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First 2015 Chevy Corvette Z06s en route to owners [w/video]

Pretty much right on schedule, Chevrolet has begun shipping the very first customer examples of its 650-horsepower, supercharged Corvette Z06. In fact, according to General Motors, the earliest Z06s could be in customer hands by the end of this week. "It has been an incredible opportunity to work on Chevy's most capable model," said Jeff Lamarche, manager of Chevy's Bowling Green Assembly plant. "It truly is an amazing car, and we're thrilled to get them into the hands of our eager customers." Prices for the Z06 start at $78,995 for the hardtop model, while the first-ever Z06 Convertible kicks off at $83,995. Take a look below for the official press release from Chevrolet, and while you're down there, we've slipped in a new video of Corvette Racing's Tommy Milner taking a hot lap of Road Atlanta in a Z06, complete with some Performance Data Recorder footage. First 2015 Corvette Z06s on Their Way to Customers Most capable model in Chevrolet's history now shipping from Bowling Green BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Chevrolet is now shipping the all-new 2015 Corvette Z06 coupe from Bowling Green Assembly and some early customers could receive the much-anticipated supercar later this week. "It has been an incredible opportunity to work on Chevy's most capable model," said Jeff Lamarche, plant manager of General Motors' Bowling Green Assembly plant, "It truly is an amazing car, and we're thrilled to get them into the hands of our eager customers." The new Corvette Z06 offers the most choice for customers in the model's history. It is the first Z06 to offer an available eight-speed paddle-shift automatic transmission and, thanks to a stronger aluminum frame, a removable roof panel. In addition, it is the first time since 1963 that the Z06 is available as a convertible – which will arrive in early 2015. The new LT4 supercharged 6.2L V-8 engine is SAE-certified at 650 horsepower (485 kW) at 6,400 rpm and 650 lb-ft of torque (881 Nm) at 3,600 rpm – making the 2015 Corvette Z06 the most powerful production car ever from General Motors and one of the most powerful production cars available in the United States. To balance performance and efficiency, the LT4 leverages a trio of advanced technologies – direct injection, Active Fuel Management (cylinder deactivation) and continuously variable valve timing –with a new, more efficient supercharger. The LT4 helps make the Corvette Z06 the most capable car in the brand's history.

2015 Chevy Spark will have lighter, smaller battery

As General Motors gets ready to release the 2015 Chevy Spark EV, it is retooling the Brownstown Battery Assembly to build a new battery system for the chirpy little electric car. The new Spark will lose a few pounds and kWh from its lithium-ion pack, but it will keep all of it's performance specs. The current Spark EV uses a 21-kWh lithium-ion battery pack with bits made by A123 Systems (known as B456 Systems during bankruptcy). For the 2015 model, GM is going to build a 19-kWh battery system in-house that will use 192 LG Chem cells. Losing a bit of energy capacity means that the battery system for the 2015 Spark EV will be 86 pounds lighter but it will keep the EPA-rated 82-mile range and 119 MPGe. The 2015 Spark EV also keeps its $26,685 (plus destination) starting price from the 2014 model. The car will once again qualify for a federal tax credit of up to $7,500. LG Chem also supplies the cells for GM's other plug-in vehicles from its facility in Western Michigan. The Brownstown production line currently builds the battery packs for the Chevy Volt, the Opel Ampera and the Cadillac ELR. You can read our first drive of the 2014 Chevy Spark here. Brownstown Battery Assembly Expands Capabilities Will build battery system for 2015 Chevrolet Spark EV 2014-05-14 DETROIT – General Motors will bring all its electric vehicle battery building capabilities in-house with production of battery systems for the 2015 Chevrolet Spark EV at its battery assembly plant in Brownstown, Mich. "Using our in-house engineering and manufacturing expertise enabled us to deliver a battery system that is more efficient and lighter than the 2014 Spark EV without sacrificing range," said Larry Nitz, executive director of GM global transmission and electrification engineering. "Our successful working relationship with LG Chem has allowed us to deliver a new battery system for the Spark EV that helps us to better leverage our economies of scale." A newly designed battery system features an overall storage capacity of 19 kWh and uses 192 lithium ion cells. The cells are produced at LG Chem's plant in Holland, Mich. The battery system weight of 474 lbs. is 86 pounds lighter than the system in the 2014 Spark EV. The Spark EV battery is built on a dedicated production line at Brownstown, which also manufactures complete battery packs for the Chevrolet Volt, Opel Ampera and Cadillac ELR.

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.