Auto & Car Blog

Filed under: Chevrolet, Germany

More good news for LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) fans. Chevrolet in Germany is offering free LPG conversions in certain models. According to Chevrolet, this will help German drivers by saving them up to €10,800 at the pump between 2008 to 2018. 2018 is the year that all tax reductions for LPG will be finished. A similar tax policy as in play in neighboring France. The German offer applies to the Matiz, Aveo, Lacetti, Nubira, Epica and Captiva models. Prices for the Aveo start at €9,990 and go up to €23,790 for the Captiva. Choosing the LPG option for the latter normally costs €2,760, but not right now. According to Chevrolet’s figures, one out of ten Chevys sold in Germany are converted to run on LPG, a number that will likely increase thanks to this offer.

[Source: Chevrolet Germany via Auto News]

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By Tom Wallace
GM Global Vehicle Chief Engineer for Performance Vehicles
As an amateur sports car racer, Corvette chief engineer, and rabid racing fan, I’ve seen more than my share of winner’s circle ceremonies. I never thought I would see the day when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, and SAE International, the […]

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By Ed Peper
North American Vice President, Chevrolet
Today is an exciting day for us here as we come even closer to the production of the 2010 Chevy Camaro. I want to make sure FastLane readers are among the first to know that starting today, Chevy dealers are taking orders for the new Camaro set to be […]

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Filed under: Diesel, Chevrolet, Paris Motor Show

Chevrolet has fully taken the wraps of the new Orlando compact people mover for its debut at the Paris Motor Show. We still don’t know for sure if the Orlando will be offered here in North America, but the rest of the world will get this compact seven seater. For its debut in Paris, the Orlando is being shown with GM’s new 2.0L diesel engine rated at 150 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque. The three-row Orlando is based on the new generation Delta compact platform that also underpins the new Cruze, the next Astra and, of course, the Volt. The Orlando was originally planned to be built in Detroit alongside the Volt, but the Wall Street Journal recently reported it would not be built here. However, more recent reports indicated otherwise. The Orlando has style elements from the Sequel fuel cell concept and could appeal to people moving out of SUVs that still need room to haul the kids around. An Orlando with either the Two-Mode or mild hybrid system could prove to be a very capable and efficient people mover here in the U.S.

[Source: Chevrolet]

Continue reading Paris 2008: Chevrolet Orlando MPV debuts

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Filed under: Car Buying, Coupes, Sports/GTs, Euro, Supercars, Chevrolet, UK

The car that Top Gear liked to drive, if not exactly to look at, has a price they definitely won’t want to pay. At an on-the-road price of £109,000, the ZR1 costs nearly £48,000 pounds more than a Z06 in the UK. As if that weren’t problematic enough, that price puts the left-hand-drive-only ZR1 £8,000 past the 911 Turbo and a colossal £55,000 beyond the GT-R Premium Edition. True, that’s still the base GT-R, but Nissan has a whole lot of room to play with when it prices the V-Spec.

True as well, the price of the ZR1 also includes a driver training course and a 3-year / 60,000-mile warranty, which should count for something. Perhaps not £55,000, though. Luckily for Chevrolet UK, it will only have to sell two of them this year, and single digits in the years to come. You can read the full press release after the jump, and then decide if you’d rather have one lump of incredible American metal or a GT-R and a Swiss bank account.

[Source: GM]

Continue reading Corvette ZR1 to cost £109,000 in UK

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Filed under: Manufacturing/Plants, Chevrolet, GM

At an event in Flint MI today, GM CEO Rick Wagoner and Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm were on hand to officially announce that GM will be building its new 1.4L direct injected four cylinder engine in the city in new facilities on the campus of the Flint South Powertrain plant. GM will be spending $370 million dollars erect a 552,000 sq ft plant and tool it up. The company will start building the new factory immediately and full scale production is set to start in early 2010 in preparation for the North American launch of the Chevy Cruze. The Flint factory will also be the exclusive source of the range extending engines for the Volt. The plant will use 300 flexible machining and assembly stations so that a variety of four cylinder engines can be built without retooling. GM is planning to double global production of small four cylinder engines (1.0L to 1.4L) between now and 2011 and expects one-third of its North American volume to be fours by that time. The 1.4L is an all new engine that will produce 140 hp and 148 lb-ft of torque. We’ll have more information on the 1.4L later today after a technical briefing.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading GM officially announces Flint MI production for Volt/Cruze engines

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Filed under: Manufacturing/Plants, Chevrolet, GM

General Motors made its case to a Detroit City Council committee on Wednesday in a bid to get some property tax brakes for its Hamtramck assembly plant. The Poletown plant is where General Motor is planning to build the Chevrolet Volt beginning in late 2010 and GM told the council that the new production vehicles there would add 550 jobs to the facility. In return for creating those jobs in the city, GM is seeking $136 million in property tax relief on the improvements over the next 25 years. The plant already employs 1,944 people who build the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS. GM is planning on spending $336 million on the plant over the next two years in order to swtich over to the new, smaller ER-EV Volt. The full council is expected to vote to approve the abatements by sometime next week.

[Source: Detroit Free Press]

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Paris Motor Show, Crossovers/CUVs, Chevrolet, GM

Live images of the Chevy Orlando, possibly shot during GM’s own photo session, have surfaced online, showing the seven-seat crossover in all its conceptual glory ahead of its unveiling at the Paris Motor Show next week.

The Orlando shares the same Delta II platform as the Chevy Cruze, with power provide by a 2.0-liter turbodiesel, and blends some traditional Chevy styling cues with a blocky, upright silhouette and show-friendly lighting tricks. Unlike other pie-in-the-sky concepts, the Orlando’s interior looks downright drivable, with two-tone leather seats, a traditional steering wheel and a center stack that wouldn’t shouldn’t look out of place on anything rolling off the General’s assembly line.

All the details and plenty of live images from the show floor are coming in just over a week. But in the meantime, check the gallery below.

[Source: Auto55.be]

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Filed under: Chevrolet, GM, Paris Motor Show

The game of musical chairs in the GM product lineup seems to be continuing unabated with the latest casualty being the Chevrolet Orlando. The Orlando won’t even be introduced until next month’s Paris Motor Show and is still scheduled to go on sale in Europe and elsewhere in 2009. The Orlando was originally scheduled to be built in the Detroit/Hamtramck assembly plant along with the Chevrolet Volt. Those plans have apparently been canceled and it’s not clear where the Orlando will be built or why it won’t be offered in the U.S. Chevrolet spokesman Terry Rhadigan would only say that neither sales nor production plans for the Orlando had ever been announced for the U.S. In fact, the Orlando to be shown at Paris is technically only a concept for now. Anything beyond that is just speculation anyway. GM is continuing to check out its worldwide product portfolio for cars to add to the U.S. lineup and the Pontiac G3 has already been confirmed. The G3 is simply a re-badged and re-grilled Chevy Aveo and GM needs something much more than that to compete with current and future small cars like the upcoming Ford Fiesta. Perhaps GM will finally bite the bullet and bring the Chevy Beat that proved so popular among auto show attendees in 2007.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

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Filed under: Coupes, Paris Motor Show, Chevrolet

The crew from Camaro5 were on hand to capture the first live unveiling of the Chevrolet Camaro SS at Indy Bash 2008, and although we’ve seen the silver-hued coupe on numerous occasions, this is the first time we’ve gotten a glimpse inside.

As you’re undoubtedly already aware, the Camaro SS is powered by a 6.2-liter LS3 V8 putting out 422 hp and 408 lb.-ft. of torque, and in this case power is sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed automatic gearbox.

The most striking element of the SS’ interior is the shiny plastic door panels and dash trim that matches the two-tone black and leather seats, with contrast stitching. It’s very racy, and should tie in nicely with the SS badges fore and aft.

We’ll be able to see the Camaro SS up close at the Paris Motor Show next month, so stay tuned for our impressions from the floor.

[Source: Camaro5]

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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Sedans/Saloons, Wagons/Estates, Green, Chevrolet, GM, Pontiac, Saturn

GM is not going to let the Volt or its E-Flex powertrain get lonely. The first Volt — the one due in late 2010 — hasn’t been finished yet, yet is so popular that GM is publicly theorizing about how far it can spread the technology through the empire. Ideas include a smaller car with a smaller battery pack that could go 20 miles on pure electric, and be much cheaper. A proper wagon, just “a little bit bigger,” could also make the cut.

And those variants don’t all need to be Chevrolets. Other GM brands will certainly be blessed with Volt technology, if not an outright case of brand engineering. Cadillac is one of the wolves thought to be circling the Volt’s henhouse, and using Volt systems in a Caddy might allow GM to make a profit on such a car without tax breaks. If there were a more economical Volt with a shorter electric range, Saturn would seem to be a prime candidate.

It looks like the sole E-Flex powertrain option not planned is an electric-only car, one without a range-extending gasoline engine. GM feels that people would find it too risky to have no backup. But back to that first car, the plain vanilla Chevy Volt that’s still two years away from showrooms - a Volt team member doesn’t appear to have forgotten the prime directive: “You always have to do the first car right and well.” Amen.

[Source: CNN Money]

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Filed under: Sports/GTs, Videos, Chevrolet, GM

Video clips of the Corvette ZR1 strutting its stuff on track can be found virtually anywhere on the internet. But that doesn’t mean we’re tired of seeing the beast in action, particularly if the video happens to feature another new staple of GM’s sporty lineup. The latest internet discovery is a grainy, sometimes barely audible, clip of the Chevrolet Camaro SS tackling the twisties with a guest appearance by a jet black ZR1. The video begins with the new muscle making a go on the course all alone. Then later, it appears trailing behind the infamous supercharged ‘Vette.

From what we can see, the Camaro’s chassis seems to be nicely tuned. The body roll is not substantial and the pony car takes a seat quickly when entering a turn with no floaty oscillations. Hopefully the short but sweet video tease is a direct indication of the production setup. Follow the jump to view things for yourself. Thanks for the tip, Xeyad!

[Source: Autofiends]

Continue reading VIDEO: Camaro SS and Corvette ZR1 sparring on track

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Hybrid, Chevrolet, GM

Now that you’ve had time to digest the look of the production Chevrolet Volt in a somewhat more flattering environment, it’s time to have your say. Obviously it changed a lot, but that was a necessity to get this first one out the door and meet the performance targets. The wheels shrunk, the greenhouse grew, and the transparent shoulders are now opaque. But this is now a real and buildable car. You’ve all been having your say in the comments, now let’s get some numbers from a thoroughly unscientific, self-selecting poll. Did Bob Boniface and his team break it or fix it?

View Poll

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General Motors officially unveiled its much-anticipated production version of the Chevrolet Volt, its extended-range electric vehicle, just in time to kick off its next 100 years. The automaker is celebrating its one hundredth year this year. “Revealing the production version of the Chevy Volt is a great way to open our second century,” said Rick […]

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Filed under: Car Buying, Economy, Sedans/Saloons, Chevrolet

Remember when we told you that GM plans to make more money off of its small cars by upping its prices? Well, as far as the Cruze is concerned, not only do they plan to charging substantially more than the outgoing Cobalt, they might demand more cash than a comparably equipped Corolla, Civic, or Focus. According to GM, that’s because it needs to make more per car than Honda or Toyota.

With the average Civic rolling away for $19,184, GM doesn’t have a lot of room to play before hitting the $20,000 ceiling. And if GM was to get an average price of $19,500 for the Cruze, that would be a $3,000 premium over the current (average) price for the Cobalt. That still gives no indication of how much money GM would actually be making on the car, though.

Design honcho Ed Welburn feels the car’s styling and interior will justify the extra dosh, and said he believes “we have some very unique content and materials that are in the vehicle.” Conviction is a good start, and if they can back it up the verdict might go their way. For that, we have to wait for the jury of consumers to decide.

[Source: IHT]

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Paris Motor Show, Crossovers/CUVs, Chevrolet

The Chevy Orlando, due to be revealed at next month’s Paris Motor Show, has turned tail and the rendering doesn’t look half-bad. It’s mildly reminiscent of the Audi A2 from way back when, in an exaggerated, chunked-up way, and we get a little Volvo feeling from the sculpted area of the rear lights. Overall, we give it a thumbs up.

The Orlando is a compact seven-seater, and the dip in the rear roofline means that those last to occupants might need to be especially compact. However, the intended audience is probably not the local WNBA team, so the kids should fit just fine. With a hot front and rear, and an interior that nearly qualifies as dreamy, this is the kind of thing we’re looking forward to checking out in the flesh. Stay tuned for Paris…

[Source: GM]

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Filed under: EV/Plug-in, Flex-Fuel, Hybrid, Chevrolet, GM

A week after some admittedly bad photos of the production Chevrolet Volt were accidently released on the GM media website, the car itself was officially unveiled this morning as part of GM’s centennial celebration in Detroit. Fortunately, the vehicle we saw this morning looked vastly better than the car in the photos we saw last week. Unlike the unapproved shots that made the car look tall, wide and bloated, what we saw today was a far sleeker machine. Aside from some details such as the mirrors, the car actually looks much like the car we saw in the spy photos from the Transformers 2 film shoot.

That means it looks less like a Prius than we thought based on the leaked shots. As we’ve known for months, the production car had to change in order to optimize the aerodynamics. This had to be done to limit parasitic losses and maximize the car’s ability to recapture kinetic energy. The back end is the most obvious carryover from the concept while the front gets the smoother, more rounded look we’ve been seeing in teaser shots for months. There’s more after the jump.

UPDATE: Gallery of live shots added below with more images being uploaded as we speak.

UPDATE 2: Video of the live reveal added after the jump.

Continue reading Officially Official: 2011 Chevrolet Volt finally revealed!

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Filed under: Hybrids/Alternative, Sedans/Saloons, Green, Hatchbacks, Chevrolet, GM

Everyone who has been waiting with bated breath for the past year and a half to see the production version of the Chevy Volt can now breathe a big sigh of relief. After some extremely unflattering press shots shots were accidentally released last week, people were extremely disappointed with what appeared to be little more than a Prius clone. Anyone who spends time photographing cars knows how hard it can be to make them look good and how easy it is to make them look really awful. Unfortunately, those shots that were unapproved and never supposed to be released anyway fell into the latter category.

The car that GM rolled out this morning as part of its centennial celebration in Detroit is a much more attractive machine that while different from the concept is still very attractive. Rather than the egg shape look we saw, it’s actually much more like the car we saw in the Transformers 2 spy pics a few weeks back. The greenhouse is longer and the raked back windshield gives a very slick look. Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the design is the black trim around the side windows. The thick black border along the lower edge is meant to recall the transparent beltline of the concept. It definitely works better in darker colors where there is less contrast. On the inside, a fully configurable LCD instrument cluster allows different drivers to select the gauges they want to see. Overall the design team appears to have created a car that while certainly more mainstream than the concept, is still recognizable as the Volt and something different from the Japanese brand hybrids.

UPDATE: More live shots are on their way. Wi-fi at the GM Renaissance Center is particularly bad this morning.

UPDATE 2: First gallery of live shots added below, and here are some live shots from autoblog china (Shanghai).

UPDATE 3: Video of the actual reveal added after the jump!

Continue reading Officially Official: GM reveals the 2011 Chevy Volt!

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By Bob Lutz
GM Vice Chairman
We’ve weathered a lot of skepticism since the Chevrolet Volt concept was introduced at the 2007 Detroit show. The Volt has been called “vaporware” by some members of the media. We’ve heard executives from other manufacturers tell the press that the battery technology won’t work. We’ve even been accused of using […]

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Filed under: GM

Tuesday is the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of General Motors by Billy Durant. In spite of the financial crisis swirling around all three of the Detroit-based automakers, GM intends to take that day to celebrate. Part of that celebration includes the official unveiling of the production design of the Chevy Volt and supposedly some other surprises. Sebastian and I will be on hand live in Detroit on Tuesday, but you can follow the events in a live webcast at GMNext.com. Several more on-line chats with GM executives will be taking place throughout the day including Jon Lauckner and Bob Lutz. Get a preview of what’s coming in the video after the jump and stay tuned here on Tuesday morning as we bring you live photos of the Volt and more.

[Source: General Motors]

Continue reading VIDEO: General Motors centennial celebration to be broadcast on GMNext

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