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First 2015 Chevy Corvette Z06 engine blows up at just 891 miles

You've waited and watched and waited some more for the arrival of your 650-horsepower, $78,000 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Finally, that joyous day arrives and you eagerly, but gingerly, begin to break-in the 6.2-liter supercharged V8 monster under your hood. Then 900-odd miles after delivery, your excitement grinds, quite literally, to a halt. That's what the owner of one 2015 Z06 claimed happened to him when a simple break-in drive resulted in a lunched engine. The owner, known as Lawdogg149 on Corvette Forum, says he was out breaking-in his car ahead of a January track event when it happened. "While making a pull from 35 miles per hour, I accelerated and shifted short of redline, and boom - the car began knocking. I pulled over and popped the hood. I could hear a loud knock coming from the No. 6 cylinder area along with a serious, grinding, metal-on-metal sound coming from the supercharger area," Lawdogg wrote. A subsequent trip to the dealer confirmed his concerns, with the service facility telling Lawdogg that the No. 6 valvetrain had failed. The dealer couldn't research the issue further, though, as General Motors requested the engine be returned for a more thorough evaluation. The good news for the Z06's unlucky owner, at least, is that GM will be covering the engine replacement under warranty, an expense that Corvette Forum estimates is a nearly $24,000 procedure. At this point, the two leading theories behind the engine's detonation involve a manufacturing defect – which could be why GM is so keen to tear the blown powerplant down – or a mistake on the part of Lawdogg. As Motor Authority points out, such an error could be something as simple as the Z06's owner accidentally shifting to first rather than third during his 35-mph pull. If, however, there's a deeper manufacturing problem with the Z06's engine, this might not be the only case we end up hearing about.

Europeans ask Chevy to bring Volt back to Europe

A group of French fans is asking for a jolt of support from General Motors to get the 2016 Chevrolet Volt across the pond. The Association Amperistes et Amis des Vehicules Rechargeables is running a Change.org petition that currently has 383 signatures out of a goal of 500. While the attempt is admirable, it's probably going to take a lot more than several hundred people for the model to make a return to the continent after the poor showing of the Opel Ampera – first-gen Volt's European cousin. The group's major argument for bringing a version of the second-gen Volt to Europe is that consumers need "an intermediate choice between expensive or range-limited pure electric cars and plug-in hybrids with a miserable electric range." Furthermore, such a vehicle would prod the competition to produce similarly efficient electrified models. They also lavish praise on the abilities of the Ampera for its long EV driving range. The supporters aren't entirely kind to GM in the petition, though, and claim the company excluded the original car from marketing efforts there. The Ampera actually enjoyed a strong European launch with more orders than initially expected and briefly topped the best-sellers list among EVs there. It was even named 2012 European Car of the Year. Those halcyon days didn't last long, and by 2014 sales fell off to a trickle. The waning reception caused GM's decision not to introduce a version of the new 2016 Volt there or in Australia. Related Video:

GM recalls Colorado, Canyon, and Malibu for airbag problem

The Basics: General Motors will recall and issue a stop sale on 1,740 total examples of the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado, Malibu, and GMC Canyon. This includes 1,579 units in the US and 161 in Canada. The Problem: The second stage of the driver front airbag inflator might not be present. If this happens, the airbag won't fill as quickly as it should in a high-speed crash, which could increase the risk of injury, according to Reuters. This is not related in any way to Takata's inflator problems, and these parts come from a different supplier. Injuries/Deaths: None reported. The Fix: GM will replace the vehicles' airbag assemblies. If You Own One: GM spokesperson Tom Wilkinson told Autoblog he wasn't specifically sure when recall repairs would begin but said it would be "shortly." He expects the fixes to happen "quickly" because of the small number of affected vehicles, and many of them are either in transport or already in dealer stock. More Information: GM recalled the 2015 Canyon and Colorado in 2014 for a completely separate airbag issue. In that case, a manufacturing error improperly wired the connectors. Related Video: GM Statement GM is recalling 1,579 MY 2016 Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon and Chevrolet Malibu vehicles in the United States and 161 in Canada to replace driver-side front airbags. The second stage of the airbag may not deploy properly in certain high-speed crashes. During a routine quality inspection, it was determined that a component required for a second-stage/high-output deployment was not loaded during the inflator build. Dealers will replace the driver-side front airbag assembly. There have been no reports of crashes or injuries related to this issue. This issue is unrelated to the ongoing Takata recalls.