2024 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 2lt on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Next Chevy Volt will be 2016 model and ride on new chassis

What do we know about the 2016 Chevy Volt? Well, for now, all we can do is try to put the puzzle together without the box. Thankfully, a new batch of pieces has arrived from a new report in Edmunds, which says that the 2016 model year will introduce the second generation of a car that hasn't been dramatically updated since it went on sale in 2010. The new Volt is getting an "evolutionary styling change" and will ride on a new front-drive platform that has been developed by General Motors. GM's Kevin Kelly told AutoblogGreen that he has "no comment on future products," but he did acknowledge that Chevrolet is working on a second-generation Volt, "but I can't say anything about timing." Everybody already knew that a next-gen Volt is coming, so that's not a surprise. What we don't know is any real concrete information on the car itself. The few tidbits of information we do have help define the outlines of the next version of Chevy's halo car, but they're not confirmed yet. For the record, they range from the eye-raising (a $10,000 price drop) to the logical (20 percent more electric range). We can't see the whole picture yet, but the pieces do point to the 2016 Volt, which would be released next year sometime, being a much bigger deal than the last update, when the Volt's range was increased by three electric miles thanks to a battery capacity increase of 16 kWh to 16.5.

Nissan Leaf keeps plug-in vehicle sales crown for 6th straight month

And Nissan makes it 14 in a row. For the 14th straight month, the all-electric Leaf has had "record sales," according to Nissan's marketing team. What that means is that for that particular month (in this case, April) no matter what year you look at, the car sold more than it ever did before. For April 2014, the 2,088 Leafs sold represents a 7.8-percent increase from 2013. Nissan's director of EV sales and marketing, Toby Perry, said in a statement that the "new market" of Cincinnati made the top 25 list for Leaf sales areas in April, so the car's popularity continues to ebb and flow across the US. Over at Chevy, the Volt sold 1,548 units in April, reaching a year-to-date total of 5,154. The Leaf is outpacing that with 7,272 YTD sales. In 2013, the Volt outsold the Leaf by about 500 vehicles, but Leaf sales are up 33 percent year-over-year while Volt is down 7.1 percent. The Leaf has also outsold the Volt for six straight months. But we're excited for every eco-car sale, and that's why we'll have our monthly detailed write-up of the rest of the plug-ins, hybrids and diesel vehicles available soon. Until then, discuss. Green Chevrolet Nissan Electric Hybrid PHEV ev sales

Junkyard Gem: 2003 Chevrolet Tracker

When General Motors created the Geo brand to sell vehicles designed and — in some cases — built by Japanese partners, the first four models were introduced for the 1989 model year: the Metro (Suzuki Cultus), Prizm (Toyota Sprinter), Spectrum (Isuzu Gemini) and Tracker (Suzuki Sidekick). Geo got the axe in 1997, with the Metro, Prizm and Tracker becoming Chevrolets. Of those, the Tracker survived the longest, with U.S.-market sales continuing into 2004. Here's an example of a very late Tracker, found in a North Carolina car graveyard recently. The 1989-1997 first-generation Trackers were based on the Suzuki Sidekick, while the 1998-2004 Trackers had the Suzuki Vitaras (not to be confused with the much grander Grand Vitaras) as their siblings. Production of these trucks for the South American market (as the Chevrolet Vitara) continued in Ecuador all the way through 2014. The Tracker name has also gone onto some versions of the Chevrolet Trax around the world. This one is a base four-door hard top/rear-wheel-drive model, which had an MSRP of $17,330. That's about $29,789 in 2024 dollars. You'll find one in every car. You'll see. The engine is a Suzuki 2.0-liter straight-four rated at 127 horsepower and 134 pound-feet. A five-speed manual was base equipment, but very few American vehicle shoppers wanted three pedals by the middle 2000s. This truck has the Aisin four-speed automatic. We like it loud. It appears that someone associated with this truck graduated from Julius L. Chambers High School last year. In the United States, the Tracker was replaced by the Saturn Vue. If Tracker can handle (unspecified Middle Eastern country), it can survive the jungle back home. Siempre contigo.