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Weekly Recap: Chevy and Alfa plot comeback strategies

Chevrolet and Alfa Romeo were two of the 20th Century's most iconic automotive brands. Chevy embodied America's post-war power and confidence. Alfa was the definition of the stylish Italian sports car. They reached halcyon heights in the 1950s and '60s, before declining precipitously amid new competition, changing consumer tastes, and uneven corporate management. Both say 2015 is the start of something better, and this week Chevy and Alfa laid out ambitious plans and showcased new cars that they hope will make them more relevant this year, and in the coming years. Each brand sits at its own crossroads, and their paths forward are as different as the Chevy Cruze and the Alfa Romeo Giulia. Chevy is still a sales beast, as evidenced by its volume of 4.8 million vehicles sold around the world last year. Chevy executives are fond of saying one of their cars is sold every seven seconds, which illustrates the strength and reach of a car brand that is the fourth largest in the world. "Make no mistake about it, we are a brand for the people," said General Motors North America president Alan Batey. But he wants consumers to want to buy a Chevy for its design and technology, not simply because it's affordable. That starts with all Chevys now featuring a distinctive a family look, with sporty cues from the Corvette or strong lines that riff on the Silverado pickup. "We want people to fall in lust with our cars," said Mike Pevovar, executive design director for Chevy passenger cars. "That initial emotional attraction has to be right on the exterior, and that's where form comes into play." Chevy is also loading up its cars, like the freshly unveiled 2016 Chevy Cruze, with technology to appeal to a younger crowd that prizes connectivity. The Cruze will offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with its MyLink infotainment system, and OnStar with 4G LTE and wifi. Seeking out younger buyers is also sound business practice: Millennials now outnumber Baby Boomers as the largest single age group in the United States. Younger buyers also can improve a brand's image, which is another area where Chevy would like to improve. Chevy ranks 82nd on Interbrand's Best Global Brand's list, behind 11 other automakers. Apple is No. 1. "We need our own variation of the Genius Bar," Batey said. 2016 Alfa Romeo Giulia View 3 Photos Meanwhile, Alfa is in different shape.

Lotus Evija to go for Nurburgring EV record

No matter how many times Nurburgring records are made or broken, they still stand as an important automotive measuring stick – at least in a marketing sense. Granted, there are different Nurburgring lengths even on the Nordschleife, and then it all comes down to whether the vehicle is a production car, or completely experimental, or electric, or. Â… Anyway, numbers are numbers, and some numbers are smaller than others, and the Nurburgring is a legendary place to go fast. One of the future plans for Lotus is to bring its upcoming Evija electric hypercar to the ‘Schleife and see if it can go faster than the NIO EP9. PistonHeadsÂ’ article on the Evija featured some interesting tidbits from Louis Kerr, principal platform engineer at Lotus. Kerr said the Evija should be “comfortably quicker” than the NIO EP9 at the Nordschleife, meaning they are gunning for a production EV lap time of way under 6:45. The EvijaÂ’s 70kWh battery pack has reportedly been optimized to provide 2MW peak flow for a sustained seven-minute period, which is practically tailored for a record Ring lap. After that, the batteries would heat up too much to provide peak power. The swappable battery pack can also take “ultra-fast” charging of up to 80kW thanks to active cooling of its li-ion cells manufactured by Samsung. The relatively handy swap-ability of the battery pack is done for the sake of future-proofing, as it means the 70kWh capacity can be upgraded by owners when technology progresses further. Kerr also said that the Evija should be able to hit 62mph from zero in less than the 3 seconds advertised so far, and the targeted 3-second figure should be treated as a “worst case scenario”. The Evija could thus also be able to reach 300 km/h (186 mph) even faster than 9 seconds, as stated. Lotus CEO Phil Popham also said Lotus would be able to build up to 130 units of the Evija, and that several contracts have already been signed with future buyers. News Source: PistonHeads Green Lotus Electric Supercars

Nissan GT-R, Armada and the new Kia Sorento | Autoblog Podcast #658

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and Road Test Editor Zac Palmer for the final episode of 2020. They've been driving some interesting cars, including the Nissan GT-R, the new Nissan Armada, a Mercedes-Benz GLA and a pair of new-gen Kia Sorentos. They talk a bit about an interesting new EV called the Ace from Alpha Motor Corporation. Finally, the trio takes turns talking about their favorite cars they drove this year. Enjoy, and we'll be back with more episodes in 2021. Autoblog Podcast #658 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown What we're driving:2021 Nissan GT-R 2021 Nissan Armada 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLA 2021 Kia Sorento Alpha Motor Corporation unveils Ace electric coupe Our favorite cars of the year: Zac: Lotus Evora GT John: Polestar 2 Greg: McLaren GT Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Green Podcasts Kia Lotus McLaren Mercedes-Benz Nissan Coupe Crossover SUV Electric Luxury Performance Sedan Polestar