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Chevy Performance Rolls with Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour

 

" Road trip! It’s that time of year again for the annual automotive pilgrimage known as the Hot Rod Magazine Power Tour® and Chevrolet Performance helps get it started on Saturday, June 2, at General Motors’ Milford Proving Ground. The Power Tour winds up in Arlington, Texas, on June 9.

With more than 3,000 hot rods, muscle cars, classic trucks and late-model performance vehicles and approximately 12,000 enthusiasts accompanying them, the Milford kick-off represents the largest-ever group of “civilians” to visit the secure test facility.

“This is a great opportunity for enthusiasts to get a glimpse behind the curtain at GM and for us to get in touch with our performance customers,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president of Chevrolet Performance Vehicles & Motorsports. “It also allows enthusiasts to get a closer look at our product development and the people behind our engines, performance parts and vehicle accessories.”

The Milford Proving Ground is the automotive equivalent of “Area 51,” serving as the primary testing facility for GM’s future products. When it opened in 1924, MPG was the world’s first dedicated automotive manufacturer testing facility. Today, it covers approximately 4,000 acres and contains more than 130 miles of driving surfaces of all types, including a 3.8-mile oval track and a 4.5-mile circle track with steep banking that enables vehicles to be driven around it at up to 120 mph without the need for steering input. The “Black Lake” area is a 67-acre pad of blacktop used for a variety of vehicle dynamics testing. Special certification is required for drivers on some of the tracks." [Read more]

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Chevy IndyCar Engine Offers Promise for Passenger Cars

"The unbeaten track performance of the new Chevrolet IndyCar V-6 engine is bringing acclaim to the engineers who created it and hope for its significant technology to find its way into passenger cars.

Engineers Mark Kent and Matt Wiles, along with Steve Miller and Steve O'Connor from Ilmor Engineering, took home the 46th annual BorgWarner Louis Schwitzer Award on Monday for their work on the Chevrolet IndyCar V-6 engine. The award recognizes individuals for innovation and engineering excellence in the field of race car design, specifically related to the annual Indianapolis 500 race.

The fuel-efficient 2.2-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine, GM’s first IndyCar engine since 2004, has earned four wins in the first four IZOD IndyCar Series races of the 2012 season. The development team leveraged GM's experience in E85 fuel and direct injection and Ilmor Engineering's race engine design expertise.

“Going four-for-four at the racetrack and winning the Louis Schwitzer award has exceeded our expectations, but the ultimate goal for this project has always been to develop powerful fuel-efficient engine technologies that could be transferred to production cars,” said Mark Kent of the GM Performance Vehicles and Motorsports group. “Racing has always been a great proving ground for advanced powertrain technologies, and this IndyCar V-6 is no exception.”

Some of the direct-injection turbo capability that gives the IndyCar engine its edge also will power the new Ecotec 2.0L engine coming to the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu.  Rated at 259 horsepower (193 kW) and 260 lb.-ft. of torque (353 Nm) between 1,700 and 5,200 rpm, the 2.0L is more powerful than Malibu’s previous V-6 engines. Available turbo charging also powers Chevrolet’s Sonic and Cruze." [Read more]

Chevrolet Volt Saves Supertanker of Gas

" Chevrolet Volt owners collectively have saved a supertanker of gasoline since the electric car with extended range went on sale, compiling 40 million miles on electricity and avoiding the use of more than 2.1 million gallons of gasoline.

“With each click of the odometer, Chevrolet Volt owners are measuring their contribution to reducing America's dependence on foreign oil and to preserving the environment,” said Cristi Landy, Chevrolet Volt marketing director.  “Volt owners are also saving at the fuel pump with more than $8 million in combined savings.”

Chevrolet recently introduced a rolling ticker on its website that showcases real-time daily driving statistics for Volt owners based on OnStar data. Results in total number of miles driven, electric miles driven and gallons of gas saved are viewable. As of today:[Read more]"

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Four Decades Later, Mini Cars Livin’ Large Sedan Life

" Mini-cars like the coming Chevrolet Spark are a fraction of the size of the average American 1973 full-size sedan, which were some of the largest passenger cars ever. But looks can be deceiving. Designers are putting a lot more inside small cars than might be expected.

Based on dimensional averages based on published data for popularly priced 1973 American sedan models marketed by three leading American manufacturers, here are four facts comparing today’s subcompacts and the 1973 sedans:" [Read more]

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Camaro ZL1 Joins the 11-second Club

"The 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is officially in the “11-second” club, as engineers recently turned an 11.93-second/116-mph quarter-mile elapsed time run in a showroom-stock Camaro ZL1 automatic. A Camaro ZL1 manual ran an 11.96-second ET at 117 mph.

Only a few other production vehicles can run the quarter-mile as quickly as the ZL1. Fewer yet can also run 0-60 in 4 seconds, reach a top speed of 184 mph and lap the famous Nürburgring in 7:41.27 – all with the street-legal, factory-issued components and no time-consuming equipment adjustments at the racetrack.

“The ZL1 is great at everything and we’re very proud of that,” said Tony Roma, Camaro ZL1 program engineering manager. “You can take it to the drag strip and run 11-second quarter-miles all day long. You can also take it to a road course, where it’s balanced, handles well, and does exactly what you want – including lapping Virginia International Raceway’s Grand Course in under three minutes – and yet the ZL1 is sophisticated enough to use as a daily driver. It’s a supercar you can drive every day.”

For perspective, the Camaro ZL1 is so quick that some drivers who experiment with “drag radial” tires or full racing slicks may find themselves going too quick for most NHRA-sanctioned racetracks, where a five-point roll bar is required for vehicles running 11.49 or quicker. The 11.93-second ET in a stock ZL1 tested by the engineers wore the factory-issued Goodyear Eagle F1 Supercar G:2  tires developed specifically for it, putting the car only a scant 0.44-second away from that additional racing safety requirement." [Read more]

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Chevrolet Salutes U.S. Military Appreciation Month

 

"Chevrolet will salute the nation’s active duty and retired service members in May by providing an exclusive “Honor” badge to customers who buy an eligible vehicle through the General Motors Military Discount program. The brand also will donate $100 to Cell Phone for Soldiers for each eligible vehicle sold.

“The men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces have given so much for so many,” said Alan Batey, vice president, Chevrolet sales and service. “This is one small way Chevrolet can say ‘Thank you.’” 

During Military Appreciation Month, Chevrolet dealers will install, free upon request, the exclusive “Honor” badge – consisting of a yellow ribbon and “Honor” script – as a subtle recognition of military service to customers who buy an eligible Chevrolet through the GM Military Discount program.  

The GM Military Discount is available to active, reserve and retired members and spouses of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, National Guard and Coast Guard. The discount, ranging from $400 to $4,000, is available on most Chevrolet cars, trucks and crossovers, depending on the model and options selected. The discount can be combined with most current incentives.

The GM Military Discount offers an additional $750 discount on selected Chevrolet, Buick and GMC vehicles to eligible members of USAA, a leading financial services and insurance provider for military families. To date, 169,000 vehicles have been sold taking advantage of the USAA incentive.

“It’s so good to see companies like Chevrolet step up to celebrate our service members,” said Mel Otte, a disabled Air Force veteran who spent 13 years in the service.  “Every time I look at my Chevrolet honor badge, I pause to remember my brethren, many of whom have sacrificed their lives in service to our country.”

Since 2010, Chevrolet and its dealers have collected more than 103,000 lightly used devices for Cell Phones for Soldiers, and converted them to 6.2 million minutes of free talk time for troops serving overseas." [Read more]