Austin, Texas, home to the “Keep Austin Weird” campaign, is preparing for one of the hottest gatherings around – the annual South By Southwest Film, Interactive and Music festival – March 12-21. The breakdown is such: Interactive: March 12-16 Film: March 12-20 Music: March 17-21 Corporate sponsors have jumped on board and this year that includes Chevrolet, who seeks to showcase the automaker’s embracing of the social media world.
I admit I am old school and I apologize … for nothing. I learned to type (originally) on a manual typewriter and perfected that craft on an IBM Selectric. I learned to drive in the family station wagon, before I had to wear a seatbelt. I still look forward to receiving the National Geographic magazine in the mail each month (although for slightly different reasons than when I was a young lad), and I get my hair cut by a barber. And I still LOVE Camaros. Sure, I have adopted modern technology into my current lifestyle and life stage, and…
Once again automakers rolled out some eye candy at the annual North American International (Detroit) Auto Show. And once again it leaves many of us wondering which of the vehicles on display will actually make it into production, will they be affordable and are they really practical. Inspired by this, I am rolling out a list of 10 things to watch in 2010.
This past calendar year has been an active one in the automotive industry. The federal government moved in to assist two of Detroit’s brands survive into the new year. We saw severe budget cuts, inventory and dealership reductions, reorganizations and a renewed push towards a “greener” future. As we prepare for 2010, much is still the same. Politicians are still politicians, we still have loved ones defending the world on foreign soil and consumers are still buying cars and trucks. Before the world turns the calendar to the “green teens,” here is a look back at some highlights – my…
I bought a Prius over the summer. Halfway through the test drive, my fiancee asked the salesman if he was aware that electric cars have caused issues for blind pedestrians since they don’t hear the cars coming. His response (after an awkward silence where he no doubt considered whether his answer would lose him the sale) was “Well, it comes with a horn.”
We told you it was coming, and now General Motors and OnStar report the first successful use of their Stolen Vehicle Slowdown technology to end a carjacking in California. Onstar Stolen Vehicle Slowdown Helps Recover Carjacked Vehicle, Prevents High-Speed Chase Law Enforcement Officials Credit Service with Fast and Safe Recovery of 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe GM and OnStar announce the use of OnStar’s Stolen Vehicle Slowdown (SVS) service to help safely recover a 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe that was carjacked at gunpoint from a subscriber in Visalia, California. This is the first time that SVS has been activated to help a subscriber…
The discussion started as casually as most do. A co-worker asks “Would you buy a GM vehicle right now?” My answer? You bet. And one of the reasons is their new Chevy Equinox. The platform actually began underpinning the newest Saturn Vue a couple of years back, but as with all good (and not so good) architecture used by the General, it would soon spread across other corporate lines. Chevrolet chose it for the remake of the Equinox crossover utility, followed by Cadillac and now GMC. For the Chevy version, designers give the 2010 Equinox a healthy injection of new…
Chevrolet Aveo has been the anchor at the entry level for Chevrolet for quite some time now and is a carry over of GMs relationship with Korean automaker Daewoo. For 2009, Aveo receives a good deal more attention that began on the sedan model last year. This little econo-cruiser gets a more powerful engine, the 1.6L Gen 3 Ecotec, as standard in all models, delivering more horsepower but with the same fuel efficiency found previously.
As General Motors enters its new generation, we are still testing vehicles designed and produced in its former life. The brand may have been resurrected, but much of what consumers will see over the next few years are the same products GM has been delivering – which is to say that while there are many bright spots in the lineup, there are still areas that need a bit of attention. We recently spent time in the new Cadillac Escalade Hybrid, and not just any old Escalade Hybrid but the new Platinum edition truck.
My relationship with the new fullsize GM hybrids continues to be a love/hate one. I love the fuel savings and cleaner emissions delivered by these “green beasts,” but I hate that consumers still cannot get an SUV for less than 50 grand. I also hate the acceleration/deceleration whine produced by the transmission/generator unit while operating in electric mode at low speeds, but then, this is the tradeoff for new technology. The good news is, these new trucks see a 40 percent fuel economy improvement in city driving thanks to GMs two-mode hybrid powertrain.
The wait is over. The trilogy, complete. Chevy Camaro is back – and back in a big way. After a seven-year hiatus, the new Chevrolet Camaro has (finally) returned to dealer showrooms, and thanks to the good folks over at Freedom Chevrolet in Southwest Dallas, I was able to spend some quality time with the new musclecar sporting the regal bowtie.
Year after year, the Chevrolet Corvette has been one of the most sought-after vehicles in the automotive press fleets. And, year after year, the car still continues to win praises and accolades.
Traverse, the name chosen for General Motor’s latest new people mover, refers to the verb and not the city in upstate Michigan where many of these vehicles will undoubtedly be headed each summer.
My relationship with the new fullsize GM hybrid SUVs continues to be a love/hate one. I love the fuel savings and cleaner emissions delivered by these “green beasts,” but I hate that consumers still cannot get one for less than 50 grand.
Even before my Oct. 23 AutoworldToday hit the newsstands, controversy was brewing over which new pickup can lay claim to being the best. Our review looked at the 2009 versions of the Dodge Ram and Ford F-150 half-ton trucks, each completely made over from the ground up. As I was preparing that piece for the print edition, press releases began flooding electronic mailboxes from the Dodge and Ford marketing divisions, who were apparently burning the midnight oil following the Texas Auto Writers’ annual Texas Truck Rodeo Oct. 17-19.
Last week I had the opportunity to not only take the all new 2009 F-150 for several grueling test drives, I also got to see its creation from the frame up. Grinding Gears editor David Goodspeed and I met with other journalists at the Ford Rouge Plant in Dearborn, Michigan. Our day started at the Henry Ford Rouge Factory Tour…
This week I had the opportunity to spend a day at the Texas Motor Speedway test driving 2009 GM Collection. There were so many gorgeous and impressive vehicles present, I would be hard pressed to say which was my favorite; but of course I had one…
GM is rolling out the third two-mode hybrid fullsize SUV later this summer. We got a first drive in the new Cadillac Escalade Hybrid recently as the automaker visited with members of the automotive media at the Flight Museum at Love Field in Dallas. In addition to the new hybrid model, Cadillac representatives also showed their newest Platinum Escalade sporting one of the best-looking grilles of any fullsize SUV on the road today. The hybrid models use the same powertrain we first saw in the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon Hybrids. It features a 6.0-liter gasoline V-8 engine mated…
When we first got our hands on a new 2008 Chevy Malibu for review, this is some of what I wrote: “I had been so skeptical about the new Malibu since seeing the earliest concepts and artists’ renditions that once I finally got to drive it, I spent most of my week behind the wheel trying to find fault with the car instead of focusing on the positives.” My conclusions? Those import models that have been cannibalizing midsize sedan sales over the past couple of decades had better be worried.
Another SS model from Chevy? What’s so special about this one? Given the vehicles with the SS badge slapped on the fender in recent years, our less-than-overwhelming enthusiasm is deserved. And the lack of fanfare over the release of the SS edition HHR should be punishable by law (and just might be in some states).
Had he not been on TV competing on a rain-soaked Doral golf course in Miami, folks might have thought Tiger Woods was in Dallas on Easter having dinner at Trader Vic’s. Parked right up front was a pair of shiny new Buick Enclave luxury crossover utility vehicles, the vehicle Tiger helped launch at its auto show debut last year.