The 2012 Chevy Sonic has been revealed at the Detroit Auto Show. The new Chevy Sonic will replace the Aveo as Chevrolet‘s small car in 2012 and will be the only small car built in America. The Sonic is expected to go on sale in the fall of 2011.

The 2012 Chevy Sonic will be available in both hatchback and sedan body styles, and will be available with two different engine choices. The base engine will be a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine with 135-hp and 123 lb-ft of torque. Buyers can also opt for a slightly more powerful 1.4-liter turbocharged engine with 138-hp and 148 lb-ft of torque. The more advanced turbocharged engine should also get better gas mileage than the base one, but Chevrolet has not released any fuel economy estimations.

The Sonic is definitely better looking than the Aveo, but what is more important is that instead of a rebadged Daewoo, the Sonic will be an American-built small car that can actually compete with the other city cars for sale right now.

The new Chevy Sonic is aimed squarely at the new Ford Fiesta, which has made headlines with its 40-mpg fuel economy rating, something typically reserved for hybrids. Chevy says that the 2012 Chevy Sonic will have more horsepower, more rear seat room and more cargo room than the Fiesta, according to Autoblog.

The one major unanswered question in Chevrolet’s advertising copy is that of gas mileage. Small car buyers are a practical bunch of people, so if the Sonic can compete with the Fiesta in fuel economy, it should be a hit. If not, it will follow in the Aveo’s footsteps and be relegated to rental fleets for the most part.