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GM diesel pickups first to undergo extra EPA, CARB testing

The effects of Volkswagen's long-running diesel emissions evasion are starting to spill over to other automakers, but General Motors is taking things in stride. The 2.8-liter, four-cylinder Duramax in the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon is the first engine to get extra scrutiny by the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board, Automotive News reports. Rather than just the usual in-lab test, it's also being checked on the road. However, the extra evaluation shouldn't have any impact on when the trucks with his mill hit dealers later this fall. "We're in our final stages of the EPA certification, and our launch is on track," Chevy spokesperson Otie McKinley tells Autoblog. The four-cylinder diesel in the trucks makes 181 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, and the automaker is touting low NOx production. In the announcement for the Colorado's specs, the company calls it "the cleanest diesel truck engine ever produced by General Motors." The tech includes exhaust gas recirculation to lower combustion temperatures and improve emissions. There's also a urea tank like on the bigger diesels for full-size trucks, and it gets refilled in time with oil changes. An indication on the instrument panel lets drivers know when that's needed, too. Even with the more demanding testing, the company doesn't seem too worried about the four-cylinder passing. "Part of our development process is on-road and off-road [laboratory] testing," Scott Yackley, Chevy Trucks assistant chief engineer, said to Automotive News. In the wake of the VW scandal, the EPA has pledged more rigorous testing. Before, on-road emissions evaluations were largely limited to heavy-duty vehicles, but the agency has decided to apply the checks more often to other models. There's also now greater cooperation with Canadian authorities.

GM veteran Bryan Nesbitt tapped to head Buick design

General Motors styling veteran Bryan Nesbitt (pictured above) took over a new role on Monday as executive director of global Buick design and global architectures. Andrew Smith, who previously did that job and also coordinated the look for Cadillac, has remained in charge of the pen at Caddy with this shift. Nesbitt rose to prominence when he designed the Chrysler PT Cruiser, according to Automotive News. He joined GM in 2001 and has been there ever since in multiple high-level roles. In 2007, he was appointed vice president of design for North America and was later briefly general manager of Cadillac in 2009-2010. Nesbitt took over as the vice president of GM's international operations design in China in 2011. This shuffle also moves Ken Parkinson, currently styling boss for Chevrolet trucks, to China as design vice president there. In addition, John Cafaro becomes the person in charge of the look for Chevy globally, rather than previously splitting that role between cars and trucks with Parkinson. GM Global Design Leadership Changes – effective June 1, 2015. Bryan Nesbitt, Design Vice President, GM China will repatriate to North America and assume the position of Executive Director, Global Buick and Global Architectures. He will be located in Warren, MI. Bryan will be the design Champion for Buick in the US and China. Ken Parkinson, Executive Director, Global Chevrolet Trucks and Global Architecture will assume the position of Design Vice President, GM China. He will be based in Shanghai, China. Andrew Smith, Executive Director, Global Cadillac and Buick Design will assume the position of Executive Director, Global Cadillac. He will continue to be the design Champion for the Cadillac brand. In addition, he will continue to lead the Global Color & Trim team. He will be based in Warren, Michigan. John Cafaro, Executive Director, Global Chevrolet Cars will assume the position of Executive Director, Global Chevrolet. He will be the design Champion for Chevrolet. In addition, John will lead the exterior components and accessories team. He will continue to be based in Warren, MI. The roles and responsibilities of Helen Emsley, Mark Adams, Carlos Barba, Clay Dean, Michael Simcoe, and Teckla Rhoades remain the same. Related Video: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience.

GM to restore legendary Corvette damaged in sinkhole accident

Car lover's hearts' sank when they saw images of bent and destroyed classic Corvettes at the bottom of a sinkhole last February after the floor of the National Corvette Museum gave way. General Motors announced Wednesday it would restore the one millionth Corvette ever produced to its former glory. The 1992 convertible was heavily damaged when a 40-foot deep sinkhole opened beneath a bevy of rare cars at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Since then, GM has been slowly restoring the classic cars, though five of the eight that caught in the sinkhole were determined to be too damaged to repair. This November, the 2009 Corvette ZR1 Blue Devil was the first car to be returned in mint condition to the Museum, according to Autoblog. It suffered significant damage but was still drivable after being pulled out of the debris. The one millionth Corvette is still in bad shape. The automaker is estimating six months worth of work to restore the car, which sustained paint scratches, rear-suspension damage and a mangled front fender. Related Gallery Consumer Reports Most Loved Cars 2014 Chevrolet GM Automotive History corvette famous cars sinkhole corvette museum