2011 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 2wd Crew Cab 143.5" Ls on 2040-cars

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Next-generation Chevrolet Colorado breaks cover in new spy photos

The next-generation Chevrolet Colorado broke cover in this fresh set of spy photos this week, giving us a glimpse of what to expect when GM's compact trucks are replaced in what is expected to be either 2023 or 2024.  Thanks to its still-extensive camouflage, this prototype doesn't give away a ton about the new Colorado's styling, but in profile, it appears as though the swoopy, upswept rear cab line might become a thing of the past. We wouldn't be surprised to see the new Colorado adopt a more angular, squared-off look more akin to that of its big brother, the half-ton Silverado. The Silverado is also expected to donate what may be the new Colorado's only powertrain. Taking a cue from Ford, Chevy is expected to offer the next-gen Colorado with just a turbocharged four-cylinder engine — the new corporate 2.7T in this instance. The large, 310-horsepower four-pot can easily take over for the 3.6L V6 currently available in the GM twins and one-up the 270-hp Ranger to boot. This would mark the end of both a V6 and diesel option being offered in GM's midsize trucks, and tracks with the company's slow, silent effort to eliminate lower-margin models. We say "trucks" because, well, whatever happens with Chevy is likely to translate to GMC. The Canyon will be due for replacement at the same time, and will likely carry on as a re-skin of Chevy's offering. We're not yet certain exactly when Chevrolet will start selling the next-gen Colorado, but given the reasonably complete state of this prototype, we expect it won't be long now. Rumors suggest it could hit the market in 2023 as a 2024 model.  Related Video: The Best Midsize Pickup: Ranger vs Gladiator vs Tacoma vs Colorado

More than 5,500 people tried to get the 2016 Chevy COPO Camaro

It's stating the obvious, but the 2016 Chevy COPO Camaro is popular with enthusiasts. So much so, it's attracted more than 5,500 hand raisers, General Motors said Tuesday at an event to show off the company's new Performance and Racing Center in Pontiac, MI. Unfortunately for drag racing fans, Chevy will only sell 69 of them, as it has for the last four years. The COPO Camaro can be configured for the NHRA Stock and Super Stock classes. It comes with racing-tuned chassis pieces and a solid rear axle. Power choices include 5.7-, 6.2- and 7.0-liter V8 engines. About half of COPO Camaro owners race their cars, and the rest keep them as collectibles. Jim Campbell, GM vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, wouldn't say if the COPO is a profitable venture, but noted the fire-breathing dragster raises the image of Chevy and Camaro. "It makes sense for our business from a number of perspectives," he said. The first COPO Camaro, a Courtney Force-styled racecar that was revealed in November at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, hammered for $300,000 at the Barrett-Jackson auction last month. The proceeds went to the United Way. Campbell said low COPO production keeps interest high. Enthusiasts can also build their own COPOs by buying a rolling chassis and a crate motor, though those are not viewed by collectors in the same manner as GM factory-built creations. The COPO Camaro's V8 is one of several competition engines designed, built, and validated at the GM Performance and Racing Center. The Corvette C7R's 5.5-liter V8 and the Cadillac ATSV.R's 3.6-liter twin-turbo V6 are two more. Chevy calibrates and conducts dynamometer testing on its 2.2-liter V6 for IndyCar and performs design work on its NASCAR V8 at the facility, which existed previously at another location in Michigan. Related Video:

The UAW's 'record contract' hinges on pensions, battery plants

DETROIT - After nearly four weeks of disruptive strikes and hard bargaining, the United Auto Workers and the Detroit Three automakers have edged closer to a deal that could offer record-setting wage gains for nearly 150,000 U.S. workers. General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis have all agreed to raise base wages by between 20% and 23% over a four-year deal, according to union and company statements. Ford and Stellantis have agreed to reinstate cost-of-living adjustments, or COLA. The companies have offered to boost pay for temporary workers and give them a faster path to full-time, full-wage status. All three have proposed slashing the time it takes a new hire to get to the top UAW pay rate. The progress in contract talks follows the first-ever simultaneous strike by the UAW against Detroit's Big Three automakers. The union began the strike on Sept. 15 in hopes of forcing a better deal from each major automaker. But coming close to a deal is not the same thing as reaching a deal. Big obstacles remain on at least two major UAW demands: restoring the retirement security provided by pre-2007 defined benefit pension plans, and covering present and future joint- venture electric vehicle battery plants under the union's master contracts with the automakers. On retirement, none of the automakers has agreed to restore pre-2007 defined-benefit pension plans for workers hired after 2007. Doing so could force the automakers to again burden their balance sheets with multibillion-dollar liabilities. GM and the former Chrysler unloaded most of those liabilities in their 2009 bankruptcies. The union and automakers have explored an approach to providing more income security by offering annuities as an investment option in their company-sponsored 401(k) savings plans, people familiar with the discussions said. Stellantis referred to an annuity option as part of a more generous 401(k) proposal on Sept. 22. Annuities or similar instruments could give UAW retirees assurance of fixed, predictable payouts less dependent on stock market ups and downs, experts said. Recent changes in federal law have removed obstacles to including annuities as a feature of corporate 401(k) plans, said Olivia Mitchell, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and an expert on pensions and retirement. "Retirees want a way to be assured they won't run out of money," Mitchell said.