By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos Canada

If you want to buy a compact station wagon in Canada, new car buyers only have one choice: the Volkswagen Golf Wagon. And if you also want your small hauler to be powered by a diesel, once again, the VW wagen is the only game in town.

Now, just imagine if buyers had a choice? And if that choice was available at their local Chevy dealer? Those are the questions posed by the announcement this week that a station wagon variant (above) of the popular Chevrolet Cruze compact will debut at next month’s Geneva auto show.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

I know, I know... we've covered Super Bowl commercials to death last week in the run-up to this year's big game. But one spot that's really impressed is music supergroup OK Go using a Chevrolet Sonic hatch to create the 'music' behind the band's latest single, Needing/Getting.

OK Go are tied to using social media and other digital tools to get their intensely choreographed videos out to their fans, but this one blows out all other previous efforts.

By John LeBlanc for MSN Autos

You don’t have to be a sports fan to know the National Football League’s championship game is this Sunday. As one of the most-watched television events annually, companies looking to make a big marketing splash have coveted the game’s half-time commercial spots for years. And with sales rebounding in the U.S., automakers have jumped on Super Bowl ad bandwagon this year in a big way.

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

There are plenty of sports car racing fans who denigrate the Grand-Am Rolex series for being too much like NASCAR because of the focus on driver safety and team equality. After this past weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona, though, it's hard to argue that they haven't built up an equitable series.

Despite having significantly smaller budgets than big-name teams like Target Chip Ganassi or Suntrust Racing, Michael Shank Racing used a combination of guts, driver talent and luck to win the 24 hour race on its eighth try. Both the winning #60 and the second-placed Starworks Racing entry were brand-new Ford-powered Riley cars that had barely turned a wheel in anger before pre-race qualifying on the Thursday before. Shank was doubly happy because his second entry, a much older Ford-Riley that at its best was two or three seconds a lap slower than the new-reg cars, remained on the lead lap after 24 hours and rounded out the overall podium.

The both big-dollar Ganassi entries - BMW-powered Rileys - had trouble with gearshifters and gearboxes, putting them too far behind to match the speed of the Ford-powered rivals. The heavily-favoured 'Corvette' prototypes had rough races as well - lots of unexpected teething problems that kept the big-guns in the garage early.

In GT, Porsche had a similar night, with the small Magnus Racing squad holding off bigger-budget squads from The Racers Group and Brumos Racing. Despite issues with front splitters affecting all 911 teams, the proven Porsches held off the relative newcomers from Ferarri, Audi and Dodge, along with proven winners from Chevrolet, Mazda and BMW. 

The GT field had over 40 cars entered, and promises to remain that competitive for the rest of the season.

For full results, click here. 

By Mark Atkinson for MSN Autos

Volkswagen's Up line of sub-subcompacts has been receiving a steady stream of positive reviews for bringing some much-needed sophistication to an otherwise price-sensitive class. Now, the company announced it will build a performance-minded GT version based on a concept shown at the last Frankfurt auto show. It'll have nearly double the power (110 horses!), aggressive styling and presumably a more tied-down feel around corners.

That little three-cylinder turbo would provide more than adequate if the Up were to come here to North America, joining an ever-increasingly large number of offerings in the mini-subcompact class. The Fiat 500, Scion iQ and Smart Fortwo are the three currently on sale in Canada, and will soon be joined by the Chevrolet Spark.

Would Volkswagen have a business case to sell the Up in Canada? If so, does your current lifestyle support buying something so small, perhaps as a second commuter car? Or for a student looking for an inexpensive set of new wheels?

Also, what other 'mini-subs' out there would you like to see on our roads? The Ford Ka, like this photo on the right? A Nissan Pixo? Let us know!

By Greg Migliore, AutoWeek

Corvette's future is crystallizing as the temperature drops. The C7 was captured by spy shooters in cold-weather testing in the Great White North, and the profile indicates a wedge-like silhouette, curvy, slightly flared fenders and a potentially longer wheelbase.

Production of the next-generation 2014 Chevrolet Corvette will begin next year. These shots advance previous knowledge of the C7, which now appears to have been photographed in an actual body shell. Older pictures indicated the longer wheelbase but were C6-bodied.

By Greg Migliore, AutoWeek

The C6 Chevrolet Corvette is going out in style--and with plenty of performance.

Chevrolet confirmed on Thursday that the 2013 Corvette will be the final year for the sixth generation of its iconic sports car, which it will send off with a 427 convertible collector's edition and a 60th-anniversary package.

The cars will be shown in the flesh on Jan. 21 at the Barrett-Jackson auction ahead of their launch this summer. The first 427 convertible will be auctioned at the Las Vegas sale with the proceeds going to the Drive to End Hunger relief program.

By Christina Rogers, AutoWeek

General Motors is recalling 4,873 Chevrolet Sonic subcompact models to inspect for missing brake pads. The missing part could lengthen the stopping distance, potentially contributing to a crash, the company said today in a statement. The recall affects 577 Canadian cars.

The recall targets 2012 Chevy Sonic models. The subcompact car — a replacement for the South Korea-built Chevrolet Aveo — went on sale this fall.

GM said the company isn't aware of any crashes or injuries resulting from missing pads. The problem was discovered when a rental Sonic was brought in for warranty service.

The missing brake pads — part of a subassembly of components — fell off before the cars were assembled and had remained unnoticed at the bottom of containers being shipped to the Orion Township, Mich., factory, said GM spokesman Alan Adler.

By Jeremy Sinek for MSN Autos

Detroit, Mich. — At the Detroit auto show next month two new Chevrolet concepts will reveal fresh thinking about the type of cars that appeal to the increasingly important under-30s market.

Unfortunately, that’s all we can tell you about those for now. Meanwhile, here’s news of a production model that follows more-conventional wisdom about cars with youth appeal: a sharper RS version of the Sonic subcompact hatchback. You may remember the Aveo RS concept at the Detroit show two years ago; this is its production-car descendant. It goes on sale late 2012.

By Greg Migliore, AutoWeek

Ever heard of the Chevrolet Stretch? It's a two-seat urban mobility vehicle that runs on electric power and is meant to navigate the congested streets of places like Mexico City in 2046. It looks sporty, can be expanded to seat four—hence the name—and was designed to be fun to drive.

General Motors executives have no plans to make the car, because until now, they've probably never heard of it.

That's because it's not even a concept, merely the creation of the imaginative mind of a young designer, whose sketch captured first place in the Michelin Design Competition for the College for Creative Studies on Monday night. The contest features entries from aspiring, soon-to-graduate students, and is in its 23rd year.