GM brings the Beat to the US?

(Bloomberg) -- General Motors Corp., best known for their behemoth Hummer, may begin selling a mini-car more than a foot shorter than anything else it markets in the U.S. to win back buyers deterred by record fuel prices.

GM is considering bringing their Chevrolet Beat to the U.S., said industry insiders. The car is traditionally sold mostly in markets in Asia and Latin America, and gets as much as 40 miles a gallon.

The American introduction would be the first in a series of moves to keep GM in the black, as Americans look more and more towards fuel effiency, and awy from the big SUVs that were so popular just a few years ago. [If you remember, GM shelved plans to release the Smart car in 2003, citing lack of interest in the market.]

``This is a very big change for GM,'' said John Wolkonowicz, an analyst at Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts. ``They have no choice. There's never been as rapid a shift in consumer demand in the history of the auto industry.''

The company reported its largest annual loss in 2007, $38.7 billion, and hasn't had a profitable year since 2004.