chevrolet

2012 Cruze to get flash nav

The 2012 Chevy Cruze won't be out for months yet, but Cars.com already gleaned an option sheet from GM that shows the available navigation in the 2LT trim version going from the current hard-drive-based system to one with maps stored in flash memory, specifically an SD card. As such, the price of this option drops to $995.

The navigation change suggests the possibility of the 2012 Cruze getting Chevy's new MyLink system, which combines voice command with Bluetooth phone and MP3 player integration, and adds app integration for Pandora and Stitcher. MyLink has so far only been … Read more

10 car stars of movies and television

As common objects in everyday life, cars frequently appear in movies and television. But sometimes they show up with more impact, such as when a camera angle just happens to pick up the badge in the foreground, a character makes a comment about the car that has little to do with the story, or a whole fleet of the same type of car drives into view onscreen.

Automakers embrace movie and television tie-ins as a means of raising awareness for their brands and specific models. And with some movies, the product placement is baked in, such as the recent series of live-action "Transformers" movies with the Bumblebee Camaro. Similarly, the "Fast and The Furious" franchise is all about cars, so it is no surprise to see a Dodge Charger featured prominently. … Read more

New Hyundai Accent boasts 40 mpg highway

When you think subcompact, you're probably thinking giving up horsepower, cargo space, tech options, and safety. But this isn't so for the 2012 Hyundai Accent.

The new Accent comes in a smart four-door GLS spec and a sporty five-door hatch, in GS and SE trims. With a direct-injection 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, the Accent offers 138 horsepower at 6,300rpm and 123 pound-feet of torque at 4,850rpm.

The Accent four-door is slightly larger than its predecessor (3.5 inches longer and a wheelbase that's 2.8 inches longer). It also bests the Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, … Read more

2012 Chevrolet Cruze sees 2 mpg better fuel economy

The 2012 Chevrolet Cruze models with the 1.4L turbo and six-speed automatic transmission will get 2 mpg better fuel economy for a 38 mpg rating, the company announced on Wednesday.

The current model is rated at 36 mpg.

According to Chevrolet, a lower axle ratio for the 2012 models enables about a 5 percent increase in highway fuel efficiency for Cruze. The Cruze Eco with an automatic transmission will deliver as much as 39 mpg on the highway compared with 37 mpg for the current model.

Last month CNET reported that the 2011 Cruze Eco boasted a 42-mpg highway … Read more

Chevy source: New Corvette due in 2013

DETROIT--Chevrolet's redesigned Corvette will debut by the fall of 2013 as a 2014 model, according to a Chevrolet source.

The current Corvette will be offered for the 2012 model year and possibly an abbreviated 2013 model year, the source said.

Enthusiasts have eagerly awaited the redesign. The current version has been on the market since the 2005 model year, and sales have been slow in recent years.

A shortened model year would give the plant in Bowling Green, Ky., ample time to retool for the redesigned 2014 model.

Last year GM denied speculation that the redesigned car would have … Read more

Chevy Cruze ekes out 42 mpg

With a manual transmission, turbocharged engine, and front-wheel drive, you would expect a fast little canyon carver. But the Cruze Eco takes these standard features of the tuner set and turns them into hypermiler gear.

A miracle of turbocharging, the little 1.4-liter engine cranks out 138 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque. The Cruze Eco should help debunk the idea that good fuel economy means a gutless car. With that engine and a few tricks to shave weight and reduce drag, the Cruze Eco boasts a 42-mpg highway figure.

Chevy lets the car down a bit in the cabin … Read more

Nissan jabs Chevy Volt in latest ad

Given the hurdles they face in overcoming resistance to new technology, plug-in cars should show some solidarity. But in Nissan's latest ad promoting the Leaf EV, it takes a cheap shot at the Chevy Volt.

The Nissan Leaf ad, titled Gas-powered everything, imagines a world without batteries, where the sound of an alarm clock is eclipsed by the roar of its gas engine. A man talks on a cell phone spewing exhaust, and a jogger starts up an iPod with a pull start.

An office worker turns an ignition key on his computer, then revs it up with a … Read more

GM to add 110 jobs and invest $331 million in Arlington, Texas plant

General Motors today made another announcement regarding allocation of the $2 billion in U.S. plant investment.

The automaker will add 110 jobs and invest $331 million to purchase tooling and equipment and expand the Arlington Assembly Plant.

Currently, the plant's 2,400 hourly and salaried employees make Chevrolet Tahoes, Suburbans, GMC Yukons and Cadillac Escalades.

"This investment will allow us to continue building award-winning full-size SUVs that offer better fuel efficiency than ever before without sacrificing the features and functionality they've come to expect," GM Manufacturing Manager Larry Zahner said Thursday. "We remain committed … Read more

How GM cars got better

Lutz's memoir gives an insider's view of a dysfunctional culture and counterproductive process.

Even before he rode into General Motors as the product-development savior in 2001, Bob Lutz found himself being recruited for plots to take over the company.

There was Heinz Prechter, the ASC sunroof king who proposed that Lutz and ex-Chrysler executive Steve Miller join with him as a pre-assembled management team to buy shares and get the board to clean out management.

There was J.T. Battenberg, the former GM executive who undertook the thankless and ultimately impossible task of making money at Delphi Corp., … Read more

GM to use landfill gases as an energy-saver at Orion plant

General Motors has taken steps to make the Orion Assembly Plant even more energy efficient including using landfill gas to cut energy costs.

The plant will begin assembling the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano this fall. With an upgraded paint shop that is heated by natural and landfill gas, the painting process will use half of the energy per vehicle of the one it replaced. The system runs exclusively on landfill gas primarily to generate steam for heating and compressed air for most of the year.

According to GM, both the Sonic and Verano use a new eco paint … Read more