1962 Chevy C10 Shortbed Fleetside Pickup - Classic Hot Rod Truck on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Chevy Bolt to start at $37,500 before rebates

During the recent debut at the Consumer Electronics Show, Chevrolet only described the 2017 Bolt's cost as "affordable" without any further explanation. Now the company's promo site for the EV spilled the beans of the $37,500 price after destination. That means some buyers could get the five-door hatch for $30,000 after the $7,500 federal tax credit – at least as long as that lasts for the Bowtie brand. State incentives might also reduce the bill even more when the Bolt arrives in late 2016. Chevy wants the Bolt to be a mainstream and affordable vehicle that can attract a wide swath of buyers. The company estimates the five-door's range at over 200 miles, which should be plenty for most customers. The promo site also touts that the batteries can recharge in nine hours from the automaker's 240-volt home charger. Inside, buyers find a high-tech cabin with a customizable 10.2-inch infotainment screen and an 8-inch instrument display. To limit range anxiety, the vehicle's computers can take into account the way an owner drives, the weather, terrain, and more to calculate just how much distance remains from the batteries. The system also pushes people to be greener drivers through a game-like interface that offers rewards and rankings. If $37,500 or less for this five-door EV intrigues you, read our Quick Spin of a preproduction example from CES for a better idea of what the Bolt is really like. The powertrain's regenerative braking impressed us even over the short driving course, and the infotainment system seemed incredibly useful. Related Video:

Can DARPA hack into a Chevy Impala through OnStar?

An ex-video game wizard named Dan Kaufman tracked a circuitous route to becoming the head of the Software Innovation Division at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. DARPA normally makes these pages because of its work with autonomous vehicles and automobile technology that overlaps with military applications, but for the past five years Kaufman and his multiple research teams have been working on creating unhackable software code that could be used in military drones. Part of that work has involved hacking into just about everything else, and as a segment on 60 Minutes reveals, that includes cars. The masterminds discovered a way to hack into OnStar, the General Motors telematics system. After figuring out how to hook into OnStar's emergency communication system, they overwhelmed it with data. While the computer was busy trying to manage the overrun of data, the research team inserted code that took control of the sedan's other computers, giving it control. So while reporter Leslie Stahl tooled around in a parking lot, a DARPA researcher with a laptop would occasionally take control of the car, like by applying its brakes or, conversely, removing the ability for Stahl to use the brakes. Hacking into vehicles has been in the news for years: Car and Driver ran a feature on the various ways cars could be hacked in 2011, two hackers released a car-hacking code at the hacker-fest Defcon in 2013 and demonstrated how it worked on a Toyota Prius and Ford Escape, and German researchers demonstrated how they could hack into BMW's Connected Drive remote-services system last week via an attack on the cars' telematics units. This isn't about GM or Onstar or the future; hacking into cars of all kinds isn't coming, it's here, and it doesn't take the half-billion-dollar annual budget of a small DARPA division to do it. Check out the 60 Minutes video on the CBS site (you can watch the entire video from a mobile device without logging in). The OnStar hacking starts at 6:45, but it's worth watching what leads up to that. News Source: Jalopnik Chevrolet Safety Technology Infotainment Autonomous Vehicles Videos Sedan hacking 60 minutes

Chevrolet Malibu gets across-the-board price cuts, hopes to dig out of slump

To say that things aren't going well for the newly redesigned 2013 Chevrolet Malibu is a pretty sizable understatement. Reports have been swirling about the Malibu getting an emergency design refresh, less than a year after its introduction, as well as having its production at the Fairfax Assembly Plant halted twice already this year for excessive inventory. Now, Motor Trend is reporting that the midsize sedan will be receiving price drops across the board ranging from $300 on a number of models up to $770 on the 1LT trim; offsetting some of MSRP drop, though, the destination charge has increased from $760 to $810.
Without destination, the entry-level Malibu LS now starts at $21,995, which is still about $300 more than a Honda Accord and about $300 less than the segment's top-selling Toyota Camry. This new pricing also drops the price of the Eco, 2LT and 3LT trims by $300. The LTZ trim has dropped by $415, meaning that the Malibu's top dog now starts at just under $30,000, excluding destination.
Here are the new starting prices for all eight of the Malibu trim levels compared to the previous prices for the 2013 model year (including destination):