1971 Chevrolet C10 Cheyenne Custom Sport Pickup Truck 350 Auto Factory A/c on 2040-cars

Auto blog

GM does not have to turn over its ignition switch documents

In June the lawyer representing plaintiffs suing General Motors over faulty ignition switches accused GM and its firm King & Spalding of working together to cover up the malfunction. Bob Hilliard said that certain communication between GM and King & Spalding from 2010 to 2013, mainly focused on three Chevrolet Cobalt crashes, would reveal that they conspired in "burying what they knew" concerning the defect, and furthermore that the law firm broke rules of professional conduct once it found out about "ongoing fraudulent concealment" at GM. Hilliard filed a motion in a Manhattan court to force GM and King to hand over the memos, which were protected by attorney-client privilege. Hilliard said that the alleged ongoing fraud should trump attorney-client privilege, a GM spokesman said at the time that the issues in question had already been discussed previously, and that plantiffs already had much of the communication Hilliard's motion sought. US District Judge Jesse Furman ruled in favor of GM and King, refusing to order the release of the communication. In spite of finding probable cause that GM was engaging in a crime or fraud by not revealing the ignition switch defect, Furman did not find cause to believe that GM and King's discussions at the time were centered around continuing that potential crime or fraud. Saying also that plantiffs already had many of the disputed documents, attorney-client privilege should hold sway over the remainder. The class action case goes to trial in January 2016.

More 2017 Chevy Bolt powertrain details revealed

We've seen the production version of the Chevy Bolt electric vehicle. We've driven a prototype version. And now it's time to get some details about the powertrain. After the production version's reveal at CES last week, GM trotted out the Bolt EV for its Detroit debut this morning. The company brought with it a bunch of technical specifications. We'll start with the most important part of an EV: the battery. GM has put a 60-kWh lithium-ion battery that weighs just just 960 pounds into the floor of the Bolt. As previously announced, the Bolt's 288 cells will be able to go over 200 miles on a full charge. That full charge takes nine hours on a Level 2 EVSE thanks to the onboard 7.2-kW charger. Of course, a full charge won't be that important most days, which is why GM says that you can get 50 miles of range in "less than two hours" on Level 2. There's a SAE Combo DC fast charging option as well. The battery will have an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty. The Bolt will be able to sprint up to 60 miles per hour in "less than seven seconds" thanks to a 150-kW/200 horsepower motor in the Bolt. The motor is a new GM design that can produce up to 266 pound-feet of torque. The Bolt uses a shift-by-wire system and an, "offset gear and shaft configuration tailored to meet efficiency and performance targets." The Bolt EV's powertrain has a 7.05:1 final drive ratio. You can read all of the details direct from GM below. Related Video: Drive Unit and Battery at the Heart of Chevrolet Bolt EV Engineers focus on careful balance of range and performance DETROIT, Mich. – The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV does more than set a new benchmark for affordable, long-range EV driving. It also raises the bar when it comes to driving performance. Engineers developed the Bolt EV's propulsion system to offer more than an estimated 200 miles (based on GM estimates) and a delightful driving experience that's more akin to a compact sports sedan than a small utilitarian crossover. "Being the leader in range and affordability means nothing if the car isn't going to excite you each time you get behind the wheel," said Josh Tavel, Chevrolet Bolt EV chief engineer. "That's why the team was tasked with delivering a propulsion system that would also make the Bolt EV an electric vehicle that owners would love to drive." Single Motor Drive Unit Like most EVs on the road, the Bolt EV's drive system uses a single high capacity electric motor to propel the car.

See all seven colors available on 2016 Chevy Volt

General Motors has been happy to promote the 2016 Chevy Volt in the shiny blue color. On the company's website for the car, though, we can find all seven exterior colors, thanks to the magic of digital technology. We went through the site and played around with the option picker and put together a gallery of all the colors the new Volt will be available in as well as the five interior options. For the record, the exterior colors are: Kinetic Blue Metallic, Iridescent Pearl Tricoat, Summit White, Silver Ice Metallic, Mosaic Black Metallic, Siren Red Tintcoat, Heather Grey Metallic. You'll be forgiven if you can't quite tell the difference between the Pearl and the White in these images, but both colors have been available on the 2015 model year Volt. GM spokesperson Michelle Malcho told AutoblogGreen that buyers do have a preference, with Pearl accounting for 10 percent of the sales and Summit White accounted for 17 percent. The Pearl color is a tri-coat and thus has a $995 price premium, which was likely a factor as well. The interior of the new Volt will have two cloth options (Dark Ash and Jet Black) and three leather choices (Dark Ash, Jet Black, and Jet Black/Brandy). That last one will only be available in the LTZ trim level. You can play around with the color adjuster yourself here. Kathy Sirvio, the color and design manager of the Volt design team, told AutoblogGreen that, "Kinetic Blue is a marketing name. At Design we call it 'Blew Me Away'. That is it in a nutshell. The blue color is vibrant, rich and eye catching. It may not sell at the highest volume, as we know from history whites, blacks and silvers are the dominant color sales. However, it will tell everyone who sees it on the street that here comes a new vehicle and it is expressive in all the right ways." The next-gen Volt arrives later this year with a starting price of $33,995. The powertrain upgrades will push the all-electric range to 50 miles and the gas-only fuel economy to 41 miles per gallon. Related Video: