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Looks like badge engineering is alive and well at General Motors. After decades of the practice damaging its brands, GM may sell the Pontiac G3 in the U.S. The G3 is nothing more than a rebadged version of what we know as the Chevy Aveo that’s sold in Canada as the Wave. It’s rebadged and sold elsewhere in the world under various brands, but we don’t see those here in the U.S. The new subcompact would supposedly bolster the offerings at combined Pontiac-Buick-GMC dealers by adding a new fuel-efficient vehicle to the mix. Oddly enough, however, the G3 only achieves marginally better fuel economy than the already-available Pontiac Vibe, itself a slightly redesigned version of the Toyota Matrix, thanks to its diminutive four-banger and old-school four speed automatic tranny. Curiously enough, you can already EPA numbers for the G3 sedan and hatchback at the government’s fuel economy website, which could be further support for the notion that it will be sold in the U.S. soon, or may indicate that it’s sold in a U.S. territory like Puerto Rico.

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Filed under: Sedans/Saloons, Euro, Hatchbacks, Saturn, OpelOver in Europe, midsize cars like the Opel Vectra, Renault Laguna and Ford Mondeo have long been offered in multiple body configurations including four-door sedans, station wagons and, of course, five-door hatchbacks. Unlike Americans, who for some reason are averse to a fifth body opening unless the vehicle rides 4 to 6 inches higher than it should, Europeans have always appreciated the extra utility. The Opel Vectra is being replaced this summer by the redesigned and renamed Insignia, but so far we’ve only seen photos (either spy pics or official GM shots) of the four-door sedan that will likely land here later next year as the next Saturn Aura. A sharp-eyed photographer, however, has captured what may be the first shots of the new hatchback Insignia. The five-door version doesn’t look radically different from the sedan, the main variance being the shorter rear deck that’s attached to the rear glass. Will the hatchback arrive as an Aura at Saturn dealers? Highly improbable, but then so was the Astra, so anything is possible. We more likely might just get a wagon version that we haven’t yet seen.