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UAW to vote on strike at Kentucky Corvette plant

The current wait time for a new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is well, not short. With word of a strike at the Bowling Green, KY factory responsible for seventh-generation sports car, though, that wait time could end up growing substantially.
Now, a strike is still a ways off. UAW Local 2164, which represents the 800 workers responsible for screwing the Corvette together, is set to vote on authorizing a strike today, but even if the employees give the action a go, it's far from a sure thing. According to The Tennessean, both regional and national union officials would need to put their stamp of approval on strike action.
"The membership has to vote to strike, but it's just a step in the process," said Gary Casteel, the UAW's Region 8 director and one of the people that would need to authorize a strike action. Casteel told The Tennessean, "It's purely a local situation, though. They are having some issues with the local management."

Chevy Crossvolt name kept alive in new trademark application

In April 2011 General Motors submitted a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for the word "Crossvolt." In November of this year, the application expired for lack of a statement of use. But in August of this year, GM applied again for the same trademark, leading some to believe that it intends to apply the name to a vehicle. That vehicle could explain the mule in sliced-and-diced Chevrolet Orlando bodywork caught in several spy shots this year, theorized to be some kind of Toyota Prius V or Ford C-Max Hybrid competitor; or it could be a production version of the Chevrolet Volt MP5 concept showed off at the Beijing Motor Show in 2010, which was about the same size as the Chevy Orlando. Or it could be none of those things – but the fact that Chevrolet is keeping it current makes us believe it will be... something. Featured Gallery Beijing 2010: Chevrolet Volt MPV5 concept View 13 Photos News Source: Fox News, Trademarkia Green Chevrolet GM Crossover Hybrid trademark uspto

2016 Chevy Volt will have more EV range, bigger battery

Meet the new Volt, not the same as the old Volt. That appears to be the story when General Motors introduces the 2016 Chevy Volt at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Today we're getting some more details on the guts of the new plug-in hybrid, and it turns out they're going to be much improved from the current Volt, which first went on sale at the end of 2010. Sure, the first-gen Volt did get some improvements along the way (a slightly larger battery pack, lane departure warnings) but the new Volt – which will go on sale in the second half of 2015 – marks the first time GM has been able to return to the drawing board and really make the improvements that its customers want. That's how Larry Nitz, GM's executive director of vehicle electrification explained it to AutoblogGreen today when explaining the all-new Voltec extended range electric vehicle (EREV) powertrain. "In the Gen 2 is we gave the engine a little more power, a little more torque, a little more displacement, more capability." – Larry Nitz Nitz said that the new Volt will be better in almost every sense: a bigger battery, longer EV-only range, 20 percent better acceleration in the low speed range and higher overall efficiency. This is due, in part, to the Volt's two motors being able to both act as generators and power the car. As we noted this morning, the 2016 Volt will use a larger, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine, a version of which is already used in the Chinese-market Cruze. Nitz said that this has a number of benefits, including more power and quieter operation. "Some people would say, why did you make [the first-gen engine] so big. I would say, why did you make it so small?" he said. "It works good, our customers love it, but the reality is that if you go a little bit off and use the car a little harder, you can get the engine to need to operate at a higher speed. In an EV, that's quite noticeable. So, what we did in the Gen 2 is we gave the engine a little more power, a little more torque, a little more displacement, more capability and what it has marginally enabled is not only is it more efficient but it's also quieter." Nitz wouldn't talk about how the new powertrain might affect the two other products that use the Volt's underpinnings – the Cadillac ELR and the Opel Ampera – but if you've got a quieter option, we assume that's something ELR drivers would enjoy. But that's a story for another day.