The Eco version of the Chevrolet Cruze compact sedan is the fuel-mileage special. It currently holds the highest highway rating (42 mpg) for any gasoline-power car sold in the U.S.

It's a separate model in the Cruze line, positioned in price and equipment halfway between the $17,275 LS starter and the $22,975 LTZ high-end version.

Added in January, Eco now generates 22% of Cruze sales, Chevy says. And it's 27% of Cruze sales on the import-favoring West Coast. "Eco is making some serious inroads for us," says Chuck Russell, vehicle line director for compacts.

Japan's troubles are Detroit's blessing when it comes to sales of new cars.

America's homegrown automaking giants are poised to pick up sales from Japanese brands facing growing shortages of popular new models after the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

About 197,000 customers who might have automatically gravitated to Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans or other Japanese brands in the past are now "up for grabs," says a report by consulting group A.T. Kearney. That number could jump to 328,000 by fall if Japanese factories aren't at full capacity by then.

Best of all for General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler Group, the shortages come as they have some of their freshest new model lineups for fuel-efficient cars and crossovers in years.

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The V6-powered 2012 Chevrolet Camaro will feature 323 horsepower, or 11 more ponies than the 2011 model. This feat was accomplished by allowing the 3.6-liter unit to breathe better.

Engineers were able to improve intake airflow through extensive simulation and bench testing. By getting more air into the engine, horsepower was increased along with exhaust flow. Additionally, engineers managed to shave 13 pounds from the overall weight of the engine, which ultimately helped improve fuel efficiency.

The groundbreaking 2011 Chevrolet Volt won a major new honor recently when the world’s first extended-range electric vehicle was recognized with a Gold Medal from the 2011 Edison Awards. Inspired by the persistence and excellence of American inventor Thomas Alva Edison—who earned more than 1,000 U.S. patents—the awards are given annually to recognize the top achievements in innovation from around the country.

The Volt more than lives up to that ideal, thanks to industry advances in key areas like aerodynamics and powertrain development. Hours of painstaking work in GM wind tunnels make the Volt the most aerodynamic vehicle ever sold by Chevrolet, while the car’s incredible propulsion system is allowing drivers to go more than 1,000 miles between fill ups. That’s because the Volt can deliver up to 50 miles of all-electric, no-emissions driving on a routine overnight charge.

GM announced Tuesday that it will invest about $2 billion in U.S. assembly and component plants, "creating or preserving" about 4,000 jobs at 17 plants in eight states.

The announcement had been widely expected, but details weren't confirmed until CEO Dan Akerson spoke today GM's Toledo, Ohio, transmission plant Tuesday. Toledo is to get $204 million and about 250 more jobs to build a fuel-efficient, eight-speed automatic transmission.

Akerson said, ""We are doing this because we are confident about demand for our vehicles and the economy."

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General Motors Co., less than two years after declaring bankruptcy, is poised to reclaim the global auto sales lead this year from a Toyota Motor Corp. rattled by natural disasters and reports of slipping quality.

GM may retain the top spot after auto-parts production in Japan recovers from the March 11 earthquake. Detroit-based GM plans to invest at least $5 billion in China to double sales to 5 million vehicles by 2015. After years of losing ground in the U.S. to cars like Toyota’s Camry, GM’s Malibu has won better reviews and a new version is coming.

Add it up and GM may retake the sales crown lost in 2008, when the U.S. automaker lost $30.9 billion and sought a federal bailout following Toyota’s most profitable fiscal year. Today GM is on the mend while Toyota confronts a slumping reputation, a stronger yen that hurts profit on U.S. sales, and the prospect that its production in Japan won’t recover until November.

“It’s safe to say that GM is crawling back in the mature markets and growing quickly in emerging markets,” said Jeff Schuster, executive director of forecasting for J.D. Power & Associates, a research firm in Westlake Village, California. “It’s a challenging road ahead for Toyota. They face some real issues in the U.S.”

When AT&T was ready to take a new step in support of its commitment to reduce dependency on foreign oil and boost its support for sustainable transportation, the company knew exactly which automaker to call: Chevrolet. As a result, the telecommunications company recently added 101 new Chevy Express cargo vans to its customer service fleet, and all of them run on clean-burning compressed natural gas (CNG).

The CNG Express vans will emit about 25 percent fewer emissions than those relying on gasoline or diesel fuel, without sacrificing fuel economy.