2006 Chevrolet Uplander Ls Mini Passenger Van 4-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

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Fullsize GM SUVs have a problem that's making owners sick

Some fullsize SUV owners are getting sick, thanks to a buffeting and vibration problem in 2015 model year examples of the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban, Cadillac Escalade, and GMC Yukon. According to owners' complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the issue can vary from an annoying vibration inside the cabin to an experience so severe that it leads to dizziness and headaches. General Motors is aware of the complaints, but the fix isn't so simple. According to spokesperson Tom Wilkinson to Autoblog, the company "has been tracking this issue for a while." The problem has a fairly low incidence rate, but when it does occur the issue can be "uncomfortable and annoying for owners." There's no precise cause for the issue, Wilkinson claims, and in some cases, simply balancing the tires or changing the door seals can make it go away. However, not all of the fixes are so simple. AutoGuide dug deep into the problem and discovered a GM preliminary information bulletin that advised dealers to remove the headliner and to check the roof's bonds to the bows that go across the vehicle. However, that document included a note that the solution might not entirely eliminate things. According to AutoGuide, adding Dynamat insulation to the roof sometimes helped the problem. A GM spokesperson also told AutoGuide the company fixed the problem at the end of the 2015 model year, and didn't go into any more detail. This roof issue seems linked to some of the worst droning in these SUVs. According to one complaint from a 2015 Suburban owner to NHTSA: "Roof will not remain attached to the roof bows. This causes the buffeting similar to a window being down when all are up. The results span from annoying to painful." A 2015 Yukon owner claims to have another alleged cause for the problem in a NHTSA complaint from February 2015. This person brought their SUV to the dealer seven times over the course of four weeks for vibrations. The dealer replaced the driveshaft, suspension components, and more, but nothing worked. According to an engineer to the service adviser: "In an effort to prevent roll overs, they designed the frame and body mounts too stiff. There are 40 engineers working on issues, they have no solutions that work across the board." Wilkinson told Autoblog that GM is working with customers on an individual basis to rectify things. Since these are newer vehicles, dealers should also fix the problem under warranty.

2023 Grand National Roadster Show Mega Photo Gallery | Hot rod heaven

POMONA, Calif. — From an outsider's perspective, it would be easy to assume that the Grand National Roadster Show has always been a Southern California institution. After all, it celebrates the diverse postwar car culture of the region — hot rods, lead sleds, lowriders, and more. However, the show had its roots in NorCal in 1950 when Al Slonaker and his hot rod club showed their custom cars at the Oakland Expo. The GNRS moved to Pomona, California, in 2004. By then it had grown exponentially and seen about a dozen more car customization trends come and go. However, the show and its centerpiece award, the America's Most Beautiful Roadster prize, celebrate what is perhaps the first of those trends: the American hot rod in its purest form. Today, in its 73rd year, the GNRS is the oldest indoor car show in America. Annually it welcomes 500-800 cars, gathered into special themes like Tri-Five Chevys or Volkswagen Bugs. At this year's show, which was last weekend, a special hall was dedicated to pickup trucks built between 1948-98, including mini-trucks, groovy camper bed conversions, and resto-mods.  However, of all the vehicles presented, only nine are eligible for the America's Most Beautiful Roadster award. Winners get their names engraved on a 9-foot-tall perpetual trophy that was, according to The Ultimate Hot Rod Dictionary, the largest in the world when it debuted in 1950. Slonaker chose the word "roadster" initially because "hot rod" bore slightly negative outlaw connotations in 1950. Only American cars built before 1937 of certain body styles — roadsters, roadster pickups, phaetons, touring cars — are eligible, and they cannot have roll-down side windows.  Cars in the running for the cup cannot have been shown anywhere else before their debut at the GNRS.  Contestants for this accolade essentially build their cars to the a platonic ideal of a hot rod. This year the honors went to Jack Chisenhall of San Antonio, Texas, for his "Champ Deuce," a 1932 Ford Roadster. It's exactly what you picture when you think of a hot rod, but distilled to its absolute essence.  Other standouts included "Green Eyes," a two-tone green 1959 Chevy El Camino  with a heavily metal-flaked bed, "Blue Monday," a 1964 Buick Riviera lowrider, and a personal favorite, "Purple Reign," a purple and black 1951 Mercury. Cars may have started out as tools, but there aren't shows like this filled with custom refrigerators.

Joe Flacco wins C7 Corvette along with MVP honors

As part of a longstanding tradition, the MVP of Super Bowl XLVII, Joe Flacco, quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, was given a new car directly after the game and trophy celebrations. For 2013, that car is a 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, and it was presented to Flacco by Rick Flick of Banner Chevrolet, a dealership in New Orleans that was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 before returning to prominence as the only Chevy dealer in Orleans Parish.
Last year, Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning took home a 2012 Corvette GS Centennial Edition. Manning also won in 2008, when he selected a Cadillac Escalade Hybrid as his reward. In 2011, quarterback Aaron Rodgers accepted the keys to a Camaro convertible.
Though we're most definitely an auto-obsessed group, we did watch the Big Game along with nearly everyone else in America. And we've gotta say, as if winning the Super Bowl and receiving the Tiffany-designed Pete Rozelle Trophy wasn't enough for the multi-millionaire MVP athletes, a brand-new C7 seems like an awfully generous prize. Scroll down below for an official announcement from General Motors.