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A car writer's year in new vehicles [w/video]

Christmas is only a week away. The New Year is just around the corner. As 2014 draws to a close, I'm not the only one taking stock of the year that's we're almost shut of. Depending on who you are or what you do, the end of the year can bring to mind tax bills, school semesters or scheduling dental appointments. For me, for the last eight or nine years, at least a small part of this transitory time is occupied with recalling the cars I've driven over the preceding 12 months. Since I started writing about and reviewing cars in 2006, I've done an uneven job of tracking every vehicle I've been in, each year. Last year I made a resolution to be better about it, and the result is a spreadsheet with model names, dates, notes and some basic facts and figures. Armed with this basic data and a yen for year-end stories, I figured it would be interesting to parse the figures and quantify my year in cars in a way I'd never done before. The results are, well, they're a little bizarre, honestly. And I think they'll affect how I approach this gig in 2015. {C} My tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015 it'll be as high as 73. Let me give you a tiny bit of background about how automotive journalists typically get cars to test. There are basically two pools of vehicles I drive on a regular basis: media fleet vehicles and those available on "first drive" programs. The latter group is pretty self-explanatory. Journalists are gathered in one location (sometimes local, sometimes far-flung) with a new model(s), there's usually a day of driving, then we report back to you with our impressions. Media fleet vehicles are different. These are distributed to publications and individual journalists far and wide, and the test period goes from a few days to a week or more. Whereas first drives almost always result in a piece of review content, fleet loans only sometimes do. Other times they serve to give context about brands, segments, technology and the like, to editors and writers. So, adding up the loans I've had out of the press fleet and things I've driven at events, my tally for the year is 68 cars, as of this writing. Before the calendar flips to 2015, it'll be as high as 73. At one of the buff books like Car and Driver or Motor Trend, reviewers might rotate through five cars a week, or more. I know that number sounds high, but as best I can tell, it's pretty average for the full-time professionals in this business.

Chevy reveals new IndyCar aero package

The IndyCar Series is not one that demands its participating teams and automakers to design their own chassis as they do in Formula One, but for this season, the organizers have opened it up to allow for custom aero packages. What you're looking at here is the new look of the chassis to be fielded by teams running under Chevy power. Based on the Dallara DW12 chassis – introduced three years ago and named after the late Dan Wheldon – Chevy's new package is designed for road courses and short ovals, with the speedway configuration to be revealed later. The kit features new wings front and rear and more sculpted side pods. It's also got new wedges at the back to envelop the otherwise open wheels that are a hallmark of Indy racing, a more streamlined engine cover and bigger rear bumper pods. The new package will debut at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg that will kick off this year's championship in Florida on March 29, followed by the road-course grands prix in Louisiana, Long Beach, Alabama and Indianapolis before the new package needs to be ready for the Indy 500 late in May. Half of the teams on the starting grid this season will be running under Chevy power and are expected to use this new aero kit, with the remaining Honda teams slated to run a different package of their own. Chevrolet Debuts All-New 2015 IndyCar Aero Package Chevy-developed bodywork delivers improved aerodynamics 2015-02-17 INDIANAPOLIS – Chevrolet-powered racecars in the 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series will feature Chevrolet-developed aero packages. Chevrolet introduced the road course/short oval body design today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is distinguished from the previous racecar with new front wing elements, sculpted side pods and a new rear wing. A speedway configuration for the aero kit, designed for high-speed ovals, will be introduced ahead of its competitive debut at Indianapolis in May. "This is an important milestone in Chevrolet's involvement in IndyCar racing," said Jim Campbell, General Motors U.S. vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. "We focused on developing an aerodynamic package that delivers an balanced combination of downforce and drag, along with integrated engine performance. It's a total performance package." The new Chevy road course aero configuration delivers greater aerodynamic performance than the previous design.

GM says its electric pickup truck is 'in development'

GM President Mark Reuss just reiterated the company's support for an electric pickup project. He also claimed that GM is going to be selling its future electric cars at "very average transaction prices" during the same conference with Wall Street analysts. Previously, Mary Barra informed the world of GM's electric pickup truck aspirations, but didn't tell us anything else. Reuss says the truck is already in development, though, according to a Wards Auto report. "We will have a complete electric lineup, including a pickup truck that's in development," Reuss said. This comment marks the second time GM has gone on the record about its intentions to bring an electric pickup to market. Additionally, Reuss said GM's third-generation global EV platform will be used to help develop the electric pickup. This platform was recently announced to underpin at least 20 new EVs from GM in the future — the platform itself is slated to be unveiled in 2021. Of course, this platform will be flexible and modular to allow various body styles to be used with it, a truck being one of those. Reuss still hasn't said what GM brand the pickup will be sold under, or what class of truck it will be. GM thinks this new platform is also going to be what helps it drive down the cost of building EVs. "We'll reach parity a lot sooner than people think," Reuss said comparing EVs to traditional gas-powered engines. "We're driving down the cost of batteries and the whole EV in general." As for electric pickups, Ford is also deep in development of its own electric F-150. However, neither of these truck projects have official timelines on them, so we can't say when they'll hit the market. For now, the cross-town rivals are both in development with their respective electric pickups. Even further across town is Rivian (in which Ford just invested half a billion dollars), a company that says its electric R1T pickup is right around the corner, with the official due date being end of 2020 for the time being. Green Chevrolet GMC Green Culture Green Driving Truck Electric Future Vehicles