Chevrolet Industry News Cars

The automotive market has changed so much over the last 15 years, and its constant evolution is taking us to places we never expected and showing us things we never thought we’d see. After Ford and Chevy integrated modern four-cylinder engines into the Mustang and Camaro, it was only a matter of time before the led to even stranger things, and in this case, that’s a four-cylinder Silverado. Chevy has announced that the 2019 Chevy Silverado will be offered with a 2.7-liter, turbocharged, four-cylinder. In fact, it’s not only offering it but listing it as standard equipment on the entry-level LT and the RST. Both come exclusively with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The Chevrolet Bolt EV is a five-door all-electric hatch bubble released just a few years ago for the 2017 model year. Now, rumor has it GM has a new-gen in the works, but apparently, it won’t see the light of day for at least another seven years.

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It looks like sedans are slowly getting extinct. We have seen the Volvo S80 and the Mitsubishi Lancer being discontinued in 2017, and next in line are sedans from Chevrolet and Ford. According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, Ford and GM will drop a number of sedans as crossovers have become the priority choice of consumers. Which cars are these? Read on to know.

Ford and General Motors are doing a little house cleaning, and a few models from each brand are expected to get discarded in the near future. On the chopping block on Ford’s end are the Taurus and the Fiesta. They’re expected to be joined by the Chevrolet Sonic after a Wall Street Journal report revealed that all three models are now on borrowed time in the U.S.

It didn’t take but 4.5 seconds after Cadillac unveiled the CT6 V-Sport before word spread about that Chevy will use that 4.2-liter, Biturbo, V-8 in the upcoming mid-engined Zora ZR1 Chevy Corvette. After all, why not? It has 550 horsepower and 627 pound-feet of torque, right? Well, those rumors were put to bed quickly after President of Cadillac, John de Nysschen, went on record saying “Just Quit the Speculation it’s headed for the Corvette. It’s Not.” And, he even made a good point when he said that the Corvette has a different kind of character. So what’s the real reason why Chevy won’t use Cadillac’s new V-8?

With rumors of a forthcoming mid-engine Corvette continuing to swirl, some folks are poking around to see what Chevy might mount when it comes to motivation. Cadillac’s recently debuted twin-turbo V-8 might fit the bill, but according to Cadillac president John de Nysschen, that’s simply not gonna happen.

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Ali Reda is proof that the key to success is hustle. A lot of hustle. The car salesman from the Les Stanford Chevrolet Cadillac dealership in Dearborn, Michigan reportedly sold 1,530 cars in 2017. According to the Detroit Free Press, Reda’s achievement gives him a legitimate shot at entering the Guinness Book of World Records provided that his sales numbers are verified. Unfortunately, not everyone’s celebrating Reda’s remarkable achievement as the current record-holder, Joe Girard, is already challenging those numbers.

Chevrolet did well for itself in January 2018 when it moved 141,947 units for the whole month. That represents an increase of five percent from its sales total in the same month a year before. Good stuff. Unfortunately, the Bowtie didn’t do as well in the U.K. For the entire month of January — that’s 31 days — Chevrolet sold a grand total of one unit across the pond. One. One!

General Motors has apparent plans to keep the current-generation 2018 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 in production while simultaneously building and selling the all-new, 2019 versions. GM has tapped its Oshawa plant in Canada to continue production while its other plants in the U.S. and Mexico will build the new model.

“This strategy will help us meet customer demand as we transition our production and introduce our exciting new models into the market starting later in 2018,” said Jennifer Wright, a GM Canada spokeswoman to Automotive News Canada. “The length of the program in Oshawa will be dependent on market demand.”

For anyone who has followed the auto industry, this news isn’t surprising, especially for GM. Most recently, GM built both the previous and new generation of Equinox crossover and Jeep plans to do the same with the outgoing Wrangler JK while the new 2018 Wrangler JL’s production is ramping up. Automotive News reports that even the current Ram 1500 will continue production alongside the next-generation Ram 1500 when it begins assembly in early 2018.

As for the Oshawa’s future, Canada’s Unifor union president Jerry Dias, told AN, “They are being very careful about what they are announcing right now. But they have invested a fortune in Oshawa. Right now the commitment is to the existing portfolio. More decisions will be made.”

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Living in Australia and feeling depressed over Holden being shut down? Can’t get your V-8 fix now that Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) is no longer building cool, beefed-up versions of the Commodore? Well, here’s some good news for ya: HSV just announced that it will convert the Camaro SS to right-hand drive for the Australian market starting 2018. The announcement is part of a new agreement struck between HSV and Holden, which will work together to bring new GM vehicles Down Under. The brands also unveiled a joint logo that now contains the lion and helmet used by Holden and HSV in the past.

The Camaro will be brought to Australia in SS trim, powered by the naturally aspirated, 6.2-liter V-8. No four-cylinder or V-6 options, but also no ZL1. It will also be the higher-level 2SS version with various performance and convenience upgrades. No info on pricing yet, but expect it to be more expensive than the competing Ford Mustang GT after the right-hand-drive conversion. Production will begin in July 2018.

Alongside the Camaro SS, HSV will also modify the the Colorado and heavy-duty Silverado 2500HD for right-hand-drive use. The Colorado will also wear a "SportsCat" badge and will continue to use a Holden logo as it did until now. The Silverado 2500HD, on the other hand, will sold as a Chevrolet, just like the Camaro SS. The Colorado will be available in two versions, but none will get more power. However, a hotter version of the truck is likely to be followed as a direct rival for the upcoming Ford Ranger Raptor. The Colorado SportsCat will go into production in late January as HSV first Chevrolet conversion. Silverado conversions will commence in April 2018.

Recently revealed in successive events in Dubai and Los Angeles, the ZR1 Coupe and Convertible are absolute beasts, rocking the most power and highest top speed of any production ‘Vette ever created. But this synthesis of all-American muscle and race-bred performance wasn’t the culmination of some drawn-out development process. Rather, it was more of a spur-of-the-moment kinda thing, as confirmed by Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter in a recent interview with GM Authority.

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Being an employee of a fast food chain doesn’t traditionally come with a lot of perks. But just in case you’re an employee of Taco Bell, you should know that you qualify for a discount of a little more than $4,000 on a Chevrolet Corvette. Turns out, employees of the fast food restaurant are considered suppliers to General Motors. That designation means that you’re eligible for discounts under GM’s Supplier Pricing scheme. It’s not just the Corvette either as a significant number of models under the Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Cadillac model are included in the discount program.

Chevrolet has a big celebration coming up – it’s turning 100 in 2018. As part of the automaker’s year-long hubbub, Chevy is promoting is recently launched Truck Legends program. Basically, it’s a club for those who own a Chevrolet. But not just anybody can get into the club, even if they’re wearing a bowtie. Members must have a Chevy with more than 100,000 miles on the clock. Also welcome are those who have purchased or leased more than one new Chevy in their lifetime. But wait, there are more stipulations.

Not every Chevy qualifies. This is the Truck Legends program, after all.

Of course, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and Heavy Duty qualifies – I mean, what’s more Chevy than that? Included are Chevy C/K trucks that pre-date the Silverado name. The Colorado makes the cut too, as does the old S-10 that came before it. The Avalanche is also included. And Chevy would be amiss if it didn’t include the Tahoe and Suburban, the latter of which is the oldest vehicle nameplate in existence that has been in continuous production since its inception. The first Suburban rolled off the assembly line in 1935, making it only 17 years younger than the Chevrolet brand.

So what’s being a member of the Truck Legends mean? Besides bragging rights, the free membership gives you access to exclusive memorabilia like can include customized decals with mileage milestones and the number of Chevys a member has owned. Members are also eligible for giveaways like premium concert and Major League Baseball tickets. Dealerships can also offer special incentives to Truck Legends members not available to the general public. New members can join the more than 5,400 existing members at the Chevy Truck Centennial celebration December 16, 2017, at the Texas Motor Speedway to meet celebrities like Dale Earnhardt Jr. while getting to see Chevy’s latest products.

And while Chevy didn’t mention it, those who attend the December event might be seeing the next-generation Silverado. The 2019 model could very well debut at the L.A. Auto Show in late November. As for you Chevy Blazer, Trailblazer, SSR, or LUV owners, it doesn’t seem your body-on-frame truck is truck enough for Chevy’s truck club. For those who are truck enough, you can join here.

Part of what makes the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1 LE such a potent piece of machinery is that it’s bleeding in aerodynamic equipment. Compare to the “standard’ ZL1, the 1LE version looks and performs like it’s from a completely different planet altogether. And yet, it is this very feature of the Camaro ZL1 1LE that has made it impossible to own in Europe. That’s because according to Motor Trend, Chevrolet can’t sell the ZL1 1LE in that region because the dive planes in the car violate Europe’s pedestrian safety laws.

It may sound trivial to ban a car because of one piece of aerodynamic component, but the way those dive plans, or canards, stretch out does make you wonder if they can clip a pedestrian who’s standing a little to close to the car when it drives by. Then again, Chevrolet itself can’t just take out those dive planes just so it can sell the car in Europe. They play an important role in enhancing the Camaro ZL1 1 LE’s aerodynamic capabilities, not the least of which is its ability to work with the splitter and the carbon fiber wing to create as much as 300 pounds of downforce at speeds of 155 mph. Without the dive plans, the Camaro ZL1 1LE is effectively comprised of the very features that make it the most track-capable Camaro ever created. Tough luck then to our European friends, although it does feel like a little bit of fair play considering that we were shut out of getting cars like the Ford Focus RS and Honda Civic Type R for so long.

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Back in May, we brought you news about Chevy’s Corvette factory and its 18-month shutdown of public tours beginning in June. At the time, Corvette expert and trusted source, Mike Furman, sent out an e-mail saying giving us a number of possibilities as to why the tours were being shut down. The distinct possibilities included the retooling of the factory to produce the mid-engined Corvette ZR1 “Zora” and the possibility that GM is switching from pushrod engines to DOHC engines. I personally speculated that it could be both – GM is trying to hide as much as it can about the ZR1, with tours obviously a serious threat to the way information is leaked these days and the switch to DOHC being a huge undertaking. Keep in mind that the ZR1 will also be based on the C7 instead of the upcoming C8, so it’s possible that GM is preparing the factory for C8 production. Now, as we approach fall and August is ready to kick off, GM is shutting down the Bowling Green plant. The shutdown is going to last through the month of October – something that is also causing a halt of all new Corvette orders until further notice.

So, what is the shutdown really for? Well, that’s still a mystery as far as we’re concerned, but according to spokesperson Ron Kiino, the reason revolves around the building of a new paint shop that is said to be state of the art. That’s the most official information we’ve heard about the shutdown so far, but is it just a front as GM begins to shift toward building DOHC engines or the C8? It’s hard to say, but shutting down an entire factory, just to build a new paint shop seems a little sketchy to us. For what it’s worth, the shutdown doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t be able to get a Corvette for the next three months. You won’t be able to order a 2018 model, but GM currently has 14,700 Corvettes in stock as of July 1, 2017. That’s the word from the Automotive News Data Center, and it does make sense considering such a long halt to production. So, what’s it all mean for those looking to buy a Vette in the next couple of months? Keep reading to learn more about it.

Chevrolet Corvette Z06 owners have filed a class-action lawsuit against General Motors for overheating issues that cause the sports car to go into "limp mode" after only 15 minutes of track use. The lawsuit, filed in June by automaker-suing firm Hagens Berman, claims that a cooling system malfunction can put the Corvette Z06 into "limp mode," which drastically reduces the car’s power and speed. After only 15 minutes, which is by no means what you expect when you buy a car that can cost in excess of $100,000. What’s more, it turns out that the Z06 can go into limp mode on public roads too, which eliminates the scenario that this is an issue for customers who take their sports car to the track.

As is it the case with cooling system defects, the issue is also prone to do damage to important engine components, which adds costly repair bills to an already frustrating experience. The issue affects model-year 2015 to 2017 cars and Hagens Berman estimates that around 30,000 units may suffer from this problem. The lawsuit also claims that General Motors breached state and federal laws and it seeks financial damages for the owners.

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This week finds a 2017 Chevrolet Cruze Hatchback sitting in my driveway, which is honestly exciting. Sure, it’s no supercar or attention-grabbing luxury barge, but it’s the successor to my wife’s car, a 2012 Chevy Cruze LT. Being slightly self-serving, the wife and I went for a drive to see how the new Cruze stacks up. Who knows, perhaps the new Cruze Hatch could satisfy her craving for a crossover with more room. Things were going well, but it didn’t take long to discover the new Cruze feels doggishly slow.

How can this be? Chevy reengineered the Cruze from the lugnuts up for 2016 with a lighter chassis and lighter drivetrain components, including the supposedly more powerful 1.4-liter EcoTec four-cylinder turbo. Those changes carry over to the new-for-2017 Cruze Hatchback, including the all-aluminum EcoTec’s 153 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. Her Cruze’s iron-block 1.4-liter turbo only makes 138 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque. Chevy says the Cruze Hatch weighs roughly 2,900 pounds. That’s a big reduction from the 2012 Cruze’s curb weight of 3,126 pounds. So what gives?

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The concept of ride sharing and the basis for Maven is pretty sweet. Do you live in a big city and need your own whip for a day? Maven’s got you. Are you a college student that needs to take a trip off campus for the day? Well, you’re covered too. It’s not a bad setup. Use an app to choose a car, then use your phone to unlock the car, start the engine, and take your trip – as long as you return the car in the same condition in which you received it, it’s a pretty viable option if you really just need a car for the day. Now, Maven has launched a new program called “Maven Gig.” This program works by allowing you to rent a vehicle for a week at a time, and you can even use it for your side gigs – that means freelance jobs like food delivery services and even Uber. And, it has just added the Chevy Bolt as the initial offering for this program. So, what’s the catch? Well, if you use it more than once in a great while, you’re an idiot.

Seriously, I’m not trying to be rude, but the pricing for a week’s rental for a Chevy Bolt EV comes out to be $229. That’s really not bad if you’re in a jam because your car is broken down or otherwise indisposed of at the moment. But, if it’s something that you use frequently, you’re just spending way too much money. If you do the math, that computes to an average of $992 a month or $11,908 a year. That’s for the use of a car that you can buy, at the time of this writing, for $29,995 after a federal tax credit. In fairness, that weekly rental charge of $229 includes insurance, maintenance, and unlimited miles. We haven’t sat down and computed what it would cost to buy a Bolt EV and insure it at the same time, but something tells us that it’s not going to set you back nearly $1,000 to do so.

Chevy’s highly anticipated Colorado ZR2 is finally arriving in dealership showrooms. The first shipment of ZR2s took place on Friday, April 28, headed from the Colorado’s assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri. Sales of pre-ordered trucks begin early May. The Colorado ZR2 combines increased ground clearance, a wider track, and locking differentials with high-tech Spool Valve shock absorbers to overcome high-speed obstacles. The ZR2 is the first-ever application of Spool Valves in anything outside supercars and dedicated racecars.

Among the first to receive their ZR2 will be Hall Racing. Owner and driver Chad Hall will compete in the upcoming 2017 Best in the Desert race series with a ZR2 modified to pass safety and tech inspections. Hall chose a Red Hot Crew Cab ZR2 fitted with the standard 3.6-liter V-6 and eight-speed automatic transmission. Optionally, the ZR2 is offered as an Extended Cab and with the 2.8-liter Duramax four-cylinder turbodiesel. Hall will compete in BITD’s Vegas to Reno leg sponsored by General Tire on August 18 and 19, along with the VT Construction Tonopah 250 presented by Polaris on October 19 through 22.

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Chevrolet is expanding its range of commercial-grade trucks with the new Low Cab Forward 6500XD. This medium-duty truck isn’t found at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, but that doesn’t make it any less important. Rather, it helps General Motors expand it reach into the commercial segment, thanks in part to Isuzu.

This isn’t the first Low Cab Forward Chevy has announced. GM re-entered the LCF segment in 2015 thanks to that partnership with Isuzu. A longtime player in the LCF market, Isuzu benefitted from GM’s extensive sales and servicing departments. The duo launched several flavors of the LCF, including the 3500, 3500HD, 4500, 4500HD, 5500, and 5500HD models – each coming with several engine options and wheelbase lengths.

The new 6500XD features a taller suspension and frame, making it compatible with loading docks. It comes powered by an Isuzu-sourced 5.2-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel making 520 pound-feet of torque. It’s backed by an Allison 2500 Series, six-speed automatic transmission with a power take-off unit. Heavy-duty Dana axles are present, too. Eight wheelbase lengths are available, ranging from 16 feet to 30 feet, allowing the 6500XD to be upfitted with a 30-foot box. Payload ratings range from 11,374 pounds up to 13,786 pounds, while the gross vehicle weight rating sits at 25,950 pounds. Axle ratings are 12,000 pounds up front and 19,000 pounds out back.

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