I had to wait a few days before commenting on the so called death of the Chevy name. A memo was leaked from inside GM and it appears the brass in marketing want to move the nickname of Chevy aside and refer to the brand only as Chevrolet. I just said Chevrolet a few times and you know what? It sounds so good that I’m sure GM can add a few thousand bucks to each Chevrolet they produce because it just sounds more expensive. That little Chevrolet Aveo can now easily fetch what a Jaguar would set us back right? Ok let’s get serious here. The nickname Chevy is going nowhere and with the pull back we now are watching from the bigs at Chevrolet they realize it too. Long live the Ford Vs. Chevy wars!!!

From the Detroit News:

GM makes Chevrolets, but people own Chevys.

That’s the message lost in all of the silly name games that hit the fan Thursday.

If you haven’t heard, here’s the short version: GM tried to kill the Chevy name, and the automaker now faces attempted manslaughter charges in the court of public opinion.

The more realistic version is this: A couple of bigwigs — namely Alan Batev, vice president of Chevrolet sales, and Jim Campbell, GM’s vice president of marketing — drafted an internal memo to the marketing team declaring “Chevy” was now a dirty word and to never use it.

Read the full article here.

After going back and forth for quite some time GM has decided to add some “Spark” into the U.S car market with an A segment entry. With gas prices being so unpredictable this is a good insurance policy in case prices spike again.

From Left Lane News.com:

The Chevy Spark will enter the US and fill a role in the Chevy lineup that is not currently filled with any model – the A-segment. Currently, Chevy’s smallest offering is the B-segment Chevy Aveo.

Like most automakers in the US, Chevy’s reason for not offering an A-segment vehicle in the recent past was likely due to the fact that prior to recent market changes, the segment had little appeal to Americans.

Recent market studies by several auto manufacturers however show that Americans are trending towards smaller vehicles – possibly bucking the trend of all Americans thinking “bigger is better” when it comes to purchasing vehicles.

Read the rest of the article here.

The clock is ticking towards the launch of the Chevy Volt next year. It’s getting down to the nitty gritty my friends, so keep your fingers crossed over at the Ren Cen.

Royal Oak — Even on their days off, the engineers creating the Chevrolet Volt are working.

They’re testing, measuring and evaluating what is arguably the most important vehicle in General Motors Co.’s history. They take their work home with them, literally, commuting in the vehicles, strapping baby seats in the back or picking up groceries.

When the official auto show season kicks off next month in Los Angeles, the Volt will play a starring role. On Monday, at Athens Coney Island, a group of Volt engineers talked about the car and how its development is progressing.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Chevy has a legitimate hit on its hands with the new Camaro. For the second straight month, Camaro sales have topped sales for the Ford Mustang.

With all the talk about fuel efficient vehicles, it’s nice to see Americans embracing cars that bring back the romantic vision of cars that marked American in the 20th century.

Sub5zero.com has the goods on the new 2010 Hennesey Z700.

If your mantra is “Too much horsepower is never enough” Hennessey Performance Engineering has answered your call. This is especially true if you are the owner of a 2010 Chevy Corvette ZR1. If you’re thinking — ‘Isn’t the 2010 Corvette ZR1 already the fastest and most powerful production Vette ever with 638 hp and supercar performance?’ — you are correct. But Hennessey believes that everyone should have an opportunity to step their ride up to the next level. Porsche 911 owners can purchase the GT3 RS, Dodge Viper drivers can grab the Viper ACR and now Corvette ZR1 enthusiasts can move up to the Hennessey Z700.

The Hennessey Z700 is dyno tuned to 705 bhp and 717 lb-ft of torque with the help of a new supercharger, upgraded exhaust and reworked air induction systems. The 2010 Corvette ZR1 is then put on a serious diet with the biggest reduction coming via the replacement of stock rims with ultra-lightweight carbon fiber wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires (which sheds 60 pounds). A Z-Aero carbon fiber front splitter, canards and rear spoiler add over 300 pounds of downforce. You also get a revised interior that includes carbon fiber seats along with an Alcantara steering wheel and shift knob.

Check it out sub5zero for more photos and information on this monster ride.

The news this year has been pretty grim for GM, but they have some good news this week as the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro hits what’s left of their showrooms. The car is beautiful, and it’s joining some other legendary car nameplates from the past as well.

The arrival of the 2010 Camaro in Chevrolet showrooms this week marks the replay of an automotive rivalry that goes back 35 years.

The Camaro is set to relive the ’60’s pony car wars with its historic rivals from Ford and Dodge. The Camaro versus Mustang versus Challenger rivalry is deeply etched into the popular psyche, with nameplate loyalty that goes back generations in some families.

Unlike humans, the cars have not mellowed with age. These muscle cars are sharper and better. While the new cars look a lot like the originals, they certainly don’t drive like them.

With these cars there is no reason to pine for “the good old days.” Although pre-pollution-control cars of the 60’s were quick, they can’t hold a candle to the new breed of pony cars. Not only do the new cars come with about the same amount of power, they get better gas mileage and produce a cleaner exhaust. They can handily out-handle, and out-brake their namesake.

Sales of the Camaro are hot, and they’re certainly helped by the incredible success of the new Transformers movie. The film has received some pretty bad reviews, but the cars are the stars, and that’s great news for GM.