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2015 Chevrolet Trax

After the obligatory product presentation for the 2015 Trax, I caught up with Steve Majoros, Chevrolet's director of marketing for crossovers and cars, and asked him to elaborate on which markets his planners believe will be the hot starters for this tiny CUV. Without much hesitation, Majoros began to click off traditional sales havens for Subaru, namely, New England and the snowy bits of the East Coast, Colorado and the Pacific Northwest. That news might not surprise you, but it did me. Perhaps it's something as basic as the Trax's tall-hatchback looks, or the emphasis Chevrolet put on the urban driving cycle during my test in San Diego. But before my chat with Majoros, I'd considered this a crossover pointed at the Millennial city mouse more than his bumpkin cousin. But a closer look had me re-examining the granola cred of Chevy's smallest crossover. Having spent my fair share of time in New England and around New Englanders, I started by mentally listing the Trax's Subaru-like traits: practicality, thrift, all-weather ability and, well, just a dash of ugliness. (I suppose a hatchback needn't always be ugly to sell in Maine, or Boulder or Portland... but a 'distinctive' face doesn't seem to hurt.) After a day of driving through sunny San Diego and its surroundings, I can say that Trax makes an interesting case for itself against the standard bearers of the L.L. Bean set, but I'm less sure of its argument for young urbanites. The Trax looks a lot like an Equinox whose suit shrunk in the wash. Chevy's has downsized its own, rather conservative crossover styling to fit the proportions of the subcompact Trax; to my eyes, it looks a lot like an Equinox whose suit shrunk in the wash. That's fine for offering a cohesive look for the Chevy family of crossovers, but it seems out of step with the rest of the segment. If the Trax's current competitive set were the cast of a high school-based TV show, the Kia Soul would play the lovable nerd, the Nissan Juke perhaps the outsider musician and the Subaru XV Crosstrek the athletic outdoorsy kid. Chevy may see the Trax as the hipster chick wearing intentionally ironic mom jeans, but to me the styling is a little too on the nose; more like an actual grownup trying to hang with the kids. These mom jeans are genuine. Per my earlier point, that quasi-conservative look may be just fast enough for staid New Englanders, but I have a hard time seeing the bluff, big-Bowtied front end playing in Bushwick or Wicker Park.

GM throttles back Chevy Malibu, Buick LaCrosse production over swollen inventories

As inventory of the Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCrosse continues to pile up, General Motors will be idling its Fairfax Assembly Plant for two weeks, according to Automotive News. This move comes about a month after the plant was shut down for three weeks in late December and early January for the same reason. As of January 31, the GM had a 94-day supply of Malibu stock while the LaCrosse was a little worse with a 117-day supply.
Just last week, GM announced that it would be investing $600 million in upgrading this plant, but it's unclear what future plans the company has in store for Fairfax considering slow sales of both the plant's models. We do expect a refreshed and more luxurious LaCrosse shortly and an early design update for the Malibu to be announced at some point this year, although we have had no official word as to when either will happen.

Chevrolet only automaker to win EPA's 2015 Climate Leadership Awards

Chevrolet was the only automaker to be on the list of entities for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Climate Leadership Awards. Of course, the accolades had nothing to do with any vehicle's tailpipe emissions, General Motors can still be proud. The automaker is engaging in what it calls the Chevrolet Clean Energy Campus Campaign. Chevy is working with the US Green Building Council, among other groups, to find ways for buildings in primary and secondary schools as well as college campuses to reduce their collective carbon footprint via better design. The EPA pointed out the "carbon performance methodologies" used by Chevrolet to run the program and spur lower emissions from its campus partners. The effort is part of Chevrolet's broader goal to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by as many as 8 million metric tons of CO2. And it's going to take more than bunch of plug-in Volt and Spark EVs to do that. Other entities feted by the EPA include UPS, Bank of America, the cities of San Francisco and Oakland, Clorox and Tiffany & Co. Yes, Tiffany. Take a look at the EPA's press release below, and find out more information on Chevy's program here. UPS, Bank of America, SC Johnson Among 16 Organizations across the U.S. Recognized for Climate Action / EPA also recognizes Chevrolet Clean Energy Campus Campaign, San Diego Regional Climate Collaborative in new Innovative Partnerships Category WASHINGTON – From an innovative partnership enabling colleges to sell carbon credits to fund clean energy projects on campuses to some of the country's leading corporations setting and exceeding aggressive emission reduction goals, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Climate Leadership Award winners announced today are demonstrating that innovative actions to combat climate change are smart business decisions. Sixteen organizations and one individual representing a wide array of industries from finance and manufacturing to retail and technology show exemplary corporate, organizational, and individual leadership in response to climate change. "I am proud to recognize our Climate Leadership Award winners for their actions to reduce the harmful carbon pollution that's fueling climate change," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. "Our winners are demonstrating that a healthy environment and a strong economy go hand in hand.