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How a Texas Hyundai dealer became the Chevy SSR king

The SSR isn't one of the most appreciated vehicles in Chevy's long history. With a style amalgamating the look of a vintage hotrod, convertible and a pickup, it's really serving a niche market right from the start. However, a Hyundai dealer in Texas has turned selling the cult models into a booming business and has become the de facto king of the quirky truck. According to Automotive News, Paul Peebles runs North Freeway Hyundai in Spring, TX, but he's better known in the Chevy SSR community the premiere seller of the weird model through his used car network. The odd venture started in 2010 when Peebles wanted to boost his pre-owned business and bought several sporty vehicles. Among them were five SSRs, and he threw a cookout for owners to get the word out. Things just ballooned from there. Since then, Peebles' used car dealer has had a hand in 447 SSR transactions, and some of those are the same truck coming back to sell again. With just over 24,000 of them out there, that works about to two percent of the model's production moving through just one business. The dealership also sponsors an SSR owners' forum online. Being a major broker for a niche model also means that Peebles often gets rare examples of the SSR, including some of the Indianapolis 500 pace car versions, according to Automotive News. We even saw a bizarre one last year when the business put this shark-inspired truck on eBay Motors. The whole thing also works out well for Peebles' Hyundai business. Specializing in SSRs brings other performance models in as trade-ins, and they can draw folks to the lot to check out the collection. Then, maybe visitors can take a look at a Sonata, too.

2016 Chevy Colorado Duramax gets 31 mpg highway

The 2016 Chevrolet Colorado Duramax and its similarly diesel-powered GMC Canyon sibling are the most fuel-efficient new trucks on the market in America. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 31 miles per gallon highway, 22 mpg city, and 25 mpg combined for two-wheel-drive Colorado and Canyon diesels. That's just good enough to take the pickup fuel-economy title from the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel HFE, which carries EPA estimates of 29 mpg highway, 21 mpg city, and 24 mpg combined. Four-wheel-drive models offer slightly lower economy figures of 29/20/23, respectively. Drivers can cover quite some distance, too – the GM twins' 21-gallon tanks mean a maximum range of 651 miles. <p>Your browser does not support iframes.</p> Diesel's reputation may be somewhat tarnished in the US after Volkswagen's emissions scandal, but Chevy wants to assure potential customers that there are no tricks with the Colorado's figures. The pickup's engine features NOx-reducing tech like exhaust gas recirculation, and the EPA and California Air Resources Board recently chose the truck to take the additional step of real-world emissions tests. The 2.8-liter Duramax four-cylinder with 181 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque had no problems with the more stringent evaluation, and "the agency expressed no issues or concerns," according to the company's statement. The diesel Colorado goes on sale this fall, and the Duramax costs $3,730 over a similarly equipped V6 model. We've gone ahead and included dueling press releases from both Chevy and GMC below for your reading pleasure. Related Video: CHEVROLET COLORADO DIESEL: AMERICA'S MOST FUEL EFFICIENT PICKUP 2015-11-09 2016 Colorado two-wheel drive model offers EPA-estimated 31 mpg highway Up to 7,700 pounds of trailering when properly equipped DETROIT – Chevrolet today confirmed that the 2016 Colorado two-wheel drive with the Duramax turbo-diesel will be the most fuel efficient pickup in America, offering an Environmental Protection Agency-estimated 31 mpg highway fuel economy. The EPA-estimated highway fuel economy for 2016 Colorado four-wheel drive diesel is 29 mpg. The EPA has issued a Certificate of Conformity for the Chevrolet Colorado Duramax diesel. The agency expressed no issues or concerns following its recent extensive testing and evaluation of the emission control system on the Colorado Duramax diesel.

GM to make most cars LTE hotspots for 2015

General Motors isn't the first automaker to deliver in-car Internet access, but a proposed plan announced today could make the technology more widespread than any of its competitors have offered. By the 2015 model year, most Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and GMC products in the US and Canada will offer 4G LTE mobile broadband access. Initially, GM will just be pairing with AT&T to deliver this service, but additional carriers will be revealed in the future.
Current in-car Wi-Fi hot spots are limited to 3G, but GM says that 4G LTE is 10 times faster than 3G service and will allow for full Internet access, including streaming video for entertainment as well as services like real-time traffic updates and navigation driving directions. There is also no need for a paired smartphone with this new system, which should make it easier to use, and GM and AT&T will also be working together to develop new apps for customers.
Buyers can expect to start seeing 4G LTE in their cars starting next year, and GM is already planning to expand the service to other global markets as well. All of the information from GM's announcement is posted in a press release below.