Tag: chevrolet

Poll: Chevrolet Volt takes on Nissan Leaf

Filed under: Sedan, Hatchback, Chevrolet, GM, Nissan, Electric

Proving once again the old adage that there’s more than one way to skin a cat battery, Chevrolet and Nissan have each designed new eco-friendly vehicles that are set to go head-to-head for sales supremacy starting at the end of this year. Though both automakers arrive at the same basic anti-gasoline (at least to a large extent) result, the Volt and the Leaf differ in more ways than they are alike.

We’ll start with the drivetrain. While the Volt and Leaf are both technically electric cars, Chevrolet’s solution to the range problem includes the addition of a small gasoline-fueled engine capable of recharging the Volt’s onboard battery pack. There’s enough battery capacity to travel at least 40 miles before the generator kicks in, but there’s no limit to the range after the engine takes over.

Nissan’s Leaf, on the other hand, has a somewhat larger battery that the automaker claims will allow for 100 miles of range per charge. After that, there is simply no more forward progress to be had until the Leaf is plugged into an outlet for a few hours – at least. But if going 100-percent gasoline free is your goal, this is your ride.

And then we have the body styles and shapes. Both cars spent plenty of time in the wind tunnel, with extremely different results. The Volt sports a more traditional sedan-like shape and offers seating for four. The Leaf, on the other hand, has a bit of an out-there look to its basic hatchback design and boasts seating for five.

Pricing too is a bit divergent. Nissan has affixed a $32,780 sticker to its electric car, before federal or state incentives. That price will drop to the mid-$20s when a $7,500 tax credit is applied. The General is making its Volt a bit more dear with a $41,000 asking price that drops to $33,500 after the credit. Interestingly, both automakers will offer leases for $350 per month for 36 months.

So, the big question is: Which electric car do you think is the better buy? Make yourself heard in our (totally unscientific) poll below.

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Poll: Chevrolet Volt takes on Nissan Leaf originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2011 Chevrolet Volt priced at $41,000* or $350/month for three-year lease

Filed under: Hybrid, Hatchback, Chevrolet, Electric

Chevrolet Volt – Click above for high-res image gallery

General Motors’ recently hired vice-president for sales and marketing Joel Ewanick took the stage at the Plug-In 2010 conference in San Jose, CA today and finally revealed that the 2011 Chevrolet Volt will have a base price of $41,000 (including a $720 destination charge) before federal and state tax incentives. While GM hasn’t gone as aggressive as most people had hoped on the sticker price, the real deal appears to be the $350 per month for 36 months lease. That matches the monthly payment that Nissan is charging for the Leaf EV.

The effective purchase price of the Volt will be cut to $33,500 with a $7,500 federal tax credit (hence the asterisk in the title), but buyers will have to finance the $41,000 and get the credit back on their next tax return. Lease customers will have the credit factored in to their payment. The Volt lease requires a $2,500 down payment (vs $2,000 for the Leaf), but GM is including a clause in the lease contract that allows leasers to buy the car at the end of their term so that the automaker don’t have another standoff with customers like it did with the all-electric EV1. Follow the jump to learn more about the Volt’s price and how the order process will go, but first take our informal poll below.

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Gallery: 2011 Chevy Volt

Continue reading 2011 Chevrolet Volt priced at $41,000* or $350/month for three-year lease

2011 Chevrolet Volt priced at $41,000* or $350/month for three-year lease originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: Are you the next Chevrolet Aveo sedan?

Filed under: Spy Photos, Budget, Sedan, Chevrolet

Chevrolet Aveo Sedan? – Click above for high-res image gallery

Now here’s a curiosity. Our legion of spy photographers managed to lay their lenses on a small sedan testing with a bevy of 2011 Chevrolet Aveo hatchbacks. We aren’t exactly positive, but our best guess is this little guy is the four-door version of the bottom of the Bow Tie line. If true, this is the best look we’ve had at the Aveo sedan – save a few patent drawings – but there are a few complications with the theory.

For starters, very little of this car dovetails with what we’ve seen of the five-door. We could gloss over inconsistencies like vastly different doors, complete with incongruous handles and side view mirrors, but things get murkier when we have a look at the two cars’ lug pattern.

This new creation clearly rocks four lugs, while every other camo’d Aveo we’ve seen uses five. Chances are General Motors probably isn’t interested in using completely different spindles, rotors, wheels, etc. just for a different body style of the same vehicle. So what is it? Your guess is as good as ours.

Gallery: Chevrolet Aveo Sedan?

Gallery: 2011 Chevrolet Aveo spy shots

Spy Shots: Are you the next Chevrolet Aveo sedan? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Fifth Gear rips it up in Chevrolet Camaro SS

Filed under: Coupe, Videos, Chevrolet, UK


Fifth Gear hangs out with the Chevrolet Camaro SS – Click above to watch after the jump

The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro has been in U.S. dealerships for over a year now, and demand for Chevy’s newest pony car has been strong from the get-go. And though the Camaro is based off the Australian Zeta platform and built in Oshawa, Canada, it still rocks a Bowtie badge and carries a 6.2-liter small block V8 under the hood. That makes the Camaro an American pony car in our book; one that will (finally) officially go on sale in England early next year.

But before our allies to the east get a chance to pick up a Camaro of their own, Fifth Gear host Jason Plato took the reins of a Bumblebee-flavored Camaro out on the track. Hit the jump to watch Plato show no mercy to the 3,860-pound coupe. In typical UK-reviewer-on-American-car-ese, we definitely hear words like “lazy” and “heavy,” but Plato still looks like a very happy man behind the wheel. If you like smoking tires, oversteer and burnouts you’ll definitely like this video.

Gallery: 2010 Chevy Camaro SS

[Source: Fifth Gear via Camaro5]

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Video: Fifth Gear rips it up in Chevrolet Camaro SS originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 14:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chevrolet Volt will not be rated at 230 mpg; Victory Red paint debuts

Filed under: Hybrid, Sedan, Government/Legal, Chevrolet, GM, Design/Style, Electric

Chevrolet Volt in ‘Victory Red’ – Click above for high-res image gallery

Remember how big a deal General Motors made about the upcoming 2011 Chevy Volt’s supposed 230 mile per gallon EPA fuel mileage rating? Well, you can now forget about it. According to USA Today, the Feds have decided not to use the preliminary testing procedure that produced that mythical 230 mpg figure, and a new methodology for rating electric vehicles has yet to be finalized. Don’t expect a revised mileage figure any time soon. In fact, an actual mpg equivalent rating may not come until the Volt is just about ready to hit the market at the end of the year.

This revelation was revealed this afternoon during an event at GM’s Michigan battery plant in Brownstown Township, and we were in attendance. When we arrived, we were greeted by the sight of the first-ever red Chevrolet Volt. This “Victory Red” example is one of between 30 and 40 manufacturing validation vehicles built so far at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. Those cars were preceded by about three dozen production verification cars built since late March of this year. This particular example was built about one week ago.

In the next two to three weeks, General Motors will start building so-called “salable” Volts that will go into the captured test fleet for GM employees to accumulate miles and catch any last minute glitches before the cars enter full production in November.

What do you think – does Victory Red suit the Volt? Have your say in ‘Comments.’

Gallery: Chevrolet Volt in ‘Victory Red’

Photos by Sam Abuelsamid / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: USA Today]

Chevrolet Volt will not be rated at 230 mpg; Victory Red paint debuts originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Patent drawings reveal 2012 Chevrolet Aveo sedan

Filed under: Spy Photos, Sedan, Hatchback, Chevrolet


2012 Chevrolet Aveo patent drawings – Click above for high-res image gallery

The public got its first look at the all-new 2012 Chevrolet Aveo at this year’s Detroit Auto Show, but the RS Concept was only shown as a five-door hatchback, and as we all know, four-door sedans remain the preferred form factor here in the U.S. A newly discovered patent reveals the look of the three-box Aveo, which remains the same as the hatch from B-pillar backwards, but carries a few more interesting design cues.

The roof-line of the Aveo sedan has a similar profile to the larger Cruze and from the side, the tail-lights have the same triangular shape. From the rear, the horizontally arranged lights of the Cruze are replaced by vertically stacked lamps and the sedan gets conventional rear door handles in place of the hidden units in the C-pillar of the hatch. The production Aveo should arrive sometime during this upcoming auto show season, with production starting in the first half of 2011 at GM’s Lake Orion assembly plant north of Detroit.

Gallery: 2012 Chevrolet Aveo patent drawings

[Source: Autoblog Spanish]

Patent drawings reveal 2012 Chevrolet Aveo sedan originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 14 Jul 2010 15:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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