gallery

The North American International Auto Show is typically the big show for Detroit-based automakers and 2010 appears to be no different for General Motors. Chris Preuss, GM's vice president of communications, has hit Twitter confirming that each of the General's four brands will have at least one vehicle to display at the Detroit Auto Show next month. As expected, Cadillac will unveil the 2011 CTS-V coupe along with a concept version of its XTS sedan, a model slated to replace the aging DTS in the next year or two. GMC will unleash the Granite, which, according to earlier reports, will be based on the Delta platform and the forthcoming Chevrolet Orlando.

Chevrolet figures to have a somewhat quieter show, with its big reveal being the Aveo RS, which we hear is all-new and very little like the narrow and unattractive B-Segment hatch GM is selling now. Buick will be chasing the ghosts of Grand Nationals and T-Types past with a performance variant of the 2011 Regal that may share a lot of parts with the 325-horsepower Opel Insignia OPC. We can hardly wait for January 11.

Report: Spyker would preserve Saab product plans, could sell own supercars in select dealers

2006 Saab Aero-X Concept – click above for high-res gallery

In a far-reaching interview with AOL Autos this morning, Spyker Cars CEO Victor Muller revealed some interesting tidbits about his company's plan for Saab if they can successfully negotiate for its purchase from parent company General Motors.

In a product plan that sounds distinctly like those previously floated by Saab executives in Sweden, the Dutch supercar builder would have Saab rebuild its brand around the 9-3, new-for-2010 9-5, and the 9-4X crossover. An entry-level 9-1 model would not be a consideration, although Muller admits he'd still love to build a production version of 2006's celebrated Aero X concept (shown above). If Saab were to go that route, Spyker's experience in building low-volume supercars would clearly be an asset in bringing it to market.

In news that will surely be welcomed by Saab dealers and customers, Muller says Spyker has decided it would not pursue plans to winnow Saab's U.S. dealer network from 218 showrooms to 137. In fact, the Dutch businessman suggests that it would be reasonable to expect Spyker to sell its own cars within Saab showrooms in the future (they are presently distributed through Bentley and Lamborghini outlets). Down the road, Spyker's supercars could benefit from Saab's all-wheel drive expertise, among other things.

Naturally, all of this future product discussion will be moot if Spyker and its investors can't get GM to hand over the keys to the perennially embattled brand. A newly extended deadline for sales negotiations to be completed was set by GM on Wednesday, and we should know not long after January 7 what fate awaits the brand.

Lock Those Doors: New Year's Day the worst holiday for stolen cars?

Maybe it's the mass inebriation that makes it easier, but New Year's Eve is apparently hottest holiday for car theft. If the whole world is already sleeping it off, there's no way anybody is going to pay heed to your stupid alarm, perhaps.

As proof, our corporate cousins at AOL Autos breaks down the car theft rates for various holidays, and New Year's bookends the list of eleven days. While New Year's Eve is relatively quiet, New Year's Day is three times as active. The second-most active car theft day? Labor Day – again, another event that tends to involve plenty of imbibing and a good dose of "hey, watch this." With Halloween in third, it would be interesting to see how many of these thefts were mere joyrides, and how many were determined thieves looking for 1994 Honda Accords (the most stolen car last year) to feed the chop shops.

Many cars are easily stolen because of a lack of owner vigilance. Things like leaving your keys inside the car, even if it's just at home, are about the same as a blinking neon sign on the roof saying "steal me." Josh Max works up a good list of Dos and Don'ts – and if you don't want your car stolen this New Year's season, AOL Autos has tips, whatever the reason.

More details on rumored 2013 Nissan GT-R hybrid

2010 Nissan GT-R – Click above for high-res image gallery

If we told you there was a variant of the iconic Nissan GT-R putting out around 600 horsepower, gobs of weight-saving technology and fuel economy that can hit 25-30 mpg on the highway would you be interested? What if we told you that the added power came via the same 160 hp electric motor that rested beneath the beautiful sheetmetal of the Infiniti Essence concept at last year's Geneva Motor Show?

The crew at Inside Line are reporting that the hybrid-powered Nissan GT-R is a real possibility for production, complete with the current model's 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged V6 and a battery pack for greenification. Weight savings is of paramount importance, and Nissan plans to throw every trick in the book at the hybrid GT-R, although we'd wager that the gas-electric variant will still weigh more than the deceptively porky model in showrooms now. Of course, Nissan wouldn't be interested in a vehicle with less performance than the current model so any hybrid-equipped GT-R would have to at least match Godzilla's numbers.

With all that power comes great fiscal responsibility, so what would a GT-R hybrid cost? IL guesses $100,000 could be the price of entry, though Nissan could be looking for a little more coin than that. After all the GT-R Spec-V was rumored to cost quite a bit more and if you add a hybrid powertrain to Spec-V weight loss techniques, we could be looking at one very expensive green machine.

Audi R8 LMS could be racing in ALMS GT Challenge class in 2011

Audi R8 LMS - click above for high res image gallery

When Audi announced its new GT3 class R8 LMS race car late last year it was expecting 2009 to be a year of learning and development. As it turned out, it was a hugely successful season, landing championships in the FIA European GT series, along with the German and Belgian national series. All told, the R8s captured 23 race victories.

In 2010 the new GT Challenge class for GT3 type cars will become a permanent fixture of the American Le Mans Series as the GT1 class is consigned to history. During the 2009 season, GT Challenge was mainly the province of Porsche 911s. However, with the R8s success in Europe this year, Audi is considering offering the car to North American customers for the 2011 season. While the car could probably be competitive in 2010, Audi wants to set up a customer support infrastructure first.

Rumormill: Mercedes-Benz CLS shooting brake in the works?

Mercedes Benz ConceptFASCINATION - click for high-res gallery

German automakers have apparently all developed kyphosis, as witnessed by the BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo, the impending Audi A7 Sportback, and the Porsche Panamera. It seems the time is right for humpty-backed automobiles from Deutschland. Mercedes used the ConceptFASCINATION to spearhead the launch of its redesigned E-Class, and while it got everyone all excited during auto show season in 2008, few thought it would amount to anything productiony. That's all changed now. Sure, there are wagons; it's hard to name a more proper Estate Car than the E-Class wagon; but that's not the brass ring everyone seems to be stretching for here.

Expected at the next Paris Motor Show CLS will debut with the expected rakish form – as well as a shooting brake version. While we're all ogling pictures of the fetching three-door concept shown above, the production version is expected to carry four doors and a liftgate. While the show vehicle is fetching with its paucity of points of entry, four doors are apparently important for interesting the Asian market. Don't think of this rumored model as a replacement for anything else utilitarian in the Mercedes lineup; the CLS Brake is unlikely to usurp the R-Class and its unsalability. Rather, it will offer another stylish option in a package that is more car than bus. The world could do with more brakes - shoot on, we say.

Lilli Bertone takes the reigns of family design house

Bertone Mantide - Click above for high-res image gallery

The design arm of Bertone, which is now known as Bertone Centro Srl, is finally and completely back in family hands. Last year the entire company, its design and production divisions, went into bankruptcy. Fiat bought the production side, while control of the design side was held jointly by the court and the Bertone family. Lilli Bertone, the widow of Nuccio, the last scion to run the company, closed the deal on the remaining stake that was held by the courts.

Last year it was reported that the courts would maintain their share of control for at least three years, but it appears Lilli found a way to end that stewardship early. Bertone Centro, lately famous for the Bertone Mantide, will begin offering design and engineering contract work to the automotive and rail industries.