chevrolet

When you think subcompact, you're probably thinking giving up horsepower, cargo space, tech options, and safety. But this isn't so for the 2012 Hyundai Accent.

The new Accent comes in a smart four-door GLS spec and a sporty five-door hatch, in GS and SE trims. With a direct-injection 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, the Accent offers 138 horsepower at 6,300rpm and 123 pound-feet of torque at 4,850rpm.

The Accent four-door is slightly larger than its predecessor (3.5 inches longer and a wheelbase that's 2.8 inches longer). It also bests the Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, … Read more

The 2012 Chevrolet Cruze models with the 1.4L turbo and six-speed automatic transmission will get 2 mpg better fuel economy for a 38 mpg rating, the company announced on Wednesday.

The current model is rated at 36 mpg.

According to Chevrolet, a lower axle ratio for the 2012 models enables about a 5 percent increase in highway fuel efficiency for Cruze. The Cruze Eco with an automatic transmission will deliver as much as 39 mpg on the highway compared with 37 mpg for the current model.

Last month CNET reported that the 2011 Cruze Eco boasted a 42-mpg highway … Read more

DETROIT--Chevrolet's redesigned Corvette will debut by the fall of 2013 as a 2014 model, according to a Chevrolet source.

The current Corvette will be offered for the 2012 model year and possibly an abbreviated 2013 model year, the source said.

Enthusiasts have eagerly awaited the redesign. The current version has been on the market since the 2005 model year, and sales have been slow in recent years.

A shortened model year would give the plant in Bowling Green, Ky., ample time to retool for the redesigned 2014 model.

Last year GM denied speculation that the redesigned car would have … Read more

With a manual transmission, turbocharged engine, and front-wheel drive, you would expect a fast little canyon carver. But the Cruze Eco takes these standard features of the tuner set and turns them into hypermiler gear.

A miracle of turbocharging, the little 1.4-liter engine cranks out 138 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque. The Cruze Eco should help debunk the idea that good fuel economy means a gutless car. With that engine and a few tricks to shave weight and reduce drag, the Cruze Eco boasts a 42-mpg highway figure.

Chevy lets the car down a bit in the cabin … Read more

Given the hurdles they face in overcoming resistance to new technology, plug-in cars should show some solidarity. But in Nissan's latest ad promoting the Leaf EV, it takes a cheap shot at the Chevy Volt.

The Nissan Leaf ad, titled Gas-powered everything, imagines a world without batteries, where the sound of an alarm clock is eclipsed by the roar of its gas engine. A man talks on a cell phone spewing exhaust, and a jogger starts up an iPod with a pull start.

An office worker turns an ignition key on his computer, then revs it up with a … Read more

General Motors today made another announcement regarding allocation of the $2 billion in U.S. plant investment.

The automaker will add 110 jobs and invest $331 million to purchase tooling and equipment and expand the Arlington Assembly Plant.

Currently, the plant's 2,400 hourly and salaried employees make Chevrolet Tahoes, Suburbans, GMC Yukons and Cadillac Escalades.

"This investment will allow us to continue building award-winning full-size SUVs that offer better fuel efficiency than ever before without sacrificing the features and functionality they've come to expect," GM Manufacturing Manager Larry Zahner said Thursday. "We remain committed … Read more

Lutz's memoir gives an insider's view of a dysfunctional culture and counterproductive process.

Even before he rode into General Motors as the product-development savior in 2001, Bob Lutz found himself being recruited for plots to take over the company.

There was Heinz Prechter, the ASC sunroof king who proposed that Lutz and ex-Chrysler executive Steve Miller join with him as a pre-assembled management team to buy shares and get the board to clean out management.

There was J.T. Battenberg, the former GM executive who undertook the thankless and ultimately impossible task of making money at Delphi Corp., … Read more

General Motors has taken steps to make the Orion Assembly Plant even more energy efficient including using landfill gas to cut energy costs.

The plant will begin assembling the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic and Buick Verano this fall. With an upgraded paint shop that is heated by natural and landfill gas, the painting process will use half of the energy per vehicle of the one it replaced. The system runs exclusively on landfill gas primarily to generate steam for heating and compressed air for most of the year.

According to GM, both the Sonic and Verano use a new eco paint … Read more

General Motors on Tuesday announced a $2 billion investment for plant improvements, and to be save or add 4,000 jobs, in 17 U.S. states.

The automaker today announced plans for where some of the money will allocated.

GM will invest $109 million in its operations in Flint and Bay City, Mich., to support engine production for current and future fuel-efficient small cars produced for the U.S. market. The investment will also save or add 96 jobs at the two sites, GM said in a release.

The company will use the bulk of the investment, $84 million, at … Read more