• by Karl Greenberg , July 13, 2011

Chevrolet has been the official vehicle of Major League Baseball since 2005. With the ink still wet on a new contract, Chevrolet will hold that title for five more years.

With the deal Chevrolet gets exclusive category rights, and presenting sponsorship of the annual Roberto Clemente Award, the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award, and the World Series Most Valuable Player Award.

Chevrolet will also continue to serve as presenting sponsor of the annual All-Star Red Carpet Show, which takes place today in Phoenix prior to the All-Star Game.

Chevrolet will also advertise on national broadcasts with MLB-themed commercials, and will also sponsor a premiere attraction at All-Star FanFest. Chevrolet, which says it has donated over $11 million. That includes more than 70,000 tickets to MLB and Minor League Baseball games and more than 350 clinics for young players, many with players and coaches from MLB. More than 1,400 Chevrolet dealerships will provide support for local baseball leagues through the Chevy Youth Baseball program this year.

Separately, Jon Beebe, former digital marketing manager at Ford, is Chevrolet's new director of digital strategy and integration, a newly created position. Beebe, who started in the job in June, is reporting to Liz Boone, global director, digital and social engagements.

Meanwhile, in other GM news, the automaker has offered a response to Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn who commented on GM's Opel brand, speculating in Wednesday's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on ongoing news in the German media that the company's Euro unit could be sold to Chinese automakers or even Volkswagen.

Winterkorn speculated on the likelihood of Hyundai Motor picking up Opel or of a Chinese automaker stepping in. General Motors said, in a statement, that it had no intention of defenestrating the brand.

General Motors said Winterkorn's statement "continues a regrettable pattern of fanning speculation as Opel makes solid progress in its restructuring, in generating improved operating results and more."

The Detroit automaker suggested his comments were timed to the launch of Opel Ampera, an extended-range electric vehicle, "which has been hailed as 'a stroke of genius,' 'the start of a new era,' and as a leading industry expert said, places Opel three years ahead of VW." The automaker suggested it has no plans to divest itself of Opel, which has been tied to GM since1928.