Chevrolet

Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray, 1963-1967 car review

The stunning 1963-67 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray still turns heads. Just imagine how much attention it drew when introduced for 1963. Some Corvette lovers maintain this 1960s ‘Vettte is the best Corvette ever built, or the best one that ever will be built. Maybe they’re right. I found my 1965 365-horsepower Sting Ray convertible was more fun to drive than the far more sophisticated current Corvettes — it was more of a pure sports car. The first Corvette — a 1953 model — was nearly identical to a General Motors auto show “dream car,” as concept cars were called then. It got such good showgoer reception GM decided to build it. It arrived in late 1953 with Polo White paint

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Chevrolet accelerates, Volt available nationally by fall 2011

The race for market shares of new buyers for hybrid and electric vehicles has intensified with the announcement Chevrolet has advanced its national rollout of the Volt. Chevrolet has been delivered Volts to customers in the Washington D.C. area, as well as California, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey and Texas. Customer deliveries in Michigan begin this spring. Customers nationwide will be able to order Volts with participating dealers beginning in the second quarter.  Deliveries will begin in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii in the third quarter. During the fourth quarter, Chevrolet expects to deliver Volts in all 50 states. “We’re accelerating our launch plan to have Volts in all participating Chevrolet

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Chevy Camaro gets familiar role as 2011 Indy 500 pace car

Chevrolet and the Indianapolis 500 aren’t quite synonymous, but they could be considering the long relationship with between the race and the brand. A prime example will occur Sunday, May 29 when a special edition of the Chevy Camaro convertible will serve as the official pace car of the 2011 Indy 500. The special edition and its 50 pace-car replicas will help commemorate the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 and Chevrolet’s centennial year. The pace car and replicas are painted white with orange stripes and door graphics. The interior is trimmed in orange leather and the front- seat headrests are embossed with the Indy 500 logo. The instrument panel trim even features extensions of the orange exterior stripes that

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Chevy Volt gets reality check, like maybe its own TV show?

Clever 30-second television ads during the Super Bowl and other major telecasts are fine, and General Motors will return next month with spots for the biggest one-day event in sport. Sponsorship of pro sports is fine, too. General Motors is back this season sponsoring the PGA Tour after ending its relationship with embattled Tiger Woods, then world’s top-ranked player, as its spokesman for Buick. But GM has bigger plans. According to Steve Tihanyi, GM’s director of sports and entertainment, the carmaker is seeking to capitalize on the increasing popularity of reality TV. According to a Reuters interview with Tihanyi at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, GM is in discussion with a reality TV producer about the inclusion

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Kia Optima tops BMW, Honda, Chevy, Nissan for Cars.com Best of 2011 award

Kia, the once not-so touted cousin of the equally once not-so lauded Hyundai, has joined its midsize brethren in the honors line. Cars.com has given the Kia Optima its “Best of 2011” award. The editors of the web site cited the Optima’s outstanding fuel economy overall driving. Hyundai, which owns Kia, has received its share of honors for its Sonata and other vehicles in the Korean manufacturer’s lineup. The editors of Cars.com said: “With its value, sharp packaging, outstanding fuel efficiency and lofty features, the Optima gives all family-car shoppers a shot at something far more compelling than the segment represents.” The BMW 5 Series, Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Volt (recently named North American Car of the Year), Honda Odyssey and

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Chevy Volt, Ford Explorer take Detroit Auto Show top honors

The Chevrolet Volt plug-in electric car and Ford Explorer claimed top honors as the North American car and truck of the years honors at the Detroit Auto Show. The Volt, the General Motors’ centerpiece contribution to the advancing green car industry, has already earned the 2011 Green Car of the Year and Motor Trend Magazine’s Car of the Year. It edged the Nissan Leaf and the Hyundai Sonata for the Car of the Year award, voted on by a panel of 49 automotive journalists. Ford Motor Co’s latest incarnation of its Explorer sport utility vehicle was named 2011 Truck of the Year, edging the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Dodge Durango. It was the third year in a row that

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Ford counters Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt with Focus Electric

Ford Motor Company has unveiled the Focus Electric — the automaker’s first all-electric passenger car. The zero-CO2-emissions, gasoline-free version of Ford’s popular small car is the flagship of the company’s growing fleet of hybrid, plug-in hybrid and all-electric vehicles coming to North America and Europe by 2013. The Focus Electric will launch in late 2011 and offer a mile-per-gallon equivalent better than Chevrolet Volt and competitive with other battery electric vehicles, according to Ford. A full recharge is expected to take three to four hours at home with the 240-volt charge station — half the charge time of the Nissan Leaf. Ford will be partnering with Best Buy and the Geek Squad for installation and servicing of a two-part charging

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Honda, Lexus, Chevrolet dominate Kiplinger's/Yahoo Cars of the Decade list

The Toyota Prius and Chevrolet Corvette couldn’t be more different. And likewise, there’s nothing similar between a BMW 3 Series and a Honda Odyssey. Unless, of course, Kiplinger’s magazine and Yahoo.com happen to be compiling a list of the cars of the decade. With a vast number of vehicles from which to choose in the past decade, how could the publications possible select the top-10 cars of the decade. The Prius, for example, was selected with the following description: “When the Prius made its U.S. debut in 2001, it barely registered a blip in the auto industry. But then the Hollywood green crowd adopted the little gas-electric hybrid as a symbol of saving the planet. “Ten years and two redesigns

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Audi, Ford, Lexus on The Weekly Driver's 2010 Best List

Recall was likely the most used word in the automotive industry in 2010. Toyota topped the list of manufacturers’ whose cars were retrieved by the millions with myriad issues. Regardless, of the 20 million recalls. it was another remarkable year for cars. The Hyundai Sonata for the first time in some monthly totals outsold the Honda Accord. The Chevy Camaro returned in 2009 as a 2010 model. Honda introduced the attention-grabbing Crosstour and discontinued the Element. The Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf made their public debuts amid an enormous public relations joust and with the future of hybrid and electric vehicles still largely unclear. The specialty car market was constantly in the news. Premium prices were dished out at auctions

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Chevrolet Corvette Z06 2011 car review

Nearing its 60th birthday, the Chevrolet Corvette is arguably the most highly recognized and popular production sports car built in North America. The current-generation Corvette debuted in 2005, with the carmaker amending the vehicle with various trims and tweaks in recent years. For 2011, Chevy introduced a mid-step between the base model Z06 and top-of-the line ZR1. It’s a Z06 featuring for the first time an upgrade offering select ZR1 features like an adaptive suspension, grippier Michelin tires and a carbon fiber package. The result is a trio of impressive statistics: 505 horsepower, a top speed of 198 mph and the designation as the lightest Corvette at 3,178 pounds. The Weekly Driver Test Drive After reviewing around 300 cars and

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Chevrolet Cruze 2011 car review

American automakers mostly concentrated on building large cars and trucks because that’s where the money was, and that was what most of their customers wanted. But the federal government is mandating that car companies build more fuel-stingy (and thus less-polluting) vehicles. And a growing number of Americans are accepting such models, partly because they’ve had a few bad gas price scares in recent years and because above-average domestic small models finally are being built. Thus we have General Motors’ new compact Chevrolet Cruze sedan, which has been sold for more than a year in Europe. It will be marketed throughout the globe, while being modified for each region and carrying different badges. With all its competition, the front-drive Cruze should

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Chevrolet nears 100, Camaro to Volt, Cruze to Impala

Founded by Louis Chevrolet, a Swiss-born race car driver, and William Durant, the founder of General Motors, Chevrolet Motor Car Co. was incorporated in November 1911 and acquired by GM in 1917. Also known as Chevy, Chevrolet is GM’s highest-selling vehicle brand. Many iconic and unique cars, some short-lived, others offered in Europe, Asia or in South America but not in North America, have been part of the Chevrolet brand. Consider, for example, the new Agile (General Motors, Brazil) or the Yeoman station wagon (manufactured in 1958 only). Chevrolet was considered an entry level division, but it changed in the 1950s with the addition of power brakes, power windows and air-conditioning as available features. It was also during the 1950s

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Chevrolet seeks boom for Aveo after name change to Sonic

What’s in a name? Chevrolet is hoping there’s a lot since its changing the name of of its entry level Aveo to Sonic for the North American market. The Aveo, introduced into the U.S. market about a decade ago, has received mixed reviews, with some automotive publications naming it the worst car on the road. Consequently, the Aveo joined siblings Vega, Chevette and Prizm on Chevy’s under achieving list. However, Chris Perry, vice president of U.S. marketing for Chevrolet, calls the Sonic “a new beginning for Chevrolet in the small car segment” that warrants a new name. “The new car is roomy, stylish and fun to drive, and Sonic is a youthful, energetic name that helps convey what this vehicle

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Most Unsafe Cars in History: Ford Pinto to Chevrolet Corvair

The Chevrolet Corvair earned the dubious honor in part when the book “Unsafe At Any Speed” paid homage to its horrible reputation for crashing disasters. The Ford Pinto is on the list because its gas tank was in the optimal place for exploding after even a minor accident. What these cars and eight other infamous vehicles have in common is that they’ve been selected as the Most Dangerous Cars In History. The websites, The Consumerist. and Auto Shippers.com have combined to present a list of common vehicles and some not so common that earn honors they’d prefer not have. The subjective list, according to The Consumerist.com, was compiled when “Auto Shippers combed through the auto industry’s storied history of catastrophic

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Ten great, cheap 2011 cars, Ford Fiesta to VW Golf

The automotive industry is flush with inexpensive, economical, quality cars. The online business site, CNNMoney.com has compiled an impressive list of 10 cars, the Ford Fiesta to Honda Fit, all with entry level prices of under $18,000. In its assessment of the Chevy Cruze, for example, the website editors write: “General Motors makes a really nice small car. The best thing about the Chevy Cruze is that it looks, feels and drives like a real car. It’s not one of those “be happy-you-even-have-a-car” tin cans on wheels. “The interior is made from better-than-you-paid-for stuff while the ride quality and performance are, likewise, a notch above. Most small car buyers are after practicality and comfort, not kicks, and the Cruze delivers

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World Series: GM will debut Chevy Volt, Cruze campaign

The Super Bowl is the most prestigious and most expensive advertising avenue for automakers, but the World Series may be the second most important broadcast exposure opportunity. At least General Motors thinks it will be the best time to promote the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid. The advertising campaign for the Volt, GM’s most touted new vehicle, will begin during the major league baseball’s pinnacle event and will be part of a broad campaign that Chevrolet will run throughout autumn, according to Joel Ewanick, GM’s marketing director. Ewanick said the ad “would remind viewers of Chevrolet’s nearly 100-year heritage and the place in American culture that the brand shares with baseball.” GM is scheduled to begin production of the Volt for

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