Archive for category Chevrolet
A Small Surprise – Spark Chevrolet
Posted by in Chevrolet on June 30, 2011
Get completely ready for the most compact Chevrolet ever in your life. The Spark will be General Motors’ big surprise entry in the tiny car stakes, as well as possibly being a necessary sales spark with the actual come back of four dollar gasoline.
The economy may possibly be heading straight down, however fuel costs will be heading straight upwards. That is terrible information with regard to shoppers within a deepening economic downturn, however could possibly end up being a great chance for those auto producers which are ready for the expected come back of four dollar gasoline.
Auto producers such as General Motors, Although feverishly doing work in order to make a late-2010 debut date of the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, General Motors also plans a traditional innovative high-mpg Chevy which ought to cost much less than 1 / 2 as much as the actual forty thousand dollar, Volt. Named Spark, it is a front-wheel-drive four door hatchback actually more compact than Chevy’s Aveo subcompact vehicle. General Motors states Spark will start U.S. sale within the year 2010, apparently later in the calendar year, about the very same time period as the Volt.
Spark will be the type of reasonably priced fuel-miser that Washington lawmakers believe General Motors ought to be vending a whole lot more of–as they may possibly be required to do in keeping the conditions regarding granted government loans. However General Motors will not be trying to play politics. After all, the two thousand eleven Chevrolet Spark has been in the making prior to the automaker running out of funds. This will not do anything at all with regard to US jobs, because it is the product of GM Daewoo Auto Technologies located in South Korea, which additionally produces the Aveo.
The 2011 Chevrolet Spark will be an important intro for GM throughout the world. That is due to the fact it is the remodeled substitute for the Matiz minicar which anchors the Chevy collection within European countries and numerous growing markets. GM received the Matiz once it created GMDAT in 2002 through part of now non exsisting Daewoo Motors. GMDAT has turned in to 1 of 2 General Motors facilities for worldwide small-car design and style. In the process, it really is helping to make Chevrolet a top brand name within countries that know absolutely nothing of American-market hits such as the Malibu and Silverado. Read the rest of this entry »
Fun Drive – 2011 Chevrolet Cruze
Posted by in Chevrolet on June 30, 2011
A fun to drive compact Chevy!
It was back in August 2008 when I received an invitation from GM to travel to their Lordstown, Ohio, assembly plant complex to hear a speech by GM brass and see pictures of an upcoming compact car slated to replace the Chevrolet Cobalt.
I wasn’t able to attend–as it was the first day of school for my children–but I did follow the news from my North Carolina home/office. Judging by what was shared then I fully expected that GM would finally put the ghosts of so many forgettable compact car nameplates over the past 40 years to rest: Vega, Monza, Chevette, Cavalier, Cobalt and whatever GEO or Suzuki-inspired model that always seemed to fall short of the Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic, the perennial segment leaders.
Prizm? That was a Toyota Corolla, the very model it seeks to beat today.
Opel Inspired
Two years ago with GM bleeding billions of dollars monthly, I figured it was still possible for GM to get it right especially as the company went to great lengths to assure everyone that they would lean heavily on its Opel brand to build what is now known as the Chevrolet Cruze, a five-passenger C-segment sedan.
Bankruptcy, restructuring and four fewer brands later Chevrolet remains the cream of the GM crop, a brand now known in more than 130 markets. Indeed, 60 percent of all Chevrolets are now sold beyond the US and Canada underscoring the importance of the bow-tied moniker to the General globally.
Soon Debut
With the Cruze expected to show up in Chevrolet showrooms before the end of the third quarter, I was part of a group of journalists who were invited to Washington, D.C. to take part in their national roll out by driving the Cruze and its top competing models, the Civic and Corolla.
As a result of those drives, I had planned to give you a full review of the 2011 Chevrolet Cruze, but I realized that the car I drove was a “pre-production” model. The Lordstown assembly line was still weeks away from producing the cars customers will buy. Still, the cars I got a hold of confirmed what I expected: the Chevrolet Cruze is a game changer, not just for Chevrolet and General Motors, but for the compact car segment. Read the rest of this entry »
2011 Chevrolet Volt – Vehicle Electrification Initiative
Posted by in Chevrolet on June 30, 2011
Beginning December 2010, the Chevrolet Volt will be on sale in limited quantitites and in limited markets in the United States. This unique car, powered by a lithium-ion battery pack and supplemented by a 1.4-liter four cylinder engine, has been in the works for several years. The hype has far exceeded the product’s impact, nonetheless the Chevy Volt could eventually lay the groundwork for future vehicles utilizing what GM calls its Voltec technology.
Modern EV
What is so special about the Volt? Many things including that it will allow GM to finally say that it has built and sold an electric car. GM did build a modern electric car dubbed the EV1 beginning in the 1990s, but that program was canceled. GM never got beyond the test phase for those vehicles and received criticism for “killing the electric car” with some people suggesting a widespread conspiracy with the oil companies.
Conspiracy theory aside, the earlier electric vehicle or EV likely cost too much to produce and that technology wasn’t as advanced as what will be found in the Chevy Volt. For one, the lithium-ion battery pack is far superior than the nickel-cadmium pack used in the EV1, offering better range and lighter materials. In addition, the testing GM has been doing with the Volt demonstrates that the car won’t wilt under Arizona desert driving conditions or freeze up in a Minnesota winter.
Battery Power
The Volt shares the same platform underpinning its Chevrolet Cruze compact, but these two models are starkly different from each other. The Chevy Volt has a unique body, aerodynamically designed to enhance fuel economy at all times. As designed, the Volt will run on battery only power for the first 40 miles of drive before the supplemental gas engine kicks in. This extended range electric vehicle should be able to travel more than 340 miles on a full tank of gas and much further with additional fill ups. A nightly recharge will replenish the battery allowing the car to operate in electric-only mode once again.
So why buy a Volt and not a conventional hybrid vehicle such as the Toyota Prius or Honda Insight? Well, the Chevy Volt will offer far superior fuel economy, consuming less than half of the amount of gasoline the typical hybrid uses. In addition, when operating in electric-only mode, the Volt will emit zero emissions, something no hybrid can claim.
Volt Pricing
Certainly, the $41,000 price tag will limit the number of people willing to give the Volt a try. But, that price tag is reduced by $7,500 for people eligible to take the federal rebate. In addition, in some states, such as California, a $5,000 rebate is also available. That means your Volt, which will come with all of the amenities you want, will cost you about $28,500 plus license, taxes and tags. Read the rest of this entry »