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The Opel GT is the concept General Motors should build for the US

Now is the time. General Motors should double-down on performance cars and build the Opel GT concept that's set to debut next week at the Geneva Motor Show. Better yet, sell it in the United States as the Chevy GT. Consumers are showing a thirst for performance cars not seen in decades. Ford has them coming in waves, with everything from the F-150 Raptor to a hotted-up Fusion. FCA US is unrepentantly building loads of Hellcats. GM should respond. The General's cupboard is hardly bare. With the Corvette, Camaro, and Cadillac's V-Series, GM has more than enough to compete with its crosstown rivals and anything Europe or Japan can throw at it. But there's also an opportunity. There's not many front-mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, two-seat sports cars out there like the Opel GT concept. A Chevy GT that used that layout and captured some of the concept car's proportions and curves would ignite a different kind of passion in enthusiasts. It would be Miata-like. With Chevy branding, this sports car would be the everyday exotic. The concept has a turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine, which makes about 143 horsepower to motivate a structure that weighs less than 2,200 pounds. It can hit 60 miles per hour in less than eight seconds. All of those numbers are within the front-engined Miata's territory. This new Opel is inspired by two great mid-1960s concepts that helped put its design studio, and that of its sister brand, the British Vauxhall, on the map. (The GT concept is also technically a Vauxhall, as the brands are linked in GM's European strategy.) One of them, the '66 Vauxhall XVR remained a concept. The '65 Opel Experimental GT was on the road by 1968. That shows this is doable. There's precedent. The Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice shared a chassis with a modern GT during that trio's brief run. If GM ever makes this concept, Opel and Vauxhall should get their versions. But Chevy is the one that could make this car a global icon. Chevrolet GT. Make it happen. News & Analysis News: The potential return of the Ford Bronco is generating a ton of attention. Analysis: That's not news, per se. But when the Bronco6G.com fan site did a rendering of a next-generation Bronco, it almost broke the Internet. Everyone from Automotive News to Jalopnik picked up the illustrations. Our own post has drawn a lot of traffic and passionate responses. People are clamoring for the Bronco's return.

2018 Autoblog Technology of the Year finalists

After months of prepping and several days of testing, we narrowed the field for Autoblog's 2018 Tech of the Year award to the Nissan Rogue with ProPilot Assist semi-autonomous driving system, the Lexus LC 500h and its new hybrid powertrain, and the Chevy Colorado ZR2 and its trick Multimatic spool-valve off-road shocks. Three very different cars with very different technologies duking it out for the award. Look for news of our winner at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show. We hand out this award every year to the technology or feature that we feel moves the bar forward for the automotive industry. Read more here on how our testing process works. We discuss, debate and count up score sheets, judging each vehicle and technology on a few different criteria. Is its purpose noteworthy? Does it work well? Does it advance the industry? The Nissan Rogue with ProPilot Assist was actually a prototype, as the technology will first debut in the 2018 Nissan Leaf. Still, we're here to test the tech and not the car. ProPilot Assist combines adaptive cruise control system combined with lane-keeping assistance. The system uses sonar, radar and a number of cameras for some light semi-autonomous driving and enhanced safety. While these systems aren't new individually, Nissan's system is affordable, intuitive, and coming to a mainstream product — democratizing the tech in a novel way, if you will. That's why it's here. The Lexus LC 500h uses a new powertrain that Lexus has dubbed the Multi-Stage Hybrid System. Basically it combines two types of transmissions — a CVT and a four-speed automatic — in a single unit mated to a naturally aspirated V6. That's complex and unorthodox technology, and Lexus engineered it to give drivers the efficiency of a CVT without sacrificing driving enjoyment. The package is subtle, working in the background to create a nearly seamless driving experience. It's engaging in a way most other hybrids can only dream of. The fact that it's wrapped in such gorgeous sheetmetal only makes things better. The Multimatic spool valve shocks in the Chevy Colorado ZR2 might seem low-tech compared to ProPilot Assist and the Lexus Multi-Stage Hybrid, but they represent a completely novel application of a technology that several years ago was so expensive that it was reserved for top-tier race cars. Like the LC 500h, these shocks really change your perception of how a vehicle like this should drive.

Chevy confirms 2016 Camaro will have wheels, brakes

Good news, everyone! Chevrolet has issued yet another round of teaser images and information about the sixth-generation Camaro, set to debut in Detroit on May 16. This time around, Chevy's teaser images confirm that the new car will not only have wheels and tires (Goodyear Eagle F1s, no less), but brakes as well. On top of that, we now know that the new Camaro will be 28-percent stiffer than the outgoing model. "The more rigid body structure allowed the engineers to more precisely calibrate the steering and suspension systems because they didn't have to compensate for chassis flex. The lighter structure also enabled the size and mass of elements such as the wheels, tires and brakes to be scaled accordingly," GM said in a press release, which you can read below. We've already learned that the new coupe will be 200 pounds lighter than its predecessor, has a bunch of unique parts, and according to GM's Mark Reuss, will outperform the Ford Mustang in every way. Now, it's only a matter of time before we see the sixth-gen Camaro, but surely not before Chevy issues even more teasers and information. Related Video: 2016 Camaro is Stronger, Lighter and More Responsive Computer aided engineering contributes to 28 percent greater structural stiffness DETROIT – The engineering team spent 9 million hours of computational time honing the driving experience of the all-new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro before the first prototype turned a wheel. The structural modeling led to the Gen 6 Camaro being 28 percent stiffer than the current model. "The modeling abilities of computer aided engineering are advancing at incredible rates," said Jim Karlavage, Camaro program engineering manager. "Today, we can accurately model opportunities to add torsional strength without adding unnecessary mass. The result is a lighter, stiffer structure that benefits every aspect of the driving experience." The more rigid body structure allowed the engineers to more precisely calibrate the steering and suspension systems because they didn't have to compensate for chassis flex. The lighter structure also enabled the size and mass of elements such as the wheels, tires and brakes to be scaled accordingly. "The structural weight savings are compounded by opportunities to reduce un-sprung weight," said Karlavage.