2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 1lt on 2040-cars

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Junkyard Gem: 2003 Chevrolet Tracker

When General Motors created the Geo brand to sell vehicles designed and — in some cases — built by Japanese partners, the first four models were introduced for the 1989 model year: the Metro (Suzuki Cultus), Prizm (Toyota Sprinter), Spectrum (Isuzu Gemini) and Tracker (Suzuki Sidekick). Geo got the axe in 1997, with the Metro, Prizm and Tracker becoming Chevrolets. Of those, the Tracker survived the longest, with U.S.-market sales continuing into 2004. Here's an example of a very late Tracker, found in a North Carolina car graveyard recently. The 1989-1997 first-generation Trackers were based on the Suzuki Sidekick, while the 1998-2004 Trackers had the Suzuki Vitaras (not to be confused with the much grander Grand Vitaras) as their siblings. Production of these trucks for the South American market (as the Chevrolet Vitara) continued in Ecuador all the way through 2014. The Tracker name has also gone onto some versions of the Chevrolet Trax around the world. This one is a base four-door hard top/rear-wheel-drive model, which had an MSRP of $17,330. That's about $29,789 in 2024 dollars. You'll find one in every car. You'll see. The engine is a Suzuki 2.0-liter straight-four rated at 127 horsepower and 134 pound-feet. A five-speed manual was base equipment, but very few American vehicle shoppers wanted three pedals by the middle 2000s. This truck has the Aisin four-speed automatic. We like it loud. It appears that someone associated with this truck graduated from Julius L. Chambers High School last year. In the United States, the Tracker was replaced by the Saturn Vue. If Tracker can handle (unspecified Middle Eastern country), it can survive the jungle back home. Siempre contigo.

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #316 LIVE!

We record Autoblog Podcast #316 tonight, and you can drop us your questions and comments regarding the rest of the week's news via our Q&A module below. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #316
2013 Detroit Auto Show

Recharge Wrap-up: NEDC's NOx problems, autonomous Chevy Volts

The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) found a significant difference in NOx emissions in Euro 6 diesel cars in NEDC and WLTC testing. While 88 percent of the cars tested met emissions standards for NEDC, NOx emissions averaged five times higher under WLTC, with only 27 percent of vehicles under the limit. WLTC is considered to be a more realistic driving cycle, using hot starts and factoring a higher top speed as well as harder and more frequent accelerations than the NEDC. Read more at Green Car Congress.GM Canada will build a fleet of autonomous 2017 Chevrolet Volts. The self-driving Volts will be deployed for testing at GM's Warren, Michigan Technical Center. Employees will be able to use a carsharing app to reserve a car, which will then drive itself to the set destination. The project will allow GM to collect important data and experience to help the company more quickly develop autonomous driving technology. Read in a press release more from GM Canada, or at Green Car Congress.Carwatt is showing an electric Renault Trafic powered by second-life batteries at the COP21 environmental summit in Paris. The lithium-ion batteries used to power the EV were recycled from other Renault EVs. With the electric Trafic, Carwatt – a company that converts vehicles to use electric power – aims to demonstrate the "circular economy" of batteries, which can provide more value through a longer lifecycle. Read more in the press release below. Carwatt presents a unique automotive application for second-life batteries from electric vehicles. On the sidelines of the COP21 summit, in the Solutions Gallery running from 2 to 9 December 2015 in Le Bourget near Paris, Carwatt and its partners —Renault, Paris City Council, BPI France, the Ales Ecole des Mines Engineering School, and the Bobigny Business Campus — are showing a very special electric Renault Trafic. This prototype vehicle, the only one of kind in the world, is powered by second-life lithium-ion batteries recycled from Renault electric cars. Circular economy at work with electric vehicles When, over time, the batteries of a Renault electric vehicle fall the performance threshold specified for their initial automotive power duty (around 75% of initial capacity), they can still provide valuable service in "second-life" applications before end-of-life disposal at a recycling centre. Experiments are already under way on power storage applications, for example.