While Lutz may be the loudest voice at GM, he’s not the only voice. There may be small diesel hope from GM yet.

From autonews.com

DETROIT — To meet fuel economy regulations, Chevrolet is looking at ways to use diesels in cars. The brand also is considering a U.S. model smaller and cheaper than the Aveo.

“We’re going to have an opportunity to see a lot of things around the world that could very well work nicely in our portfolio here,” Ed Peper, Chevrolet’s general manager, told Automotive News at the Detroit auto show.

Last year at the Los Angeles auto show, Chevy said it would sell a minicar, the Beat, next year outside the United States and Canada. Chevy executives said they would watch how U.S. consumers receive Daimler AG’s Smart minicar to help determine whether to sell a minicar here.

In the meantime, Chevrolet, like Cadillac, is considering diesels. Peper pointed to GM’s European diesel technology that could be applied here. GM has a 2.9-liter turbocharged V-6 diesel that will be used in the Cadillac CTS in Europe. Also, GM’s European brand, Opel, has three diesel four-cylinder engines used in the Astra small cars: 1.3-liter, 1.7-liter and 1.9-liter diesels with 90 to 150 hp.

Says Peper: “We’re not going to rule out anything.”