Chevrolet News
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Chevy's Sonic marked a huge step up in quality and performance from its Aveo predecessor, but until now customers wanting the automatic transmission have been denied the turbocharged engine, and turbo fans have only had a manual option. That's set to change, as Chevrolet is now offering its 1.4-liter Ecotec turbocharged gasoline engine with either manual or automatic transmission. The turbocharged Sonic offers a great mix of performance and economy, with a 0-60 mph time of only 7.8 seconds, but the potential for 40 MPG highway economy, and 29 in the city. With the automatic transmission...
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Could Opel Ampera Outsell Its Sibling The 2012 Chevrolet Volt?Orders have been coming in ahead of projections for the European Opel Ampera, but sales prospects may be looking up in the U.S. too for GM's range-extended electric car.
John Voelcker -
Chevrolet Spark EV Tested In California, Details UnavailableIt used to be that testing prototype and development cars was done in secret, under heavy camouflage, away from photographers. Now it's a public relations ploy, it seems, complete with QR codes on the sides of distinctively marked engineering vehicles and a promotional blog entry. So if you see...
John Voelcker -
Skeptical About The Chevy Volt? In CA, GM May Loan You OneThere's a saying that the best way to convince someone he wants an electric car is to let him drive one. In light of lower-than-projected Chevrolet Volt sales and continued media misinformation about the car's capabilities, GM is taking that lesson to heart. In Southern California, members of the...
John Voelcker -
2012 Chevrolet Volt Enters 2012 Monte Carlo Alternative Energy RallyOver the past five years, the Monte Carlo Alternative Energy Rally -- now called the Rallye Monte-Carlo Des Énergies Nouvelles -- has enjoyed increasing popularity as more automakers and private entrants tackle the eco-minded version of the world-famous Rally Monte Carlo. For the past two...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Is Chevy Volt Vitriol Simply Toyota Prius-Bashing Rehashed?What goes around comes around, and you need look no further than the auto industry for proof. Model names can be mothballed for decades before reappearing. Features and styling cues make comebacks, with mixed success--all the marketing in the world can’t make Ventiports modern today. Less...
Thomas Bey -
If the Chevy Volt is a sales failure, you'd never know it from the guy who runs General Motors. At a meeting of Volt owners in San Francisco yesterday, GM's CEO Dan Akerson said unequivocally that the company was standing behind its halo plug-in electric car. "We are not backing away from this product," he told the assembled Volt owners. Akerson had earlier said, both during a Congressional hearing and on GM's VoltAge blog, that the Volt was designed as a safe, state-of-the-art car, not a "political punching bag." "Although we loaded the Volt with state-of-the-art safety features, we did not...
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2012 Opel Ampera (Chevy Volt) Wins European Car Of The YearThe 2012 Chevrolet Volt -- along with its European twin -- have just been chosen as 2012 European Car Of The Year. Beating the Volkswagen Up, Toyota Yaris, Fiat Panda, Range Rover Evoque, Ford Focus and Citroën DS5, the plug-in range extended electric vehicle becomes the second plug-in car to...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Chevy Volt Production To Halt For 5 Weeks Due To OversupplyLate Friday afternoon, Chevrolet announced it would idle production of its Volt range-extended electric car for five weeks, from March 19 to April 23. The story was first reported by the Detroit Free Press; GM informed the 1,300 assembly-line workers at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant of the shutdown...
John Voelcker -
2013 Chevy, GMC Natural Gas Bi-Fuel Pickup Trucks AnnouncedGeneral Motors announced today it will offer bi-fuel versions of its 2013 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks that run either on gasoline or natural gas. The two trucks are the 2500 HD (heavy duty) model, and can be ordered in rear-wheel or four-wheel drive and with a standard or long...
John Voelcker -
How Much Myth-Busting Will The Chevy Cruze Diesel Need?Europeans love diesel cars. For them, diesels are robust, get great gas mileage, and in some places, cost less to run. Traditionally, Americans distrust diesel passenger cars. With the exception of the few percent of car buyers who drive around in oil-burning cars from companies like Volkswagen...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Obama: I’ll Buy A Chevy Volt After My Presidency EndsEver since Barack Obama became president in 2008, he hasn’t been given much chance to drive a car, let alone own one. But when his presidency ends, Mr. Obama knows exactly what car he wants to buy as his post-presidential ride -- a plug-in Chevrolet Volt. “Five years from now when...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
John McDole, the inventor behind the Volt gun rack, shares his thoughts on the Volt, its critics and the politics surrounding the car.
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HOV-Lane Eligible Chevy Volts On Sale In California Next WeekEarlier today,General Motors confirmed that it has restarted production of the 2012 Chevrolet Volt at its Detroit Hamtramck facility. In addition, the automaker has confirmed that it is now producing Californian-market Volts, complete with a low emissions package that enables them to qualify for...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Truth-Telling Snopes Site Goes To Bat Over Chevy Volt E-MailGet any good e-mails lately? Maybe a chain letter that alleges how pathetically expensive the Chevy Volt is supposed to be? Well, there's one going around--it's called "Cost to operate a Chevy Volt"--and yesterday, the investigative site Snopes.com dived into the ugly politics around the Chevrolet...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Volts And Gun Racks: A Right-Winger's PerspectiveCan a Republican firearms instructor also love the series-hybrid Chevrolet Volt? The author says yes.
Kurt Ernst -
Gingrich, Here’s Five More Things You Can Fit In A Chevy VoltGOP Presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich may have jibed earlier this week that you can’t fit a gun rack in a 2012 Chevrolet Volt, but after he was proven wrong by a resourceful Volt owner, it got us thinking. What else can you fit in a Chevy Volt? Here’s five things you should easily be...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel: More Details Released By GMUntil now, there wasn't much official information about the upcoming diesel version of Chevy's Cruze compact sedan beyond the fact that it existed. Lots of reporters--us included--covered the diesel Cruze model that's been sold in Europe for a while now. We described that car's 2.0-liter...
John Voelcker -
Real Americans only drive pickup trucks (imported oil be damned). It's obvious because slaps at green cars and fuel-economy rules have become a staple of political campaigning among certain candidates. Yesterday, Newt Gingrich mocked the current Administration's promotion of fuel-efficient cars in a speech at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. According to Talking Points Memo, Gingrich said, "Let me start from a simple premise that Oklahomans will understand: you cannot put a gun rack in a Volt." It's eerily reminiscent of then-Texas Governor Rick Perry's July 2008 sneer that you...
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New Chevy Volt Ad Hits Back At Critics With 'Just The Facts'To say the Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car has become a political punching bag would be to understate the obvious. Now, GM is slowly, carefully trying to get the facts about the Volt out to the public at large, hoping to win hearts and minds in a larger battle involving electric cars...
John Voelcker -
Get A Bullfrog With Your Volt? In Canada, It's Not What It SeemsIf you think that the Chevrolet Volt Bullfrog Power Edition sounds like a rather odd limited edition model, we can understand the confusion. It's nothing to do with the green, hopping creature though, nor is Bullfrog Power an aesthetically-challenged superhero. Instead, it's a 100 percent green...
Antony Ingram -
Friendly Fire: Chevrolet's Cruze Stunting Volt Sales?Is the Chevrolet Volt being outshone by its own little brother? The Wall Street Journal suggests that - just like millions of Americans - the Volt is a victim of some good, old-fashioned sibling rivalry - at the hands of the Chevrolet Cruze. On the face of it, there's not a lot of reason that the...
Antony Ingram -
2012 Volt Cheaper To Own Than 2012 Leaf, Says Kelley Blue BookThe 2012 Chevrolet Volt might cost nearly $5,000 cheaper more than the 2012 Nissan Leaf, but over the next five years, it might cost you less to run. At least, that’s the verdict of Kelley Blue Book (KBB) which crowned the 2012 Chevy Volt the electric choice in its inaugral Total Cost of...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
What's Wrong With Chevy Volt Ads & How To Fix ThemPeople are rarely lukewarm about the Chevrolet Volt. Like health-care reform or pajama jeans, the Volt inspires love, loathing, and little in-between. That hasn't exactly helped Volt sales, which aren't yet living up to expectations, but fans insist that the car itself isn't the problem. They blame...
Richard Read