Spring is just around the corner so brace yourself for a new slew of auto social media driving trips all geared to give real people a chance to put [insert your auto brand model here] through its paces and blog about it.

This year, if Chevrolet’s lead is anything to go by, the social media hook to these trips will be guided by Twitter. The automakers is giving nine teams, each starting in different parts of the U.S., a Chevy Equinox to navigate their way to Austin Texas for the SXSW festival (sponsored by Chevy) in its See The USA in a Chevrolet challenge (itself a hark back to a 1950′s Dinah Shore commercial for Chevy.)

To spice up the journey (and make good social media theater) the teams will complete a set of missions posed to them by followers on Twitter.

Using Twitter as a treasure hunt challenge tool isn’t exactly new. Scotch maker Whyte & Mackay ran a similar competition back in 2008. Thankfully Chevy isn’t stopping there but is embracing the whole SXSW cool tech thing by trialing three new social/mobile services.

The first involves sticking QR codes on its new Volt, Camaro and Cruze display vehicles at the festival (punters who scan the codes on their smart phones will access a microsite detailing the vehicle specs),  The company also is offering its iReveal app for smartphones that will offer 3-D views of the new models and is Chpartnering with mobile geolocation service Gowalla to provide promotions and free rides in the new Equinox for SWSW attendees.

While some might dismiss this as Chevy embracing geekery just for the sake of causing buzz at SXSW it’s actually in keeping with a long-established automotive industry acknowledgment of the way drivers and passengers embrace new technology that has spurred car makers to innovate and incorporate social and mobile technology into new product design. As GM’s Director of Global Communications and Technology, Chris Barger, describes the experimentation: “Imagine using Quick Response Codes to download the price and options for a vehicle on a dealer lot right to your cell phone. Or, imagine using augmented reality to virtually preview different colors of the Camaro in your own driveway. We are just scratching the surface of what’s possible with mobile technologies and social media applications.”