Cadillac Vice President U.S. Marketing Don Butler (back) shows Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson the interior of the 2013 Cadillac ATS compact luxury sports sedan Monday, January 9, 2012 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Jeffrey Sauger for Cadillac)
Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow gets behind the wheel of a 2013 Chevrolet Sonic RS performance vehicle after it was unveiled Monday, January 9, 2012 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. The Sonic RS features a 138-horsepower (103 kW) Ecotec 1.4L turbo engine — the only vehicle in its segment to offer a turbocharged powertrain. The Sonic RS goes on sale in late 2012. (Photo by John F. Martin for Chevrolet)
GM unveiled the 2013 Sonic RS with a lower and stiffer suspension, 4-wheel disc brakes and chrome tips. Also included are 17 inch wheels and a new front facia for a tough-looking interior. Additionally, the Sonic RS features a 138-horsepower (103 kW) Ecotec 1.4L turbo engine — the only vehicle in its segment to offer a turbocharged powertrain.
The Sonic RS has a great look and should add more sales to the Chevy brand. We’re very impressed in the way Chevy is targeting a younger audience with cutting edge designs at competitive prices. It will be released to the public in summer-fall 2012.
Dodge Dart
Following the daft Dodge Caliber, Dodge is looking to redeem itself in the small car segment with the Dart. The Dart also marks the first fruit of Chrysler’s merger with Fiat, because underneath the Dodge skin lies Italian bones. And not just any bones either, but the platform of the Alfa Romeo Guilietta. The Dart will be powered by a host of new engines and transmission choices, also supplied by Fiat. No hatchback version will be offered, unfortunately, but the Dart is shaping up to be a serious contender in the small car marketplace.
What elevates a car from a mere appliance is the connection the owner makes with it. A faithful companion, partner in crime, and object of desire, cars become part of the lives we lead, and the stories we leave behind.
Throughout 100 years, there are plenty of stories involving Chevy’s cars and their owners. Chevy’s online video series “Road We’re On” showcases theses personal stories people have had with their cars, both past and present. Often times these experiences not only involve a single person either, but whole communities.
The first of eight episodes is titled “Welcome to Bridgeview. ” This first series focuses on the effect Chevy has in the small town of Bridgeview, Pennsylvania. Bridgeview is a town seemingly ripped out of a Norman Rockwell painting. Everybody knows each other, and their stories often intersect with one another as well. It is this effect of Chevy’s products on both individual people and communities that has woven Chevy into the very fabric of America.
The episodes can be viewed individually on Youtube and on Chevy’s site rodewereon.
You might not think it was possible this soon but Chevy is on pace for an all time sales record in 2011. That is a great sign for the global recovery and an even better sign that GM is on it’s way back as well. If the economy can continue to grow it will be interesting to see how high GM and Chevy in particular can go in regards to U.S. and Global sales!
With its 100th birthday barely fading in the rearview mirror, Chevrolet is on pace to set an all-time global sale record in 2011, having sold 4.8 million units through the end of November and with December off to a strong start.
Meanwhile, Chevrolet’s global market share has increased by nearly one half of a point this year, Russ Clark, Chevrolet’s marketing manager for midsized and performance cars, told TheDetroitBureau.com, while suggesting General Motors’ largest marque is steadily advancing towards its goal of becoming a truly global brand.
Sixty percent of all Chevrolets are now sold outside the United States, which had been the bowtie brand’s primary hunting ground for most of the past century, according to statistics cited by Clark during a conversation about Chevrolet’s business plans.
It took Chevrolet 100 years to come up with this car: The 2012 Chevrolet Centennial Edition Corvette Z06.
It was definitely worth the wait.
Just look at it. Its Carbon Flash Metallic paint shines like icing on a cake that you can’t stop devouring. It’s temptation on wheels. And those are wheels with red trim and beefy calipers bulging under the silky black satin cast-spun aluminum. (The front wheels are one inch smaller than the back wheels, and they look wider than the Detroit River.)
Every piece of this car just looks a little meaner: The big, chin-scraping splitter below the bumper, the flash of a carbon fiber stripe on the hood, and little details that are once-in-a-century kind of things.
This Chevy includes a small graphic on the B-pillar of Louis Chevrolet — the brand’s namesake. Even the traditional Corvette racing flag gets a one-time adjustment, with Chevy adding the number 100 for the occasion. After all, you only become a centenarian once in your life.
But most things turning 100 don’t come with a 7-liter V-8 under the carbon-fiber hood. Maybe they should.
This car is frightful on the road. It’s an angry machine that you try taming only a little. You’re never going to break it like so many mustangs or other wild ponies. You grip the wheel with as much fear as you do joy when you’re tearing around town. And there’s really no other way to drive it. It shreds highways.
Chevrolet captured the spirit of 20th Century America, with its “work hard, play hard” ethic. Perhaps no Chevrolet represents this spirit better than the Chevy truck. Check out the 10 noteworthy examples of Chevy trucks over the decades.
1. 1918 Chevrolet 490 Half-Ton Light Delivery “Cowl Chassis”
Two four-cylinder models marked Chevrolet’s entry into the truck market in January 1918. Both were “cowl chassis” units that came from the factory with only frontal sheet metal. It was customary at the time for the buyer to obtain a wooden cab and cargo box or panel van body to suit their purposes.
Priced at $595, the half-ton Light Delivery cowl chassis was essentially a body-less Chevrolet 490 car equipped with stronger rear springs. Mounted with a pickup box or panel body, it provided an agile and economical light-delivery truck for ‘Main Street’ businesses.
The one-ton capacity 1918 Chevrolet “Model T” (presumably for “Truck”) cost $1,125 without body and was built on a truck frame than was longer and stronger than that of the half-ton model. A 37 horsepower engine gave the larger truck the power to haul heavier loads at a governor-limited top speed of 25 mph.
Nice rims and a mocha steel metallic paint color had our 2012 Chevrolet Equinox FWD LTZ standing out in the wild when we first took a look at our test model. The recently redesigned Equinox is a sharp crossover and we were looking forward to driving one of Chevy’s big sellers to see what all the fuss was about.
Exterior
The refined exterior of the 2012 Chevrolet Equinox FWD LTZ gives this crossover a real advantage over some its competitors as this is a great looking vehicle. Up front, the horizontal-split grille is eye-catching along with the overall muscular look touched with the flaring fenders. Our loaner sported a rear power programmable rear lift gate, power outside heated mirrors, sporty 18 inch chrome clad aluminum wheels, deep tinted glass, a roof mounted luggage rack with side rails, remote keyless entry, front fog lamps, plenty of chrome and halogen projector beam headlamps. The Equinox in LTZ package looked great as the mocha steel metallic color matched the high-end look of this crossover.
Interior
When you enter the 2012 Chevrolet Equinox FWD LTZ, you know you’re in a high-end crossover with the cross-stitched dual-tone perforated jet black/brownstone leather seating and flowing dashboard that is normally reserved for luxury vehicles. Hints of the Cadillac SRX abound and that my friends is a bonus for Equinox buyers. Our test model was loaded with heated front seats, 8-way power driver seats with power lumbar, multi-flex sliding rear seat with 60/40 split seat back and 3 position recline, tilt and telescoping steering column, color touch navigation radio with 7 inch screen, CD/MP3 player, AUX input and USB port, forward collision alert and lane departure warning, XM radio, On Star, premium 8 speaker system with amplifier and equalization, leather-wrapped steering wheel with audio control and Bluetooth phone. The driver’s position is high enough to give you command of the road but not too high where handling is compromised. The excellent fit and finish of the interior components is well noted and a big step forward in the evolution of the New Chevy.
Tom Orlando of Bullz-Eye.com breaks down the 2012 Chevy Volt from inside and out.
Bullz-Eye had the opportunity to test the all-new, award-winning 2012 Chevrolet Volt and we were pumped about it! We spent a week behind the wheel of the 2012 Volt, which we feel is part of cutting edge technology that will possibly change the auto industry forever.
Exterior
If you want to blend in on the road, start looking elsewhere now, because the 2012 Chevrolet Volt is an eye catcher! The fact that the Volt name is all over the vehicle helps, but the styling and modern look of the car can make a statement for the driver before you even wave to the Volt’s admirers. Our test model had a sharp crystal red tint coat paint finish that was flawless (I looked for dirt and craters and found none), and combined with the 17-inch forged painted aluminum wheels, the Volt was looking good. Pretty much everything about the Volt is also directed towards efficiency and according to GM:
“Chevy designers constantly talk about form and function, but when it comes to Volt, Director of Design Bob Boniface will tell you that they didn’t compromise aesthetics to enable function. The result? A vehicle that looks sporty, quick, smooth and modern, yet achieves an extremely low coefficient of drag. Countless hours in the wind tunnel influenced the styling of many exterior components including mirrors, a closed grill, rocker panels and the rear spoiler. In fact, the vertical blades that go from the bottom of the spoiler to the bottom of the bumper were designed specifically to trick the air into separating from the bumper more quickly, giving Volt extraordinary aerodynamics.”
Also included on our test model were outside heated and power adjustable mirrors, daytime running lamps and a solar-absorbing windshield. When you take a look at the Volt, you clearly understand what GM envisioned, and to their credit, they delivered a very sharp 2012 Chevy Volt four-door hatchback for their customers.
