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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.

2015 Chevrolet Silverado Custom glitzes up volume model [UPDATE]

UPDATE: The original prices listed in Chevrolet's press release did include destination charging, despite not being specifically called out as such. We've edited the story to reflect this. The Chicago Auto Show's reputation as the home of special edition debuts grows stronger today, as Chevrolet is complementing the news that it'd unveil the Silverado Midnight Edtion and Colorado GearOn special editions in the Windy City with the debut of the Silverado Custom. And yes, it's different than the higher-spec Custom Sport that debuted just last month in Detroit. What's so custom about the Silverado Custom, you ask? Well, not a whole lot. The new truck is based on the popular Silverado LS Double Cab, and adds, among its most noteworthy features, a set of 20-inch, five-spoke wheels. From there, chrome is the order of the day, with shinier front and rear bumpers, mirror caps and door handles. The top portion of the front bumper, which is finished in black plastic on the standard LS, is matched to the body color on the Custom model. Standard LS interior features, like the 4.2-inch MyLink system with 4G LTE wireless internet, 40/20/40 cloth front seats, remain in place on the Custom, while it's a similar story with the powertrain. Choices below the sheetmetal will force buyers to choose between a 5.3-liter V8 or a standard 4.3-liter V6, and two- or four-wheel drive. Chevy is pricing a V8-equipped Silverado Custom 4x2 at $33,820 (including $1,195 in destination charges). Adding four-wheel drive brings the price up at $37,800, although as we said, selecting the 4.3-liter V6 will yield a more affordable Custom. Check out the full press release on the newest member of the Silverado clan, available below. 2015 Silverado Custom: Back to Basics, with Style $33,820 starting price for a well-equipped double-cab V-8 CHICAGO – Chevrolet takes aim at the heart of the pickup market with the Silverado Custom, which offers Chevy Truck capability and dependability in a stylish package, priced within reach of many truck customers. "The economic recovery has led to booming sales of high-end pickups like the Silverado High Country," said Sandor Piszar, marketing director for Chevy Trucks. "But there are also millions of customers in the heart of the market who want a great looking, well-equipped truck at an affordable price.

GM patent reveals new two-stage turbocharger

Modern turbochargers may be some of the best ever made, but performance is something that engineers are always trying to improve. According to GM Inside News, General Motors (GM) is hoping to alleviate some of the negative aspects of a two-stage turbocharger setup with a newly-patented design. The patent, that was filed on May 19, 2016, reveals a clever bypass system that allows the engine, a four-cylinder unit, to optimize both the low-pressure and high-pressure inlets for its respective functions. According to the filing, a conventional two-stage turbocharger setup is engineered to allow both turbines to operate simultaneously at low and mid engine speeds. At high engine speeds, only the low-pressure turbine works. The setup can't isolate either the low or high pressure side, which can impair low-end performance. GM's new two-stage turbocharger setup looks to eliminate this by linking the high-pressure turbo to the exhaust manifold through the high-pressure inlet duct. The low-pressure turbo is attached to the high-pressure turbo by a low-pressure inlet duct, which is linked to a connecting channel. A single actuator that is housed in the exhaust manifold creates a bypass that can opens the high-pressure inlet or close the connecting channel. Depending on what the engine load and speed is, the ECU guides the actuator—a single rotating spindle with discs corresponding to flanges on the high and low pressure sides—to isolate one of the two turbos. Isolating the turbos allow the respective inlets to be engineered for the best possible fluid dynamic performance. The setup should increase performance and decrease lag. There's no word on what car this setup will make an appearance on, but it will most likely be used in premium vehicles before trickling down to the rest of GM's vehicles. Related Video: News Source: GM Inside News, AutoGuide via GM Authority Cadillac Chevrolet GM Technology Sedan turbo patent engine turbocharging