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Chevy gets cracking on Cruze EV fleet testing

Chevrolet Cruze EV - Click above for high-res image gallery
The Chevrolet Volt hasn't yet gone on sale, but General Motors is looking at ways of expanding its electric vehicle lineup. Chevy, along with partner LG, is employing a group of all-electric cars in the form of the Cruze. The sedans are part of a demonstration fleet which is located in Seoul, South Korea and is being used to provide data in an electric vehicle research project. The goal is to gather information on driving patterns and charging behavior in addition to consumer acceptance.
The Cruze EVs, along with some Daewoo Lacetti Premieres EVs, are the first fleet of full-size electric vehicles and should provide invaluable information for The General. Staying full-size means not sacrificing cargo space, so the battery pack is mounted to the underbody, leaving the trunk area open for plenty recyclable, canvas grocery bags.

Chevy monitors drivers' biometrics while experiencing new Corvette Stingray

We tell you about what a car is like to drive every day, remarking on throttle response, steering weight and feedback, squat, dive, brake fade and a dozen or more other factors of performance. What we can't tell you, though, is what the car does to us - how its performance impacts us, physically. That's what makes this video series from Chevrolet so darn cool.
The Bow-Tie brand rented out Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch, got several (very) different individuals together, strapped a bunch of sensors to their bodies to record biometric data ranging from heart rate to respiration to brain activity, and then handed them keys to the new Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. The results are explained in a series of videos, devoted to each driver, showing how different people react to the Corvette's performance.
If, like your author, you're a nerd for medical science, this is going to be a fascinating set of videos. If not, it's still pretty cool to see how the body of someone with racing experience, like Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi, reacts to tracking a car like the Corvette Stingray compared to the owner of legendary Detroit barbecue joint, Slows BBQ. Take a look below for all six videos from the series, or hop over to the Corvette Vimeo channel for the interactive experience, where you can see all the different metrics.

GM cutting Chevy Sonic, Buick Verano production [UPDATE]

UPDATE: A previous version of this story indicated that Orion Assembly would be idled for seven weeks, from February 16 through April 6. This was incorrect. The factory will instead only be idled for the weeks of February 16 and April 6. The story has been edited to reflect this. General Motors has announced that the factory responsible for the Buick Verano and Chevrolet Sonic will be idled for the weeks of February 16 and April 6, with blame being placed on excess supply. The Orion Assembly plant, about 45 minutes north of GM's Renaissance Center headquarters, employs about 1,800 people, but they'll be given a pair of furloughs as inventories of the sub-compact Sonic and premium compact Verano reach 127 days and 84 days, respectively. That works out to 26,600 Chevys and 9,800 Buicks waiting for buyers. According to Automotive News, the compact Chevy sales bested the industry average in 2014, jumping up nine percent versus the the overall segment's eight-percent gain, while the Buick sedan's sales were down four percent. When asked about the shutdown, a GM spokesman told AN that it will "build to market demand," while also pointing out that the company did not comment on production plans. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Bill Pugliano / Getty Images Plants/Manufacturing Buick Chevrolet GM buick encore orion assembly