Here's a new twist to the four-door confines of a sedan - a version of the new Malibu comes with the wheelbase extended and a hatchback-style door added at the tail. The wheelbase gains six inches in length and that adds room in the rear with space expanding to 106 cubic feet.

Maxx adds a back bench that slides almost seven inches fore and aft to vary the space for people and cargo - and increase backseat legroom to 41 inches. The back of the front passenger bucket folds forward to form a flat horizontal surface, and backs of the rear bench, divided into two sections of 40/60 percent, also fold on the same plane. Long cargo items like lumber can be stacked on top of these folded seats and extended from dashboard to tail door. To shed extra light into the rear compartment, there's a fixed skylight overhead with retractable sunshade.

Standard powertrain is Malibu's up-level 3.5-liter V6 producing 200 hp through a four-speed automatic transmission. Audio and entertainment packages for Maxx include an in-dash CD changer for six discs, XM satellite radio service and a DVD-based video entertainment system for backseat riders with a seven-inch LCD screen pinned to the ceiling and two sets of infrared headphones plus video game jacks.

Chevrolet's popular Impala sedan, with a midsize structure but full-size cabin space and seats for all in the family, ranks among the best-selling passenger cars in America and it's also the bestseller at Chevrolet.

In Chevrolet's 2004 line, Impala earns upgraded seats with new cloth fabric covering the front split bench or twin buckets. Also new is an optional sport appearance package with tail spoiler and body-color taillamp appliques. Two trims, a base model and upscale LS, show two V6 powertrains. The base Impala uses a familiar 3.4-liter plant from GM that produces 180 hp. An optional 3.8-liter V6 reaches to 200 hp.

In coupe style, Monte Carlo for 2004 rides on the platform of Impala and contains many of the same mechanical components yet follows its own tack for exterior styling and interior features.

The volume model - Monte Carlo LS - totes a 3.4-liter plant that delivers 180 hp and earns fuel economy figures to 32 mpg. The performance edition - Monte Carlo SS - has the 3.8-liter V6 that reaches 200 hp.

New to the series is the Monte Carlo Supercharged SS, which puts a blower to the 3.8-liter plant for a boost to 240 hp through a heavy-duty Hydra-Matic 4T65-E four-speed automatic. Like Impala SS, Supercharged SS Monte Carlo gets stronger suspension components and larger wheels and tires, with large-diameter discs for brakes and an anti-lock braking system (ABS) too. Supercharged SS offers eight color schemes including race-inspired tints like Competition Yellow and Victory Red.

Chevrolet's compact, continuing with three trims for a two-door coupe and four-door sedan, gains an optional CD deck capable of playing MP3 files. Also optional are seat-mounted torso air bags for the driver and front-seat passenger.

Trim levels for both coupe and sedan extend from base Cavalier to upgraded LS and top-end LS Sport with GM's FE2 sport suspension. Each pull power from a dual-cam 2.2-liter EcoTec in-line-four engine that produces 140 hp and mates to either the standard five-speed manual or optional four-speed automatic.

You can also dress Cavalier in optional gear like chrome aluminum wheels, a tail spoiler and leather to wrap the steering wheel and shifter stick's knob.

What can you say about a svelte two-seat sports car that runs to 40 mph in only the first of six forward gears, packs hardware to control suspension, traction and brakes, and tops out at well over twice any legal highway speed?

Only one word comes to mind - Corvette.

For 2004, Chevy's Corvette attains peak performance and automotive sophistication with three models including the hatchback coupe and convertible plus Z06 hardtop coupe with power points added, positioning it in the exotic club of plus-400 hp rippers.

To mark Corvette's wins with the C5-R racer, special commemorative editions of all three versions appear in the lineup. The Commemorative Edition Coupe and Convertible wear special badges with body paint in Le Mans Blue and the convertible's top in the shade of Shale to match the interior color. Z06 Commemorative Edition also in Le Mans Blue has a striping scheme patterned after the C5-R, with polished Z06 wheels and a hood made from lightweight carbon fiber.

Coupe and convertible use the LS1 Corvette engine, a 5.7-liter V8 producing 350 hp. Souped-up Z06 with the LS6 V8 soars to 405 hp.

A new itsy-bitsy economy car is heading to Chevrolet, arriving later in the model-year in formats of a four-door sedan and five-door hatchback. Called Aveo, the new model comes together in South Korea under a joint-venture arrangement between GM and Daewoo.

Despite the assembly in Korea, styling for the curvy Aveo looks downright Italian due to handiwork of stylists at the Italdesign studios of Giorgetto Giugiaro in Turin. And cabins of both models seem far more spacious than the subcompact dimensions imply. Seatback folds flat in the sedan to boost cargo capacity, but on the five-door hatch the rear seat folds and flips forward to forge a generous cargo bay with 42 cubic feet of room.

Two trims, base and LS, go to both models, but there's only one powertrain. It's a frisky 1.6-liter in-line four with twin cams and a rating of 105 hp with standard five-speed manual or optional four-speed automatic.

Read our Review: Chevrolet Aveo