#Orlando

Whoever said, “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” probably didn’t pay too much attention to the automotive industry.

For one day, the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes in Orlando opened its doors and back yard to host the 2013 Festivals of Speed, drawing to it a small army of onlookers. 

For the eighth year in a row, the Festivals of Speed marked a culmination of luxury, performance and automotive design. 

Chevrolet has sold 2.35 million vehicles globally in the first six months of 2011, setting sales records in all the top five markets. The first six months of 2011 was the best half year performance in Chevrolet’s 100-year history. The American automaker sold 286,499 more vehicles in the first half of 2011 than the same time period of 2010, a 14-percent increase year over year.

Chevrolet has announced major plans to expand not just its product offerings but also its sales totals in Europe over the next five years. The Chevy brand in Europe is planning the introduction of six new models in the near future and believes these new offerings will help it double its current sales totals in the region.

GM’s new communications boss has confirmed that the automaker is looking at equipping the upcoming Orlando MPV with a plug-in hybrid system similar to the one used in the Chevy Volt.

The highly anticipated Chevrolet Orlando is apparently not one of the top priorities at General Motors – despite the increasing popularity of similar crossovers (like the Ford Flex and Toyota Venza) in the marketplace.

Chevrolet today announced that the Orlando Concept, unveiled at last year’s Paris Auto Show, and the Beat Conecpt showcased in at the North American International Auto Show in 2007 will go into production in 2011.

Little is know about either vehicle but the Beat production model, called the Spark, will be officially unveiled at the Geneva Auto Show in March.

GM says the Spark micro-car will get 40 mpg on the highway. There was, however, no word on if this impressive fuel economy will be a result of the turbocharged 1.2-liter engine.

As for the Orlando, this aggressive van-meets-suv crossover was powered by a 150hp 2.0-liter turbo when showcased in Paris.

Both vehicles will be sold in almost all markets as true world-cars. And if the production models look nearly as impressive as the concepts they are sure to be successful.

Chevrolet started the Beat/Orlando press conference by parading a long line of its recent award winning vehicles in front of the media. The Orlando and Spark are sure to join this list in the future, however, the 2011 production date is a long way off.

Official release on both vehicles after the jump: