1989 Chevy Caprice Classis Brougham Ls With Moon Roof on 2040-cars

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Driving Granatelli's turbine-powered 1978 Chevy Corvette [w/video]

With its curvy snout and feminine haunches, the third-gen Chevrolet Corvette looks like a dreamy – if dated – exemplar of Sports Car Fantasy 101 when viewed through modern eyes. This particular specimen circa '78, clad in silver and black paint with red pinstripes, appears to be a well-preserved example from the era. Apart from its low-profile Pirellis, slightly raised and slotted hood, spacious stance and a certain hand-painted descriptor alongside its crossed flag logos, you'd never guess there's a Space-Age propulsion unit powering this Coke bottle-bodied ride. Climb inside, and you're presented with aircraft gauges and big, colorful square buttons in the center panel. It takes a push of the "Ignitor" button, a tap of the starter button, and a slide of a T-handle for this nearly 40-year-old sports car to start sounding like Gulfstream G650 ready for takeoff. Yep, you're sitting in an 880-horsepower, turbine-powered Corvette, the only one of its kind in the world. Welcome to the whoosh. What The...? Built by Vince Granatelli, son of Indy 500 guru Andy Granatelli, this curious Corvette came into being by cramming a Pratt & Whitney ST6N-74 gas turbine engine into the donor car's lengthy front end. The same type of Jet A-burning mill powered Granatelli Senior's STP-sponsored racecar at the 1967 Indianapolis 500, where it famously led most of the 198 of 200 laps until a $6 transmission bearing failed, knocking it out of the race. The idea of turbine power usurping internal combustion was so threatening that Indy's governing body restricted turbine performance into obsolescence thereafter. A turbine-powered Corvette sounds excessive because it is. But there are also things about this 880-horsepower, 1,161-pound-feet monster that might surprise you. While it smacks of futurist exoticism and cost a then-dizzying $37,000 in 1967, the Canadian-built powerplant uses 80 percent fewer parts than an internal combustion V8 and will run on virtually anything combustible – whiskey, diesel, even Chanel No. 5. Though it's triple the length of a V8, the Pratt & Whitney beast weighs only 285 pounds. It's also one hell of a robust workhorse, typically serving as an auxiliary power unit for commercial aircraft or a generator in oil fields, where it can run for tens of thousands of consecutive hours before needing an overhaul. To adapt the Chevrolet for jet duty, the nose section was gutted and a sub-frame was built to compensate for the loosey-goosey front end.

Sunday Drive: Taking a gaze into the automotive crystal ball

Mankind has long been fascinated by the future. So it makes sense that this past week's top stories were all about cars, trucks, and SUVs that won't be hitting the market until the 2019 model year. And right at the top of the list is the Ram 1500. We've come to know Ram as the truck maker that styles its pickups with cues cribbed from big rigs, but that look has slowly evolved over time into something uniquely its own. The next Ram 1500 continues this trend, with a newly refined look that we can't wait to see in person. Up next is the 2019 Chevy Silverado. Pickup trucks have been, continue to be, and will remain the best-selling vehicles in America. And General Motors is a leader in the field, with two distinct offerings with which to entice buyers, one from the bread-and-butter Chevrolet brand and one wearing the slightly more upscale GMC badge. The Chevy looks to get LED lighting elements for 2019, which ought to keep the truck from looking dated when compared to the Ford F-150 and the previously mentioned Ram 1500. From there we move past pickup trucks and into SUVs and sedans. The 2019 Jeep Cherokee looks to get toned down a bit with its next refresh, and the '19 BMW 3 Series continues its slow evolutionary journey at the top of its aspirational sales pedestal. Finally, spy shots give way to official production reveals for the 2019 Audi A7 and Polestar 1. This pair of European luxury cars won't compete with one another – one is a rakish hatchback and the other a sports coupe – any further than for the eyeballs of our readers, but both proved popular enough to merit inclusion in our weekly roundup. As always, tune in to Autoblog next week for a front-row seat to all the happenings worth following in the automotive industry. 2019 Ram 1500 spotted without the classic crosshairs 2019 Chevy Silverado spied with new LED accents 2019 Jeep Cherokee reveals a much more normal face 2019 BMW 3 Series spy shots reveal production lights, new interior details 2019 Audi A7 revealed: More torque, refined styling Polestar 1 First Look | The 600 horsepower hybrid Scandinavian Green Audi BMW Chevrolet Jeep RAM Volvo Truck Hatchback SUV Future Vehicles Hybrid Luxury Performance Sedan sunday drive polestar 1

2015 Chevrolet SS Review [w/video]

The Chevrolet SS is one of the best cars no one's buying. It's a Bowtie-badged version of the Australian Holden Commodore with a 6.2-liter LS3 V8 under the hood. It's got a six-speed manual transmission, General Motors' sophisticated Magnetic Ride Control suspension, and rear-wheel drive. It's a fullsize sedan that comes with every possible amenity you could want. And it's less than $50,000. Chevrolet sold 2,479 SS sedans in 2014. That means it was outsold by every other vehicle the automaker offers, even the police fleet-only Caprice. (I'm only talking about cars that were on sale for the full 2014 calendar year, of course.) The aforementioned manual transmission and MRC suspension were added for 2015, but it's not clear if that's helping. The SS is down 7.7 percent through June of this year, compared to 2014's numbers. But hey, at least it's finally outselling the Caprice. What a damn shame. Granted, GM only planned to sell a few thousand of these each year, but as enthusiasts, this a car we should be gobbling up. It's the closest we'll get to a four-door Corvette, and with the 2015 model year updates, that statement is more true than ever. People often mistook the SS for a Malibu. "Is that a rental car?" Yikes. Aside from the manual gearbox and magnetorheological suspension, the SS is largely unchanged through its year and a half of sales. But that's no bad thing – we were thoroughly impressed with the SS when we first tested it at the end of 2013. Outside, the SS looks the same, which is a bummer. It is not an attractive car, and the chrome brightwork on the side vents and wheels doesn't help. That said, the sedate styling puts it under the radar – more so than competitors like a Dodge Charger 392, anyway. But maybe it's too under the radar. Even in the new, "Some Like It Hot Red" color (yes, really), photographer Drew Phillips reports that people often mistook the SS for a Malibu. "Is that a rental car?" Yikes. Exterior styling is our only gripe with the SS. Moving inside, there's a lot to like. This is easily one of Chevy's nicest, well thought-out interiors (thanks, Holden), with premium materials and tons of equipment. The Chevy MyLink infotainment system carries over, and now features 4G LTE and wifi connectivity. The touchscreen is a bit slow to respond, but otherwise, it's bright, well organized, and packed with functionality. This is easily one of Chevy's nicest, well thought-out interiors.