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Next-gen Chevy Cruze caught cruising in the cold

Spy photographers have caught what looks like the next-generation Chevrolet Cruze out on snow patrol. The camo could be tricking our eyes, but it look like it has an even tidier, more rounded front end and even lower fenders in relation to the top of the hood. And either a chunk of camo has been wedged between the side mirrors and the doors, or the mirrors are up for revision, too.
The door handles have been moved up the side of the car, leading the way to a rear end that grows a bit in length. If the rumors are true, the coming second-generation Cruze sits on the new D2XX platform that will replace the Delta and Theta platforms at General Motors. A global architecture, the Cruze will be the first to get it, but it will underpin everything from next Chevrolet Volt to the Equinox and could be responsible for 2.5 million units by 2018. The next Cruze is expected to begin production in GM's Lordstown, Ohio plant in the third quarter of 2014.

Junkyard Gem: 1986 Chevrolet Sprint Plus

General Motors sold second- and third-generation Suzuki Cultuses with Geo or Chevrolet Metro badging in the United States from 1989 through 2001 model years, and we've all seen plenty of those cars on the street over the years. The first-generation Cultus was sold here as well, with Chevrolet Sprint badges, and I've found a rare example of the Sprint five-door hatchback in a Northern California car graveyard. The Chevy Sprint first appeared on the West Coast as a 1985 model, then became available everywhere in the United States for the 1986 through 1988 model years (in Canada, it was sold as the Pontiac Firefly). It was available here as a hatchback with three or five doors; for 1986 only, the five-door was badged as the Sprint Plus. Soon enough, The General would be selling many more Asian-built cars with Detroit badges here. Isuzu I-Marks were sold as Chevrolet/Geo Spectrums starting in the 1986 model year, while Daewoo provided the Pontiac LeMans two years later. Under the hood, a 1.0-liter three-cylinder rated at 48 horsepower. The five-door Sprint cost $5,580 in 1986, which was $200 more than the three-door (those prices would be $15,445 and $14,891 in 2023 dollars). I've documented seven discarded Sprints prior to this one (including an extremely rare Turbo Sprint), and all of them were three-doors; we can assume that price was the most important factor for Sprint buyers. Gasoline prices were crashing hard during the middle 1980s, but memories of gas lines and odd-even-day fuel rationing from 1979 remained strong. What cars competed with the '86 Sprint on sticker price? Well, there was no way to undercut the hilariously affordable (and terrible) Yugo GV, which cost $3,990. The much bigger (but still pretty bad) Hyundai Excel listed at $4,995, while Toyota would sell you a sturdy (but zero-fun) Tercel starting at $5,448. Even the wretched Chevy Chevette — yes, it was still available in 1986 — cost $5,645. The original buyer of this car was willing to shell out an extra $395 to get an automatic instead of the base five-speed manual. That's about $1,093 in today's money. This car must have been slow. By the end, the doors were held shut with duct tape, but it still stayed alive until age 37. 53 miles per gallon on the highway! It does everything. The camels of the highway.

2016 Chevy Colorado grabs Motor Trend Truck of the Year award

It's not an easy feat to win Motor Trend Truck of the Year twice in a row, but the 2016 Chevrolet Colorado managed to do just that. Thanks to the introduction of the 2.8-liter Duramax four-cylinder diesel, the magazine decided to bring the pickup back to defend the title. In more good news for the Bowtie brand, the 2016 Camaro earned the magazine's Car of the Year award. The Colorado beat a tough group of finalists to earn the nod this year, including its GMC Canyon sibling. The Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra also made this year's list. The Nissan Titan XD and latest Toyota Tacoma rounded out the challengers. A model had to shine in six criteria to earn the title: advancement in design, engineering excellence, safety, efficiency, value, and performance of intended function. Like it did with the Camaro, Motor Trend posted a story online that explained the rationale for picking the Colorado again. They praised the diesel profusely and lauded the whole platform as quite a capable hauler. This year's Motor Trend SUV of the Year honor went to the Volvo XC90. The Swedish 'ute had to win against an initial group of 16 candidates that the magazine eventually whittled down to finalists that consisted of the Honda Pilot, Lincoln MKX, the combined Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class and GLE Coupe, and Nissan Murano. "Seven-passenger people movers aren't supposed to drive like this," senior features editor Jonny Lieberman said about the Volvo in the announcement of the champions. The Honda CR-V won last year. In the explanation online, the judges applauded the XC90's new modular platform, and they loved both the T6 twin-charged engine and T8 hybrid version. The SUV's key enamored the writers, too. Related Video: MOTOR TREND Announces 2016 "Of The Year" Winners Car of the Year, Truck of the Year, SUV of the Year, and Person of the Year announced during live ceremony and webcast in Los Angeles LOS ANGELES, Nov. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, for the first time in the brand's 66-year history, MOTOR TREND announced winners of the Golden Calipers for Car of the Year, Truck of the Year, SUV of the Year, and Person of the Year at a red-carpet gala in front of an audience of industry insiders and celebrity guests. The awards show was also streamed live on the MOTOR TREND Channel on YouTube, with 3.5 million subscribers the world's largest automotive video channel, and on MOTOR TREND OnDemand, the brand's new subscription video on demand (SVOD) channel.