1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Base Hardtop 2-door on 2040-cars

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Chevrolet Malibu could last until 2024 before joining the dodo

Automotive News pieced together all available intel on the Chevrolet and GMC lineups, trying to ascertain how much life each model might have left. Concerning the Chevrolet Malibu, the answer is not too much, and the historic nameplate's final years don't look like the glory kind. After a major overhaul in 2016 boosted sales for the ninth-generation sedan to 227,881 units, the 2018 sales fell to 144,542, and this year's are down almost 15% through the end of June. The Malibu is one of two Chevrolet sedans still breathing - the other being the Impala for now - but only for about five more years. AN says there'll likely be a refresh in 2022, followed by a visit from the Reaper in 2024. After that, it could be "indirectly replaced" by an electric vehicle, one of the 23 EVs that GM is working on for 2023.     The Impala will meet the ax earlier despite a recent stay of execution. Production is still set to close in January 2020. In the entire GM stable, Cadillac might soon be the only marque with sedans. The Buick LaCrosse has a date with death, and Groupe PSA won't supply Opels-as-Regals forever.  The Sonic hatchback should say goodbye at the end of 2020, a year before the seemingly eternal Spark is thought to die. Two years after that, according to one report, the Camaro will go back into cold storage, perhaps forever, and AN says an "expected redesign of the car in 2021 was reportedly canceled." Finally, let's give one final shout-out to the Chevrolet Cruze, a global nameplate, which in the United States alone outsells the Malibu, outsold the Camaro by a factor of three last year, and absolutely trounces the Impala, Sonic, and Spark. Even that couldn't get a stay of execution. In more uplifting news, everything's happening on the crossover and truck side in the next few years. The Chevy Bolt is due for a refresh next year, even though it has "become more important for self-driving ride-hailing fleets that GM Cruise plans to operate than for consumers." In 2021, the Bolt-based crossover should bow, first in China, then here. It's said to look like "a mix of the Bolt and Trax" in spy shots. Still waiting for a green light: a possible subcompact GMC crossover called Granite that might make it to market by 2023. The full-sized SUV triplets Tahoe, Suburban, and Yukon could show their new faces in 2020. The Silverado might get an updated interior in 2020 or 2021, while the Colorado and Canyon mid-sized pickups won't get attention until perhaps 2023.

Junkyard Gem: 1988 Chevrolet Spectrum Sport Coupe

Before General Motors created the Geo brand for cars built or designed by its overseas partners, the Chevrolet Division put its badges on U.S.-market versions of the Toyota Corolla Sprinter, the Suzuki Cultus and the Isuzu Gemini. Those cars were known as the Nova, the Sprint and the Spectrum, and all became Geos starting with the 1989 model year. Today's Junkyard Gem is one of the last Chevy Spectrums ever sold, found in a Denver self-service yard a few months ago. Midway through 1988, the Chevrolet Spectrum abruptly became the Geo Spectrum and was assigned to the 1989 model year. This car was built in May 1988, making it one of the very last of the pre-Geo Spectrums. The Chevrolet/Geo Spectrum was available as a four-door sedan and as a three-door hatchback, from the 1985 through 1989 model years. For 1988 only, a Spectrum Sport Coupe package, featuring some trim upgrades and these rad decals, could be had on the hatchback. This car was essentially identical to its Isuzu-badged counterpart, the I-Mark. In 1988, the MSRP for the cheapest possible Chevy Spectrum hatchback (the stripped-down Spectrum Express) was $6,495, while its somewhat better-equipped I-Mark twin started at $7,439 (that's $17,128 and $19,617 in 2023 dollars). Meanwhile, the base Hyundai Excel hatchback listed at $5,295 and the Yugo GV cost a hilarious $4,199 ($13,963 and $10,941 in today's money). Power came from this 1.5-liter SOHC four-cylinder, rated at 70 horsepower. A turbocharged version with 110 horsepower was available as well. You could get an automatic transmission in the Spectrum, but this car has the base five-speed manual. This car didn't get the optional air conditioning, but at least it has the traditional Isuzu HVAC control icons featuring blow-dried hair and high-heeled dominatrix boots. Just over 170,000 miles on the odometer. Someone installed a pretty good (for the 1980s) Blaupunkt Charlotte CR148 cassette deck in the dash. This was a necessity if you wanted to enjoy full appreciation of the music of the era. The Spectrum is special! It's as slick as city rain. "I didn't spend a lot of money but with my Spectrum it looks like I did." Joe Isuzu mocked Toyota salesmen when pitching the I-Mark. As was nearly always the case during the 1980s, the JDM ads for the same car were much more fun. They should have recreated this commercial with Spectrums.

2014 Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra full configurators truck in

You can now put prices to your wildest option-sheet dreams of the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. A microsite for the full-size pickup truck twins has been up since January, and now the full-blown configurator is live and ready to take your virtual orders. The only two chassis configurations available at the moment are the Crew Cab with either a short or standard bed - Regular and Double Cab versions will come later. In Silverado flavors that will run you $32,710 for the short box, $33,010 for the standard box, while the Sierra adds a $1,500 premium to both of those prices, and destination and handling for both models adds another $995.
Since these are American pickups the list of modifications is lengthy, but we added $11,450 in just two steps by starting with the Silverado Crew Cab and standard bed, then checking four-wheel drive and the LTZ Z71 package. Our final truck, resplendent in Brownstone Metallic paint, heated and cooled Cocoa/Dune perforated leather seating and tasty details like chrome recovery hooks, and engine block heater and LED cargo box lighting, rang up $57,285 at the candy store.
They'll be on dealer lots sometime this summer, so now's a good time to start practicing your box-checking.