2014 Chevrolet Traverse 1lt on 2040-cars

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Chevy might've pulled out of NASCAR if it weren't for new Gen 6 car

We've been on the fence with NASCAR for some time now. On one hand, it's some of the closest racing anywhere in motorsports, with actual passing and door-handle-to-door-handle action as a matter of course. But on the other, it's become template racing - a personality-driven sport more about the drivers than any sort of loyalty to a particular automaker. The Car Of Tomorrow format really rammed that message home, with a racecar's identity coming down to little more than headlamp stickers slapped on the nose. That's not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, but we've wondered for some time what's in it for the automakers, who pay big money to stay in a series that has had little increasingly little do with street car sales, let alone innovation.
Apparently General Motors was beginning to wonder the same thing. In a new ESPN report, Rick Hendrick, team owner of Hendrick Motorsports, suggests that GM would have seriously considered leaving NASCAR if it wasn't for the move away from the COT to the new Gen 6 racer. According to Hendrick, GM North America boss Mark Reuss spearheaded the charge away from the 2007 COT and toward a racecar with clearer automaker ties - cars like the new Chevrolet SS racer shown above. Learn more about the fight for a closer-to-production look in the ESPN story at the link.
Now, if we could just get more rear-wheel drive V8 coupes into showrooms....

Chevy Colorado gets box delete option designed for upfitters

The Colorado, which marks the return of Chevrolet to the midsize truck segment, is receiving critical praise, and now it's time for the pickup to get to work. At the National Truck Equipment Association Work Truck Show in Indianapolis, IN, Chevy is unveiling a box delete option package for the model that allows businesses to custom tailor the Colorado to their needs. The choice to remove the bed is exclusively available on the Colorado Work Truck trim in the rear-wheel drive, extended cab model with a 305-horsepower, 3.6-liter V6 and six-speed automatic gearbox, and Chevy claims this is the only option of its type in the segment. Beyond the obvious loss of the rear, these trucks feature eight mounting points on the frame for upfitters to install any necessary modifications. They also get the Z82 trailering package and a locking differential. The versions with the box delete package carry a payload rating of 2,200 pounds an a gross vehicle weight rating of 6,001 pounds. "It's ideal for utility companies requiring service bodies, as well as landscapers and other businesses needing the utility of a flatbed," Ed Peper, US Vice President for General Motors Fleet and Commerical, said in the option's announcement. Further options with the package are limited to choosing a repositioned fuel filler for the upfitter to install and deleting the rear seat for extra interior capacity. The box delete becomes available in mid-April, and buyers get a $300 credit off the price of the Colorado when it's selected. Colorado 'Box Delete' Expands Options for Businesses Chevrolet package offers unique midsize pickup platform for alternative uses 2015-03-04 INDIANAPOLIS – With a box delete option, business owners and fleet managers can have it their way when it comes to customizing the back end of the 2015 Chevrolet Colorado. Chevrolet today announced availability of the package in mid-April. It is on display this week at the annual National Truck Equipment Association Work Truck Show in Indianapolis. It is the only such option offered in the midsize truck segment. "With the segment-leading efficiency and maneuverable size, the Colorado makes a great, flexible choice for urban businesses and fleets to make the most of a midsize truck," said Ed Peper, U.S. vice president, GM Fleet & Commercial.

How real is the Chevy Bolt EV and will it really cost $30,000?

"This is us bragging that we can do this kind of car." That's how Michael Simcoe, GM's executive director for NA exteriors, described the Chevy Bolt EV concept, which made a surprise appearance at the Detroit Auto Show today. While there was talk of a 2017 production debut, this is for sure a concept vehicle. But that means the ideas behind the vehicle are perhaps more important than the details. For example, no one is talking about what size battery might appear in a production Bolt, but Simcoe would talk about how rapid progress in battery improvements made it possible for GM to make the bold Bolt declaration that promises 200 miles and a price tag of around $30,000 (after incentives). But if the Bolt makes it to market, it won't be until 2017 (as rumored) or later, is it really fair to promote the car as being available with a federal tax credit? For one thing, credits for plug-in vehicles may change in the next few years, but if the laws stay the same, each manufacturer is limited to 200,000 vehicles before the credits start to decline. GM is justifiably proud that it's sold over 70,000 Volts thus far, but with a new model coming out later this year and a few years to go until the Bolt potentially arrives, GM could be pushing right up against that 200,000 limit when the Bolt goes on sale. But Volt executive chief engineer Pam Fletcher told AutoblogGreen that, "We're just trying to take some of the confusion out." "Think about talking to the average consumer," she said. "First, going through the explanation of how the federal tax credit was set up, how it's being used and so on. [In the industry, we] have the luxury of understanding the nuances of that regulation, but right now people who aren't in the marketplace, they don't have the luxury of all that. It's already hard to communicate the details so we gave them data in a way that is what they're used to seeing." There was one question that drove the two-year Bolt gestation and design period, Simcoe said: What does a better battery offer a vehicle designer? "We've got a number of spaces we play in for powertrain technology and obviously electrification is one of them," he said. "With Volt 1 and then the Spark EV, with that development and batteries getting better for us, we started doing some practical packaging to deliver a vehicle which was not the traditional aero form which you see around electric vehicles.