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GM to squeeze out more production capacity for midsize trucks

General Motors was predicting a strong showing for the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon before they debuted, and demand among dealers for the midsize trucks even exceeded company's expectations. The positive situation has left GM with a problem, though: finding ways to increase capacity for the pickups at the Wentzville Assembly plant in Missiouri. With a third shift already running, GM has continued to look for ways to build just a few more of the trucks at the plant. The company has plans to hire as many as 1,000 more workers for the Saturday and Sunday shifts to construct an additional 2,000 pickups a month, according to unnamed insiders at the factory speaking to Automotive News. The little adjustments even extend to getting rid of an unpaid break to add 18 minute of assembly time over the course of a day, which equals about 3,500 more vehicles a year. All of this effort comes because the trucks are in such high demand. According to GM's figures, the company has delivered a combined 35,720 units of the Colorado and Canyon from January through April 2015, and the Chevy was the fastest-selling truck in the US for the previous three months. In May, it spent an average of just 12 days in showrooms before being snapped up. And even better for the company, 43 percent of these buyers came from other brands. According to Automotive News, the most popular trade-ins have included the Ford F-150, Toyota Tacoma, and Dodge Dakota. Related Video:

Chevy donates first 2016 COPO Camaro to United Way

Want to get your hands on the first new COPO Camaro? Scottsdale will be the place to be this weekend. That's where Barrett-Jackson will auction off the drag-racing muscle car with the serial number 2016COPO001. The example on the docket is the very same show car that Chevy revealed at the SEMA show just a couple of months ago. Like every new COPO Camaro, it's based on the new sixth-generation coupe and packs an array of drag-racing upgrades. Those include a three-speed automatic transmission, solid rear axle, and adjustable suspension. While Chevy will offer the new COPO Camaro with a choice of three engines, this particular example packs the 5.7-liter supercharged V8, as well as a unique red and black livery designed by Chevy drag racing driver Courtney Force. 100 percent of the proceeds from the sale are destined to go to United Way, following previous examples that benefited wounded veterans. You can bet it will raise a pretty penny at auction, but if you miss this one, of course there will be more. Just don't wait around too long as the Bowtie brand will only make 69 of them this year. 2016 COPO Camaro No. 1 Sale to Benefit United Way Courtney Force designed show car to be auctioned for United Way 2016-01-26 DETROIT – Chevrolet will auction off the first, sixth generation 2016 COPO Camaro race car to raise money for United Way. The purpose-built COPO Camaro, serial number 2016COPO001, will be sold on Friday, Jan. 29, at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction. All proceeds of the winning bid will benefit United Way. "This is a special opportunity to purchase the first of the sixth generation, 2016 COPO Camaro while also helping such a great cause," said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. The COPO is a powerful, purpose-built Camaro designed to race in NHRA Stock Eliminator class. The COPO Camaro legacy continues with an all-new sixth-generation version. This modern-looking machine infuses legendary COPO performance with the modern, lighter and stronger design of the 2016 Camaro. Chevrolet introduced the sixth generation COPO Camaro No. 001 last November at the SEMA Show and includes a personalized look created by Chevrolet and NHRA Funny Car driver Courtney Force. It features a Red Hot exterior color with Courtney Force-signature graphics and red-accented grille trim. "I was extremely honored to work with Chevrolet and help design the 2016 COPO Camaro," said Courtney Force.

2016 Chevy Volt will not need premium gas

Buried in the new technical details of the 2016 Chevy Volt released yesterday was a throwaway line about a small but important change that's due to the new 1.5-liter, four-cylinder engine. The first-gen Volt has always required premium gas but the new powerplant will be happy burning plain old regular. The Volt's chief engineer, Andrew Farah, told AutoblogGreen that the change was due to today's Volt owners explaining they were not happy paying for top-shelf petroleum. "The ability to use regular unleaded was based directly on customer feedback," he said. "Since the range extender is an all-new engine, it was optimized to use regular unleaded at the outset. Using regular fuel will not have effect on vehicle acceleration or other performance factors." As Larry Nitz, GM's executive director of vehicle electrification, told AutoblogGreen yesterday, the new engine is more powerful and quieter than the outgoing 1.4-liter engine that's used in the current Volt. Fuel economy and EV range specs for the next-gen Volt are not expected until the full car is revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in January.