Classic Cars Chevrolet

Chevrolet is announcing that it will be temporarily halting the production of its Corvette for the week of October 6, 2008 in the Kentucky plant where the monstrously cool car is produced.

There is also word that there may be some job cuts in October to offset the slowdown in sales of the Corvette. Slow sales and mounting dealer inventory is causing the lull and is leading to the halt in production, creating a backlog for Chevrolet and problems for Chevy workers. Word is that up to 75 workers may face layoffs from the Kentucky plant.

This is interesting news for producers of the Corvette, as Chevy hasn’t had to lay off workers on the car since 1987. The ’87 cuts took place because the company was turning out too many Corvettes and the market was saturated. This round of cuts, over ten years later, comes with a much different underlying message.

“We’re going to reduce our production to make sure we align it with the expected demand that we see in the near term,” explained Paul Graham, plant manager for the Bowling Green Assembly Plant. “It’s something we don’t look forward to doing, but unfortunately given where the marketplace is, we’re in the luxury market and it’s down about 12 percent this year right now.”

With the layoffs and the temporary halting of production, Chevy cars may also face some upcoming promotions to move current models off of the dealership lots. Keep your eyes on the papers for more information.

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By all accounts, General Motors is moving in the right direction. And the upcoming unveiling of the Chevrolet Volt should do more to help their stock prices and their business output.

With “The Future is Green Conference” in Long Beach, California, running a full clip, General Motors is expected to make the unveiling tomorrow at the event in front of a horde of journalists and curious onlookers. The start of what is known as the “Traditional Automobile Season” is coming up and all of the various new releases will hit markets around the world, with the biggest unveilings taking place in Paris, Los Angeles, Detroit, and Geneva. So it makes perfect sense for Chevy cars like the Volt to see the light of day for the first time at a “green” conference like the one in Long Beach.

Chevy’s Volt, released via General Motors of course, is expected to hit the market for an official wide release by the end of 2010. It is a battery powered subcompact with a big upside in the fuel-economy department, giving Chevrolet a car that will finally be able to compete with some of the other environmentally-friendly giants.

General Motors is putting a lot of stock on the Chevrolet Volt and hopes that the car will be the catalyst required to get consumers to start buying from Detroit again and realize that North American cars can also play along in terms of fuel economy and environmental issues.

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General Motors has delivered the Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell prototype to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The intention is for the EPA to run a series of tests on the Equinox and to determine if the vehicle meets the high standards of the organization.

General Motors is stating that the tests will take part as part of the EPA’s normal vehicle fleet evaluation activities. The EPA testing is all part of the continuing program from GM and Chevrolet to try to bring fleet vehicles on to the market that pass high environmental standards. The idea is for GM and Chevrolet to be able to take a spot at the top of the ladder in terms of environmentally responsible companies.

“Our organizations have learned a great deal about hydrogen fuel cells and we look forward to furthering the commercialization of this important technology,” Elizabeth Lowery, GM’s vice president for Environment, Energy and Safety Policy said in a statement.

As GM and Chevrolet continue to explore the options in terms of fuel efficiency, their level of competitiveness in the markets should improve. Their goal of being able to take on the giants of Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai in the environmentally friendly sector may be met as long as they continue to pour research and time into the facilitating of earth-friendly technology. As long as Chevy cars continue to advance in this direction, it bodes well for GM.

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When the Paris motor show kicks off, Chevrolet will be there to unveil its Orlando concept car for the world. The Orlando is a seven-seater and is based on the Delta platform, which will also be used on a few other new Chevy vehicles. The overall design is bolder and more exciting than any of the current Chevrolets on the market. The wrap-around headlights and new two-tier grille are key to this.

Along with the Orlando, one of the first models Chevy will spring will be the Chevrolet Cruze. It will be Chevy’s new small family car. The Cruze will be the first in a long line of new Chevy cars that will be introduced to the world via the Paris motor show. We’d love to be there in person to, um, cover the motor show but we have time constraints that won’t allow us to make the flight.

Nevertheless, Chevy cars should make a big splash at the presentation.

The Cruze is the first of several new Chevy cars that will include the Volt electric car, the new Camaro and a small city car based on the Beat concept. The Cruze will be built on the new Delta platform and will take the company in a new design direction with bolder styling cues and a more vibrant overall design.

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General Motors is recalling about 300,000 Chevrolet HHR due to a faulty storage bin latch.

As is sometimes the case, production errors can make it to the sales models. In the case of the Chevrolet HHR, the mistake results in a recall. The recall doesn’t appear to have any major safety implications, however, and does not put the Chevrolet HHR in a bad light overall.

The HHRs under rule of the recall are from the 2006-2008 model years. The National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration found that the lid on the instrument panel storage bin was prone to unlatch during a crash, causing the lid to open. This failure of the latch is against regulations from the NHTSA that provide vehicle owners protection from interior mechanisms in the case of a crash.

GM is sending owners of HHRs a kit that will allow them to fix the faulty latch. Vehicle owners can also drop by a local dealership to have the proper repairs done and to have the vehicles brought into compliance with the NHTSA regulation.

There are have been no injuries or accidents linked to the problem and the latch kits should be available for motorists within the next month.

Chevy cars and trucks are no strangers to recalls. As a matter of fact, it is extremely rare for any car company to avoid recalls altogether. But if GM’s handling of the situation is any indication, it seems that the car company is well in control of its vehicles and in the protection of its customers.

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The 2009 Chevrolet Aveo5 is, by all accounts, a less than powerful little machine that will get the job done.

The Aveo5 has been described as an important car for Chevy and GM and one that is expected to make an impact in the 2009 model year. It is the smallest offering from the car company and is expected to get in the ring with the other small cars from Honda and Toyota to compete for the consumer’s attention and, hopefully, to compete for overall small car sales.

The entire focus of the Aveo5 is based around GM’s premise that American buyers will be ready to buy small cars soon and will follow in the footsteps of Europe. I’m not sure if the GM heads have been paying all that much attention to the markets, but the American consumers are ALREADY buying smaller cars. GM continuously insists on being behind the times, even within its own consumer base.

Nevertheless, the Aveo5 is their answer and it is a satisfactory little car. A 1.6-litre DOHC four-banger lies at the heart of the beast. There isn’t much horsepower to speak of (106), but the car should work well for those who don’t mind a lack of force. Some reviews have the Aveo5 as the slowest passenger car in the 2009 model year.

But does that matter in today’s world? Perhaps if you have the need for speed, it does. But most people with such a desire won’t find themselves in the small car market to begin with, so the notion is almost superfluous on its head. Regardless of the so-called lack of power for the car set, the Aveo5 is an impressive vehicle. It stands among Chevy cars as a sign of a new direction and, seemingly, now is as good a time as any.

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Good news for car buyers! General Motors is extending their employee pricing promotion by one month and is adding a few 2009 models into the mix. The idea is to boost sagging sales and to clear out some inventory All of us can benefit from GM’s attempts, can’t we?

The program, launched in late August, applies to almost its entire line-up of 2008 vehicles and has been expanded to include most 2009 vehicles at dealerships, including all Silverado and Sierra pickups. GM’s better selling cars, such as the Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac Vibe are also included in the extended offer

General Motors had troubling sales in July, with numbers down almost 18%. There has been pressure on the American automobile industry to cut costs due to rising material prices and gas prices, but many companies haven’t been heeding the warnings. Sadly, General Motors has been one of those companies and their sales have suffered as a result.

The employee pricing promotion has always proved popular and GM is banking on its ability to move some of their more popular models before the next ones roll in. So Chevy cars, trucks, GM trucks, and Pontiac vehicles will all be, hopefully, sailing off of the lots in the coming months.

Why not head on down to your local dealer today and see what kind of offer you can make on your favourite Chevy cars before the promotion draws to a close?

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For those of you who love the roar of the engine and the smoke from the tires, Chevrolet’s Corvette is probably the be-all end-all of muscle cars. The Chevrolet car is legendary, even in the Middle East where the legend won the award from Middle East Car magazine for Best Muscle Car of 2008.

Phillip Moore, the publishing director of Middle East Car magazine
explained: “The Corvette 2008 is saucy, powerful, and thrilling to
drive. Everything about it is a treat, including, and we’ll come back
to earth for a minute, the reasonable maintenance costs.”

The Chevrolet car finished ahead of the Dodge Charger and the Ford Mustang, picking up the award for the second consecutive year from the magazine.

The 2008 Chevrolet Corvette is available in three different models: the Coupe, the Convertible, and the big bad Z06, which features a terrifying 7.0-litre LS7 V8 engine rumbling away under the hood. For those brave enough to fill up one of these bad boys, the Corvette can be a pretty sweet treat. The rest of us will have to sit back and dream of the rumbling engine and the squealing tires.

In terms of the future, Chevrolet has big plans. A supercharged ZR1 models is prepping to join the ranks in 2009. The ZR1 will feature 638 horsepower and will rank as the most powerful Corvettes ever made. Chevy cars will have a lot of encouragement from the new Corvette, so start watching your dealership for changes in the coming weeks and months to reflect the new arrival.

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