1984 Chevrolet Corvette 53000 Miles on 2040-cars

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GM’s Charlie Wilson was right: Stronger regulations can help U.S. automakers

Charlie Wilson had been the president and CEO of General Motors before being nominated to become secretary of defense by Dwight Eisenhower. During his Senate confirmation hearings, he controversially said, "For years I thought what was good for our country was good for General Motors, and vice versa." And he was right. While car companies aren't necessarily the most progressive when it comes to things that might have the slightest possibility of political blowback, General Motors should be credited for doing something absolutely forthright in this regard with its announcement that it wants the federal U.S. government not to squash the California Air Resources Board's emissions requirements but to actually create a 50-state "National Zero Emissions Vehicle" program that, in the words of Mark Reuss, executive vice president and president, Global Product Group and Cadillac, "will drive the scale and infrastructure investments needed to allow the U.S. to lead the way to a zero emission future." Filing comments to the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks is one thing. But a graphic the company developed for this announcement — shown above — is something else entirely, something that is absolutely credible, creative and clever. There is a photo of a Chevrolet Bolt EV driving along a highway, which seems to be in Marin County (based on the blurred San Francisco skyline in the background). Text on the photo states: "It's Time for American Leadership in Zero Emissions Vehicles." It seems to say, in effect, "If we want to make America great again, then we're going to do it by leading in technology, not by retreating behind weakened regulations." General Motors understands that the auto market is globally competitive, and if U.S.-based companies are going to be in the game, then they'd better be able to out-innovate the companies based elsewhere, where emissions and economy standards are not being weakened. What's good for our country ... Related Video:

Bentley Continental GT V8 and Toyota 4Runner | Autoblog Podcast #604

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski and Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder. First, they talk about driving the 2020 Bentley Continental GT V8 First Edition, followed by the 2020 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road. Then they revive a format called "This or That," discussing the Jeep Wrangler vs. Gladiator, Subaru Forester vs. Outback, Mustang vs. Camaro vs. Challenger, and whether they'd rather spend $25,000 on a new or vintage car. They've got an update on a previous Spend My Money segment, and, finally, they help another listener pick a daily driver. Autoblog Podcast #604 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown 2020 Bentley Continental GT V8 2020 Toyota 4Runner This or That: Jeep Gladiator or Jeep Wrangler Subaru Forester or Subaru Outback Ford Mustang, Chevy Camaro or Dodge Challenger Vintage car or new car Spend My Money Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Podcasts Bentley Chevrolet Dodge Jeep Subaru Toyota Truck Coupe SUV Luxury Off-Road Vehicles Performance Classics

Fewer than 1 in 3 Chevy dealers earn right to initially sell C7 Corvette

Looking to make the launch of the 2014 Corvette Stingray as efficient as possible, Chevrolet will be limiting the numbers of its dealers that can sell the all-new coupe and convertible. According to Automotive News, sales of the C7 Corvette will initially be limited to less than a third of Chevy's total dealership network when the 'Vette goes on sale this summer.
Only 900 dealers out of more than 3,000 locations nationwide will be allowed to sell the new Corvette at first, and the reason for this is so that there are no shortages at dealers that can actually get the cars sold. The article says that the 900 dealerships chosen represented 80 percent of total Corvette sales in 2012.
Some of the requirements dealers had to make to get initial allocation of Stingray sales include having sold at least four Corvettes in 2012 and having a Corvette Stingray specialist who will be required to have gone through a training session costing more than $2,000 per attendee. Once demand for the 2014 Corvette Stingray begins to subside - approximately six to nine months after it goes on sale - then allocation could open up to more dealers, but the report indicates this could happen following the 2014 model year.