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Chevy Silverado gets star-studded treatment at SEMA

Chevrolet has quite a presence ready for the 2015 SEMA Show, including custom takes on the Camaro and Spark. As one of the company's most popular models, the Silverado isn't left out of the fun, either, thanks to a trio of concepts to highlight what's possible for the aftermarket event. Camouflage is supposed to blend in, but the naval-inspired, Razzle Dazzle design on the Silverado Special Ops Concept should make the truck pop under the lights at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Based on a Silverado 1500 Z71, the pickup is conceived as a "rescue vehicle special-operations forces." To get behind enemy lines, it packs extra LED lighting, wheel flares for off-road tires, and a GearOn utility rack in the bed. Plus to help get away, Chevy Performance fits an air intake, exhaust kit, and concept six-piston brakes. The Silverado Realtree Bone Collector Concept (above) also wears camo for SEMA, but it's for enjoying the outdoors rather than getting out of battle. Camouflage company Realtree and The Bone Collector host Michael Waddell help with the design for this custom truck that features 22-inch black wheels, a front push bar, LED light bar, and assist steps all from Chevy Accessories. With leather upholstery, Apple CarPlay, and Android Auto inside, the drive to and from the woods should be comfortable, as well. The Silverado 3500HD Kid Rock Concept rounds out this trio and features patriotic styling from the eponymous rock star. "I wanted the design for the truck to be bold, but with features and elements that wouldn't be out of reach for working-class guys," he said about the design, and Kid Rock even visited the factory in Flint, MI, to meet members from UAW Local 598 for some inspiration. The result features a custom chrome grille with a Born Free logo and chrome exhaust stacks. For added excitement, two Gibbs Sports Quadskis are hooked up on the trailer behind it. Related Video: Chevrolet Introduces Silverado Special Ops Concept Military-inspired truck reinforces capability with go-anywhere style LAS VEGAS – Chevrolet's 2016 Silverado Special Ops concept imagines a unique rescue vehicle for special-operations forces. It is based on the Silverado 1500 Z71, which features a new front-end design and new technologies built into its strong, high-strength steel body structure and fully boxed frame, and draws its design inspiration from naval design aesthetics.

2016 Chevrolet Camaro powers up, slims down

Don't be fooled by its familiar appearance, the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro is vastly different than its iconic predecessors. It has a new chassis, a fresh engine lineup, and is loaded with clever technologies that promise to invigorate and improve the sixth generation of Chevy's legendary sports car. It was revealed Saturday before a crowd of enthusiastic Camaro revelers on Belle Isle in Detroit. Redesigning the sports coupe was a heady task, especially as its archrivals, the Ford Mustang and Dodge Challenger, drive better and are more powerful than ever. But the new Camaro is aiming to be the best combination of handling and raw performance, with quick acceleration and competitive fuel economy. "Redesigning the Camaro is thrilling and challenging all at once, but the secret is to offer something more," Mark Reuss, General Motors executive vice president of product development, said in a statement. It all began with a weight-loss plan. The new Camaro shed more than 200 pounds compared with the outgoing car, with 133 pounds coming from a lighter body-in-white. Then engineers culled weight nearly everywhere, using aluminum for the instrumental panel frame and some suspension components to trim as much fat as possible. The slimmer body rests on new bones. The Camaro's rear-wheel-drive platform is lighter and stiffer in a bid to improve handling. It's a modified version of the underpinnings used by the Cadillac ATS, though about 70 percent of the architecture is unique to the Camaro. Chevy said structural rigidity is improved by 28 percent. As you'll see, healthy doses of Cadillac and Corvette technologies have been used to bolster the Camaro's drive character and performance. The new car is also expected to handle better thanks to a slightly smaller footprint. It is about two inches shorter in length, with most of that due to the more compact wheelbase. It's also an inch shorter in height and an inch slimmer in width. So yes, the Camaro will be leaner, but it will still be plenty mean. The Camaro SS tops the range (for now) with the Corvette's 6.2-liter V8 pushing put 455 horsepower and 455 pound-feet of torque. Known as the LT1, is has a cast aluminum block and cast aluminum cylinder heads, and it's fortified with direct injection, variable valve timing, and cylinder deactivation. About 20 percent of the engine's parts are said to be unique to the Camaro, including the exhaust manifolds.

2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

"Corvette" has stood for American muscle, American sports car, and American supercar. In many cases, it still stands for America: liberty on the go, LS-powered freedom. There was also a time when it meant really impressive numbers that didn't equate to really impressive handling, and a not-so-nice cabin. The handling issue really turned the road-legal corner when the C5 Z06 was introduced in 2001, and by the time the super-duper ZR1 ended its run in 2010, Corvette had exorcised practically all of its dynamic demons. But when I took a seat in the 2015 Corvette Z06 on the first day of my week-long loan, I espied a few demons still squatting in the interior. When colleague Seyth Miersma drove the Z06, he wrote, "Listen, I'm not going to be the guy that dogs the Corvette for having a cheap-feeling interior, this generation has put those once-legitimate claims to rest." Well, I am going to be that guy, because I don't think those claims have been put to rest. One day Chevy will give us leather that looks and feels like leather, instead of the astonishingly thin hide that is laid directly on top of the instrument panel structure. This material was set off by white stitching, but there were no seams, just a trail of white stitches. In some places it was hard to tell where the leather ended and the plastic began; or it might all have been the same upholstery, I don't know. Five dollars of foam padding would add five thousand dollars of luxury to the cockpit. One day Corvette will have plastics that don't look so plasticky. I know General Motors can do it. And after years of thinking Corvette seats were too wide and flat, this latest Z06 is almost there. The seatbacks were nice, but the exaggerated side bolstering on the seat bottoms was too narrow and sharp. That's a personal preference, though; other drivers with thinner thighs will think differently. My complaint isn't that the interior isn't luxurious, it's that it's not luxurious enough. If Chevrolet was worried about pricing, it could add some kind of profligate package to the options list. Have some ex-Porsche people design it, call it the Teutonic Splendor Package, slap a massive price on it, and count the money. People will buy it, and no one will ever have to say again, "But the interior..." That said, this test car's cabin had every feature I wanted. The gauge cluster was bright, crisp, and readable in every shade of daylight.