Why Chevrolet Spin Phase Out

Why General Motors Left Europe

CNBC:

In 2017, General Motors,
the largest U.S.
automaker with brands known around the
world made perhaps one of
its boldest moves in its history.
It sold its European Opel and
Vauxhall brands to the French
automaker PSA known for brands
such as Peugeot and Citroen.
It was the end of an era
for GM which had first ventured into
Europe nearly 90 years before.
It also marked the end of nearly
two decades of losses for the
brands under GM's stewardship.
GM executives said the deal
would unload a difficult and
struggling business and allow the company
to focus on its more
profitable North American market and free
up cash to make needed
investments in new technologies such
as electric cars and
autonomous driving.
But the move came with risks.
The European new car market is about
as large as that of the
United States and leaving it would
not only hit GM's volume but
also increase its exposure to the
ups and downs of the U.S.
auto market.
The sale of the unit
also racked up huge costs.
GM took a $3.9 billion
loss in 2017 owing
mostly to the $6.2
billion in costs it had to
shell out for the sale.
So why did GM leave?
Did the automaker simply
screw up or fail?
Was it wise to get out of Europe?
And what does it mean for GM's
future and the future of the auto
industry?
The decision actually says a lot about
how difficult it is to be a
global automaker today and the
sometimes subtle ways markets
around the world increasingly favor
local players who can tailor
their products to
specific markets.
In the end GM may have failed
in Europe in part because it just
isn't European.
The numbers show General Motors was
having a rough time on the
continent in the nine years or
so before the divestiture of GM's
European business.
It bled money at the EBIT line
every single year for a total of
about $14 billion in
losses on $208.4
billion dollars in sales it's nine
year weighted loss of 6.9
percent.
EBIT stands for earnings before interest
and taxation and is the
metric GM uses to report
the money its international business
divisions make.
Its worst year during that time
was during the financial crisis in
2009.
Where GM incurred a 15
percent loss of $3.6
billion dollars.
The best year in that period was
2016 where it still had a 1.4
percent loss totaling
about $257 million.
Now that sounds like an improvement
and in absolute terms it was.
But consider that over the same
nine year period GM turned a
profit in North America of
$28 billion on $823.7
point billion in sales.
That's a nine year
weighted gain of 3.4
percent an automaker generally tries to
target an 8 percent EBIT
for any given region and for
the world as a whole.
GM's rival, Ford for example has an
8 percent EBIT target for its
European business.
The automobiles never really
sold well with consumers.
And one of the reasons they
weren't able to achieve profitability
is because what they did sell
were primarily passenger cars and
not the higher margin trucks and SUVs
that they saw a lot of in
the U.S..
So that's that's a
big part of it.
There's also a lot of headwinds that
they faced on the cost side
of the equation with with the
cost of labor, unions, and
also more stringent regulation
particularly from an emissions
standpoint.
So a lot of those reasons are
why they had such mixed results and
from a market share perspective when
they pulled out they were
they only had about 6
to 7 percent market share.
So it wasn't really a
dominant market for them.
And GM was losing ground
during that time to competitors.
Consider that the automaker
had a 9.3
percent share of the European car
market in 2008 but that fell
below 7 percent in 2014 and stayed
there for two years and then
fell again to around
6 percent in 2016.
Meanwhile European competitors seem
to be faring better.
And once GM sold off its
European business its earnings shot up.
The automaker earned a
global EBIT of 9.9
percent in 2017 and 8.4
percent in 2018.
But why was GM struggling in Europe
when it does so well in the
United States and is
even leading U.S.
automakers in China a market that is
by no means easy to do
business in.
One reason is that
Europe is pretty unique.
To be fair to GM it is not
the only automaker that has had trouble
there.
American cars have never been an
easy sell in the European market.
Ford for example has dialed back
its presence in the region.
Gm is not alone
in their struggles.
You see Ford pulling out of
Europe and American cars just never
have really sold very well there.
That market is really dominated
by the big three German
manufacturers and others.
But it's also a
fairly fragmented market.
So they just really were never
able to compete and consumers just
didn't really like their cars.
There were larger economic and political
factors such as the great
recession and tightening emissions
regulations that made it
tougher for companies to
do business there.
Another factor is the
distinctiveness of European tastes.
At the time GM CEO Mary Barra
said 80 percent of the vehicles in
the Opel portfolio didn't share
parts or platforms with those
sold in any of
GM's other markets.
When we look at the portfolio
going forward from a vehicle
perspective or a portfolio perspective
only 20 percent of the
portfolio overlapped with the rest
of the General Motors
portfolio.
So we think the real opportunity
for PSA is to leverage that
Europe specific scale.
That put the company
in a tough position.
Major automakers generally want to
build flexible platforms and
parts that can be used in
a variety of models in different
markets.
This helps them keep costs low
and achieve those highly desired
economies of scale.
There are forces however that make
it difficult to share parts and
platforms.
Automobiles tend to be highly regulated
products and many of the
markets where they are sold
and the regulations can vary
sometimes widely from
region to region.
One example of this is
fuel economy and emissions regulations.
Both the U.S.
and Europe have them.
But they tend to differ and
producing cars to meet each
regulatory regime costs
more money.
It requires that the company engineer
and test every vehicle to
fit every set of rules.
But many industry observers say GM
made a number of missteps over
the years that contributed to
the brand's struggles in Europe.
Opel and Vauxhall are often thought
of as sensible cars but they
do not have the glamorous
reputations of more premium brands.
GM typically sold Opels and Vauxhalls
in high volumes usually to
keep costs low.
But simple supply and demand shows this
has a way of driving down
prices.
And while GM produced a lot of cars
it was hard for it to make
money on the cars it made.
It also introduced its Chevrolet brand
into Europe which had the
effect of undermining sales
of Opel and Vauxhall.
Both brands already had
difficulty distinguishing themselves in
Europe's competitive landscape and
selling highly similar
Chevrolets right next to
them further confused buyers.
Furthermore the company didn't
have the right products.
Opels portfolio was heavily
weighted toward traditional passenger
cars such as
subcompact and sedans.
And the brand missed the boom
in crossover and small SUV sales.
At the end of the day Europe is
a large market but it is a mature
one and does not offer the
opportunities for growth companies can
find in China and other emerging
markets or even the kinds of
opportunity in the U.S..
A lot of it is really reflection
of the economic growth in Europe
relative to China.
You have one of the fastest growing
countries in the world and the
U.S. which is growing stronger a
lot stronger than Europe now.
You know if you look at European
GDP over the last several years
just has really lagged the
North American market in Asia.
China is now the world's largest
car market with 28 million new
vehicles sold in 2018.
That number is likely to continue
to rise as the auto market
continues to grow.
In North America particularly the
United States, is becoming an
ever more profitable market as
consumers turn toward higher
priced crossovers, SUVs,
and pickup trucks.
So GM cut the cord in Europe and
said it would use the money to
focus more on its strong business
selling trucks in North America
while sinking piles of cash
into its investments in electric
vehicles and self-driving cars.
Those aren't cheap aspirations and it may
be a long time before GM
or anyone else makes
money off them.
Meanwhile GM's North American sales
have grown pretty consistently
from 56 billion dollars in 2009
to 113 billion dollars in 2018
according to FactSet.
Meanwhile it was able to sell the
business to Peugeot and a large
automaker that has been successful
focusing on Europe but who
also has plans to
return to the U.S..
They've been very open over the
last few months about their
interest in specifically
Fiat Chrysler.
Which I think they view as a
opportunity to gain a foothold in the
North American market and obviously
you know that company has
said some very well-received brands with
Jeep and a lot of the
new products that
they're introducing.
In a comment to
CNBC, General Motors
said:
Peugeot surprised the industry by saying
it had restored the Opel
and Vauxhall brands to profitability in
part by cutting costs and
introducing new more
profitable models.

Is Chevrolet Corvette the Greatest Racing Brand in America? - /SHAKEDOWN

THE DRIVE:

Is Chevrolet Corvette
the greatest
racing brand from America?
Well, it could be.
In 2012, in the America Le Mans
series, Corvette racing
won the GTE championship.
In Grand Am with the Corvette
Daytona prototypes, it helped
Chevrolet win the engine
manufacturer's championship
with those five Corvette DP's
running around with
the 'vette body work.
60 years of Corvette
racing and winning.
Now we're not going to take a
deep dive, but just a taste of
Corvette racing through
the years.
A snapshot look at each
generation of Corvette from C1
all the way through today's C6,
maybe a little bit of C7.
And I'm not ignoring
the current news,
but you know what?
Looking at what's going on, I'm
going to wait until some
things happen.
For example, with
Lewis Hamilton.
Sure, he left McLaren
to Mercedes.
But I want to see what he does
performing for the rest of the
year, and what happens next
year when he gets in that
silver car.
I could have talked about the
2013 F1 schedule, which now
has two US Grand Prix.
One confirmed, and
one not so much.
Circuit of the Americas
starts in 2012.
And I could have talked about
what's going to happen in 2013
at the circuit.
You're going to have a Grand
Am race, a combined double
header of WEC and the American
Le Mans sports car racing, and
then the F1 race.
But I want to wait to see
that action happen.
I could have talked
about new cars.
Hyundai, for example, announcing
their WRC car at
Paris, coming in 2014 to
compete with Toyota and
Volkswagen, and God knows
who else, and pulling
out of all US racing.
But again, I want more facts.
And I could have talked about
my trip to Lime Rock for the
Grand Am race.
Where the Grand Am officials got
all insulted that I didn't
show up with a Drive camera,
just like I did at ALMS.
But we talked to them, their
attitude is pretty much on the
same page of looking forward
to the future.
So let's talk about Corvette,
because it's going to be all
Corvette between Grand Am and
American Le Mans next year.
So it's time to take a look
at what they've done.

So today we're going to talk
about Corvette racing, but
before I do, let me get the
suit issue out of the way.
I've got a couple of business
meetings, and
we're dressed to impress.
And if you don't like it,
please email me at
subscriptions@ge
ntlemensquarterly.com, and
understand what fashion's
all about.
Let's get to the Corvette
racing story, because it
started with the Daytona
prototype thing that happened
this weekend.
They won the manufacturer's
championship for Chevrolet,
and Corvette and Chevy
are going to make a
big deal about that.
But what I'd like to do is
go back and look at their
history, which includes how
they won Le Mans with the
production based race car, and
all those ALMS championships.
So is Corvette the greatest
racing brand ever out of the
United States?
Well, let's start with C1.
First generation Corvette
from 1953 to 1962.
And this may be the first
Corvette race car ever.
The car ran the Panamera
down in Mexico.
But the real story of the first
generation Corvette was
the 1957 SS Mule that Zora
Duntov developed, brought to
Sebring, had Fangio in the car
doing some practice laps.
It evolved to the SS race
car you see here.
Which got us to 1963 to '67,
and the C2 generation.
And the racing story
here was really all
about the grand sports.
Five of them, maybe six were
built, and guys like Penske
got a hold of them.
Here's Penske's grand sport
in the Sebring paddock.
C3 Corvettes ran from
1968 to 1982.
And the two racing stories,
well, actually the three
racing stories caught
my mind this way.
In Europe, Greeter--
I think it's Greeter--
ran the Le Mans Corvettes
multiple years.
There was always that yellow
car and a blue car, and
actually, if you watch McQueen's
Le Mans movie, you
can see the Corvette pulling out
of the start right behind
the Porsches.
In America, there was the
Greenwood Corvette programs.
First of all, production
based.
As you see here the,
car number 28.
And then more exotic, with all
that bat wing, wide fender
shaping that actually, Zora
designed for John Greenwood
and those Corvettes, and they
ran IMSA GT in the US and
internationally.
And it all evolved to the most
extreme Corvette, John Paul,
his dad, the Sun team ran this
IMSA GT car, which had pretty
much everything exotic, and
pretty much non-Corvette.
But it was out there
under that brand.
That brings us to the
C4 generation's
Corvette, 1984 to 1996.
And the production race cars
kind of took a backseat to
this Corvette racing GTP, raced
by Hendrick racing.
Not a V8, a twin turbo V6,
but mega horsepower.
And a lot of people think
this is a beautiful,
beautiful, race car.
It kind of performed.
It was always up front, 12 pole
positions, but only two
wins in its life.
But it certainly got attention
for Corvette racing.
From the production standpoint,
Corvette built
their own racing series
back then.
The Corvette challenge series.
And here's one of
the race cars.
Becoming pretty good collectible
cars, and
certainly the launching point
for a lot of name drivers back
in that time.
And Corvette racing, the
production side actually did
do some international racing.
In 1995, a guy named Doug
Rippie, a real Corvette racing
fan, built this ZR1 with the
Lotus ZR1 based motor, his
version of new arrow, and took
it to Sebring to race.
Didn't do well, but developed
it to bring it to Le Mans.
It didn't succeed, but it
certainly got people's
attention being there.
And back in the US, a company
called Protofab built a
modified tube frame GTO
Corvette, and ran an IMSA in
that class.
And I believe won those
championships.
Which got us to C5, the 1997
to 2004 years for Corvette.
And frankly in racing, what
everyone really remembers most
is when the C5R raced at Daytona
with Dale Earnhardt
Sr. and Jr. in the cars.
Now, I don't think the Dale
number three car won, but it
was certainly there at the
finish, and everyone was
paying attention to
the great Dale
Earnhardt racing a Corvette.
And the stories go on that if
Dale was still here, he would
be running his own Corvette
racing team.
C6, the current generation.
2005 up to 2013.
And we all know about
the ALMS car.
GTE championships many,
many times.
And repeated Le Mans 24 wins,
because really, that's the
focus of this program.
And then in 2012, Corvette
decided to spend some money at
Jim France's behest to build
Corvette body work.
And they won eight of 13 Grand
Am races, but the chassis
underneath is really a
Riley or a Delara,
or the Coyote chassis.
But the body work is supposed
to be all Corvette.
The engines are from the
Earnhardt Childress racing
engine company.
They did the motors, they
won the manufacturer's
championship for Chevrolet.
Does that Corvette
Daytona prototype
body work look familiar?
Well, it kind of should
if you've been
following Corvette racing.
Because back in 2010, Pratt
Miller did a design study, an
engineering study, for a
Corvette GTP, which were to be
the new ACO Le Mans rules
for a category of car.
It went all the way to
a wind tunnel model.
And I've still got the
engineering proposal sitting
in my files.
Shh, don't tell.
Which gets us to C7, the
new car coming in 2014.
Here's the Jalopnik.com release
of what the production
car will look like.
And as you probably know, and
maybe have heard in an earlier
Shakedown, Pratt Miller
is working on the
C7R are as we speak.
And I'm assuming the Daytona
prototype body work will be
updated to C7 look as well.
So here's where I stop and
ask you guys to weigh in.
This was a snapshot look.
I'm sure you experts about
Corvette and racing have a lot
more details, and can fill in
a lot of blanks about what
went on with Corvette
racing history.
Sure, they won a lot of
championships over the years.
And there were a lot of
race cars out there.
Back in 1973 at Sebring, for
example, there were a full 18
Corvettes running that race.
But how well they performed, and
how much they really won
maybe is a topic for you
guys to discuss.
And any details of great
Corvette racing history, we'd
love for you to share.
And that's the bottom line
question I want you to ask.
Is Corvette really the
greatest racing
brand out of America?
Or is there something else we
should be talking about?
On Friday we'll get to some
other racing news, and like I
said earlier, with the big
racing news, we'll catch it as
they do things.
Who cares about my opinion?
Now, I'm going to go straighten
my tie, go to work,
make some money, and you
stay tuned for Tuned.

[MUSIC PLAYING]

How Chevrolet Started, Grew & Became $11.5 Billion Company

Success Secrets TV:

How Chevrolet Started, Grew & Became $11.5
Billion Company
The name Chevrolet originated from a Swiss-born
American racer Louis-Joseph Chevrolet, who
founded his company with William Durant in
1911, stayed for four years and then left
his own company to Durant in 1915.
The Chevrolet Company previously called the
Chevrolet Division of General Motors Company
and simply called the Chevy is the automobile
department of General Motors, a manufacturing
company in the United States.
How Chevrolet Began
Twenty years before Chevrolet, Durant was
the founder of a successful Durant-Dort Carriage
Company which manufactured horse-drawn vehicles.
And so Durant wouldn't even touch a car with
a ten-foot pole, let alone allow his daughter
to ride in what he called, "loud and dangerous
horseless carriages."
But as time passed he realized that there
were more cars than carriages on the American
streets; an experience that did not settle
well with the relatively tentative public.
As the government regulated cars for their
safety, Durant had other ideas.
Why not improve the security of these cars
instead?
In 1904, Durant approached a struggling Buick
Motor Company and became its controlling investor.
Within a span of four years, Durant demonstrated
his salesman attitude and transformed Buick
into a leading automobile name amongst the
likes of Ford, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac.
For Durant, however, it was only the start.
Durant figured he could further improve his
odds in the industry if he built a holding
company that would control several automobile
divisions, with each division manufacturing
their own car.
With the Buick's outstanding profits, Durant
had sufficient capital to found the General
Motors Company in 1908.
A year later, General Motors acquired several
car brands like Buick, Oldsmobile, Cadillac,
Elmore, and others.
Unfortunately,Durant got so carried away in
his "automobile acquisition crusade" that
GM suffered cash shortage with their sales
losing to Ford's.
And so, in 1910, General Motors showed Durant
the exit door.
But Durant did not give up.
Having regained his bearings, he reunited
with an old colleague from the days of the
Buick motor company, Louis-Joseph Chevrolet.
Durant knew the Swiss-born American as a man
whose competency for car mechanics matched
his passion for racing.
In 1909, Louis had participated in the Giant
Despair Hillclimb.
An oddly apt name, considering the Hillclimb
race was less about the racers themselves
and more about test-driving the competing
car brands they drove.
Therefore, when Durant offered a chance to
build more automobiles, Louis couldn't resist
signing his name on the dotted line alongside
Durant's.
In 1911, Louis co-founded the Chevrolet Motor
Company with Durant.
Durant used Louis’ racing status as a means
of building a motor company, and his way of
getting back at General Motors.
The first Chevrolet car, the Series C Classic
Six was designed by Etienne Planche with directions
by Louis.
The prototype was ready before the company
was incorporated even though the production
didn’t happen until 1913 where it was introduced
at an auto show in New York.
In 1914, Chevrolet redesigned its logo.
And so a "bowtie emblem" logo was used on
Chevrolet’s first produced cars in 1914:
the Chevrolet H series and L series models.
That same year, Durant and Louis argued about
their differing intentions for Chevrolet’s
future car designs.
Durant wanted simple and affordable cars that
would surpass those of Fords.
On the other hand, Louis preferred playing
it fast and loose, with luxury or racing cars.
These differences split these two associates
and Louis sold his shares of the company to
Durant.
Now alone at the helm, Durant was able to
focus on his next winning car design.
He achieved this in 1916 when the cheaper
Chevrolet Series 490 finally outpaced Ford
in sales and cemented Chevrolet’s place
among the big automobile names.
To say Chevrolet made huge profits during
this period would be a severe understatement.
Durant revisited General Motors as a controlling
investor, purchasing their stocks, which gave
him the leverage to launching himself into
leading General Motors once more.
By 1917, Durant had become the president of
General Motors.
All was right, now that Durant's "big automobile"
dream was back on track.
And of course, his first directive was merging
the highly successful Chevrolet into the parent
company General Motors as a separate division.
How Chevrolet Grew
In 1918, Chevrolet launched a new V8 powered
model, the Series D for open two-seat cars
and the touring cars that could seat 5 passengers.
These models didn't sell well though and they
were scrapped by the next year.
Given Chevrolet's successful track record
in the market, General Motors rebranded and
sold their commercial grade cars and trucks
as Chevrolet with similar appearances with
the Chevrolet’s vehicles in 1919 from Chevrolet
factories located in Flint, Michigan.
The automobile company built several branch
assembly plants in New York, Ohio, Missouri,
California, Texas, and Canada.
Somewhere between the 1920s and 1940s, Chevrolet
would see Durant's vision for "producing simple
and affordable cars" come true.
In fact, Chevrolet, Ford and Plymouth were
known to Americans as "the low priced three".
During this period, one of Chevrolet's most
notable cars was the Stovebolt introduced
in 1929, which was tag-lined "a six for the
price of four".
This and several generations of the car model
blew away the competition of Ford and Plymouth.
In 1953, the Chevy Corvette, a sport’s car
with two seats and a fiberglass body debuted
to become the first mass-produced sports car
in the United States, championing the "America's
Sports Car" appeal.
The appeal of the Corvette and other Chevrolet
passenger cars would be enhanced with the
first-time introduction of Rochester Ramjet
fuel-injection engine as a high-performance
option for the price of $484.
The Chevrolet small block V8 car design made
its debut in 1955 and remained in circulation
longer than other mass produced engines around
the world.
Modifications to the V8 engine including the
aluminum block and heads, the electronic engine
management and the port fuel injection gave
birth to the designs in production today.
In 1958, Chevrolet introduced the Impala series,
which went on to become one of the best-selling
American cars in history experiencing popularity
during the 60s and 70s.
The parent company General Motors introduced
Chevrolet to Europe in 2005.
With rebranded cars manufactured from the
General Motors branch in Korea acquired Daewoo
Motors.
The economic depression between 2007 and 2010
hit Chevrolet hard.
But the road to recovery began in 2010 with
the introduction of fuel-efficient cars and
trucks to compete with foreign automobile
manufacturers.
Within the same year, Chevrolet introduced
the plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, Chevrolet
Volt in America, which was sold under the
name Opel/Vauxhall Ampera throughout Europe
with a record 5,268 units soldand became the
world's best-selling plug-in hybrid electric
vehicle (PHEV) car in 2012, winning the award
for the North American Car of the Year, European
Car of the Year and World Green of the Year.
The series was then named the combined Volt/Ampera
that was sold across the world.
It exceeded the 100,000 unit sales milestone
in late 2005 and eleven years later the Volt
family of vehicles had become the world's
best-selling plug-in hybrid as well as the
third best selling electric car after the
Tesla Model S and the Nissan Leaf cars.
In 2011, Chevrolet set a global sales record
of 4.76 million vehicles sold worldwide
In late 2013, the Chevy brand was withdrawn
from Europe by General Motors leaving the
Corvette and Camero lines.
In 2016, Chevrolet unveiled the first affordable
mass-produced all-electric car the Chevrolet
Bolt EV.
This car too has won several awards.
Where Chevrolet Is Today
Chevrolet now has its headquarters in Detroit,
Michigan, and operates throughout 140 countries
in North and South America, Asia, Australia,
South Africa, and Europe with over two million
vehicles sold annually in the US alone and
a brand value of $11.5 billion.
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Best Slogans: How Chevrolet Created a Meaningful Advertising Slogan

Graeme Newell:

Is your slogan just a catchy phrase, or does
it have real heart and meaning that encapsulates
the customer's feelings about your brand?
Chevrolet struggled with their tagline...
"Chevy runs deep"
The problem was that the marketing contradicted
the slogan. The ads didn't deliver a deep
customer connection - they were just a lot
of information about cars.
But they finally hit the emotional mark with
this commercial that turns a car...into family.
"It was more than a car to him, it really
was, his baby. He has no idea that we searched
for it, and it's gonna be the surprise of
his life I think. Ok, I gotcha. Oh no. Dear
god, that's my old Chevy. We got it pop. You're
kidding me, really, come on, you're kidding
me, we found it, it took five years. Really?
Dear me, it's all good dad we found it. Wow,
and it's the same. Yep. It's the same. It's
not just a car, it's all the memories and
the feelings, it brings all that back. From
fathers to sons, Chevy runs deep.
And it isn't just a car, it's a brand that's
a deep emotional connection. And finally,
their slogan has meaning, because they stopped
marketing cars...and started marketing a feeling...cars
are family....
If you'd like to see the director's cut of
this commercial, stay tuned at the end of
this video.
So remember, don't brand your product. Instead
build your brand on how your customers feel
about themselves when they use your product.
I'm Graeme
Newell
and
that's emotional marketing

2019 Chevrolet Silverado; Mercedes-Benz Goes Electric | Talking Cars with Consumer Reports #167

Consumer Reports:

The truck wars are heating up.
And we just picked up a brand
new Chevrolet Silverado 1500.
Also, Mercedes Benz
introduced their new EQC SUV,
part of their new plans
for electrification.
And we answer your questions
next on Talking Cars.
[MUSIC PLAYING]

Hi, everyone and welcome back.
I'm Jon Linkov.
I'm Jennifer Stockburger.
And I'm Ryan Pilakowski.
And some announcements this week
about new electric vehicles,
we've also got the new Chevrolet
Silverado in our test fleet.
We'll talk about
that with the RAM.
And then we have viewer
questions, so lot of stuff.
Let's jump in Jen.
Mercedes Benz introduced
their, or showed,
their new EQC all electric SUV.
Can you tell us about it?
Right, so this is a, you
know, the first in Mercedes EQ
line of electric vehicles.
So that's kind of a big deal.
Electric intelligence is
what it stands for, right?
Right.
And C means that it's
kind of C-class base size.
C-class platform, right?
So it all has meaning, right.
I wondered what the German
word for intelligence
was that made it a Q, but
anyway, different issue.
But anyway, fully electric,
402-horsepower rating,
80-kilowatt battery,
floor mounted,
which means some
of the space stuff
maybe isn't an issue,
two electric motors
for all-wheel drive, right?
So you get all-wheel drive.
But more so it's
kind of the industry
that the big players are
beginning to introduce
electric vehicle lines.
We've talked about Volkswagen,
you know, Mercedes, so yeah.
Tesla had the Model
X. Jaguar has the--
now, let me get this right.
The I-PACE-- the
E-PACE is not electric.
The I-PACE is the
electric, right?
Right.
You know, Ryan, it's kind of
a GLC Mercedes Benz, GLC SUV.
What do you think of that model?
And do you think it would
translate well to electric?
Yeah, I mean, it all sounds
really good actually,
because the GLC we liked quite
a bit here at the test track.
I know I liked it.
If they can make it
actually go 200 miles--
Right, I think that's the key.
That's the key.
It is that size of the GLC.
I think they have something.
The price is probably
not going to be low.
I mean, let's face it.
That's the unfortunate
part I think.
But maybe it'll be reasonable.
I don't know.
But I think they'll have
something if they can do that.
Yeah, I mean, they claim that
you could charge in 40 minutes,
the battery can.
Depending on the
status of the charge,
you know, there's a lot of
caveats with this announcement
right now, almost 80%, from
10% to 80% in 40 minutes.
But does it mean something
big for the industry?
Or where does it fit?
I think it's good news for
the electrification industry,
if you will.
I don't know what
you want to call it.
But Mercedes is a big name.
And they have the infrastructure
and the knowledge,
the know-how to do
this stuff on a bigger
scale I think, than even
Tesla, you know, if it works,
if they can figure that out.
But it's--
We'll, you know, you
raise a good point.
And you know, Jen,
Tesla kind of what?
Proof of concept in a sense.
You know, Mercedes, they're
established, like Ryan said.
Right, right, maybe more--
I mean we joke about German
engineering and the rigidness,
but that's probably a
good thing in this case.
They're going to
make the technology--
And they might --work --have
been using all this time
sitting back a little bit
watching, learning, figuring--
who knows what they
have up their sleeve?
They could do
something impressive.
I find it interesting,
diesel was their way.
When it was hybrid and electric,
the Germans were like, nein.
You know, we are
going with diesel.
Diesel is the way to go and
all of a sudden scandal--
This is a big deal.
That they're accepting the
fact that maybe electrification
is the way.
Well, I think there's
two you talked about.
There's two tipping points.
One Ryan just mentioned,
the 200 miles.
Now, electrics are
a practical vehicle
that you can actually
get somewhere
without having to charge.
And you talked about Tesla.
And I think that's kind of
a hesitation for others.
Tesla did a huge thing, in that
they not just made the car,
they built the infrastructure
and the charging stations.
We have not seen
that from others
introducing electric vehicles.
Volkswagen has the plan as
part of their kind of penalty,
you know, their punishment
for the diesel scandal.
But we haven't seen
it yet, like you said.
But I think those two
need to go hand-in-hand,
that you can get somewhere,
charge, and get back.
I have a question
for both of you.
So OK, is 200 miles
or around 200 miles
acceptable for both of
you or either of you?
And also, would you
buy an electric?
Big toss up.

I think 200 miles is the key,
300 would be even better.
Sure, more is better.
But for me-- and again, we're
here in rural Connecticut.
The infrastructure is not there.
So for me-- and you know,
I think I've mentioned,
we have a place in Vermont.
I'm not going to Vermont
and finding a Tesla
or any other charging station.
They're getting there.
We just passed a coffee shop.
We were in Vermont
over the weekend,
three charging stations in
Newfane, Vermont, new coffee
shop.
Tesla?
I think they were Tesla.
I didn't get close.
But three Tesla
charging stations
in this little rural
town in Vermont.
So it's coming.
What about you, Ryan?
No, not yet.
I mean, if they start
getting up over 200 miles
and there's more to choose
from at a lower price,
I could see maybe
having a second vehicle.
But right now-- and I
forget to charge this thing.
You know, it's just I could
not have just one car.
I'm a dingbat.
I would forget.
And it would just be
not good, trust me.
Oh, shoot, I forgot
to charge again.
I mean, I think--
no, I'd be walking.
I'd be riding my
bike half the time.
I swear, I'd forget.
You have to keep it in the back.
I mean, where I live, if I
worked in the city of Hartford,
because I'm outside of
that, that would work.
If my employer had charging--
I mean, we have them
here, but you know,
it's a different situation.
That would work And
families close enough.
But yeah, a trip to Boston would
be one of those tic-tac-toe,
make connect the dots to charge.
And you know, goodness forbid
there's weather, traffic
jams on I-90, stuff like that.
It kind of leads
to another question
we had from someone
about hybridization
electrification of cars.
And I want to read it, because
it refers to the RAM eTorque
system.
We'll get to that.
Recently, I saw a review
of the 2019 RAM 1500.
Can you explain what
eTorque is and how
it is or is not beneficial?
Is it kind of like a hybrid?
Jen, you want to
jump on that one?
Right, so it is kind of like
a hybrid, a mild hybrid.
We use that word mild hybrid.
So in that they are using
an electric motor to one,
help the stop-start technology.
And I will say, I
found it seamless.
I wasn't sure it had it.
It was so seamless.
Right, it stops at traffic
lights and restarts.
I was like, is it even stopping?
And it was.
And then it's the
other piece of that,
is this 48-volt
power system, which
is, you know, there's so much
running electrically now,
that they're having
this 48-volt platform.
It's going to be necessary
to run all these things.
Online we said,
the 48-volt system
provides a short bump in power
delivery, regenerative braking.
Chrysler estimates this
mild hybrid system.
So that's what they're calling
it, 10% boost in fuel economy.
So we have it in testing.
Yeah, it's a unique system.
I mean, it's a giant
alternator-battery system.
And it acts a an alternator
when you're cruising along,
but it gives you a little boost.
On the v8 model, it gives
you 130-foot pounds of torque
in taking off.
And that's a big deal.
That's where you use a
lot of fuel, just getting
the vehicle moving
a lot of times.
And any little bit
helps, so it's unique.
Well, you know, we're putting
the RAM through testing.
And we'll have fuel
economy numbers coming up.
But it perfectly leads
into a huge competitor
in the giant pickup truck
market, the new Chevrolet
Silverado.
And it's 48,380, the RAM
that we're testing is 50,820.
We all drove it.
We've all been putting
some miles on it.
Both of you tow, so
Jen, let's go first
how it performs
as a tow vehicle.
Right, so I think the
power train's very good.
And I think it'll be great.
It is a bit more truckie riding.
So in towing or when it
has stuff in the bed,
I think it will ride better
when you can settle down
that rear end a little bit.
And personally, it's a little
more bare bones interior,
but I think--
again, you're talking to someone
who uses a truck for a truck.
We have hay and grains and
shavings every single week
in the back of our truck.
And I think sometimes
when you've covered--
excuse me-- covered
in horse hair,
you don't necessarily want
that plush of an interior.
Whatever you're doing.
You know what I mean?
I want it to be cleanable.
So I actually kind of
like the more sparse--
is that the right word?
Spartan.
Interior.
Again--
Utilitarian, yeah.
--it's a $50,000 truck.
But I kind of liked
that it was more
on kind of the functional side.
Ryan, boat towing or--
Yeah, no, that's why
I agree with Jen.
It's firm.
It rides like a truck.
But it was designed to
carry loads and whatnot.
I actually had weight
in both of these trucks.
OK, the RAM and the--
None of this is scientific
or-- this is objective data.
This is subjective.
Like the RAM, I had probably 400
pounds in the back of the RAM.
And it sat down a little bit.
I was surprised.
But it also rides really
nice without weight in it.
Well, it has coiled springs
under there versus a LEAF,
so it has a better
ride overall, unladen.
Exactly.
I had probably a
little less weight
than that in the Silverado
and it settled the truck down.
I mean, I think it even
shifted a little better.
So the RAM was more like
this in the settling.
And the Silverado--
Silverado didn't squat,
but it rode nicer,
because it had some
weight in the bed.
But it's designed that way.
I think it's going to be maybe
a little more of a rugged work
truck than the RAM,
but depending on what
you're looking for, you know?
And that's a key
question, because what
are people looking for,
because you know, in my town,
a lot of--
In Jon's town.
A lot of people buy
really loaded trucks.
And you never see them towing.
You never seen them
carrying a load.
The biggest load
they carry is, you
know, the family coming
back from maybe Costco
or some kind of big-box store.
You know, and they're
$60,000, $70,000--
The loaded paper towel.
--trucks.
You look great.
And the ride can't be--
yeah, right, you look great.
But the ride can't
be that enjoyable.
They're almost like--
well, you said--
Well, it's depending
on the truck.
So in the RAM, it probably
is very enjoyable.
You go back-- do you
remember back in--
we used to do, in our
ride-comfort, a full-load ride.
We actually loaded up
the bed and then judge
the ride based on a full bed.
What we found is
people, to your point,
people aren't using
them like that.
So we don't even do
that test anymore.
They're like a SUV
without a cover.
Yeah, so I would encourage
people, you know,
if you're between--
I don't know what the right way
to get a full load in, maybe
bring some sandbags or something
along and do maybe a test
drive both ways.
If you're going
to use it loaded,
don't judge it completely
on its unladen ride.
You touched on something
about the price.
And I looked at them both.
I mean, the RAM feels nicer.
It has more features really,
than not for much more money.
I mean, we're looking at maybe
$2,200 in our test vehicles.
It has XM.
It has a larger screen
with Uconnect, which is--
the GM one's good,
Uconnect's better.
It is better.
It has power-folding mirrors
and a power-sliding rear window.
Now, the GM truck has
a huge rear window,
makes it easy to see out,
but that venting is nice.
Parking sensors front and rear,
which helps with the truck,
because the front end.
You cannot see over it, right.
The key thing, I mean,
again, let's just make
a round number, 50 grand.
Neither of them has
advanced safety gear.
The RAM has a little bit of a
parking assist for the back.
It'll stop if it thinks
it's going to hit something,
but no automatic emergency
braking, no forward collision
warning, not even blind spot.
And again, you got some
big blind spots in trucks.
That's a disappointment to me.
Something that I
thought was interesting,
is the Silverado-- at least the
1500 always been a lower truck.
This truck's tall.
It's going, I think, after--
you know, Ford always has
these big, brawny grills
and they're tall.
The RAM actually seems lower.
And the Silverado went up.
I needed the handle.
And the hood I notice it's
big and it's a little bit
to look around.
The steering is still better.
I think that it has the best
steering out of the three
trucks, the F-150 included.
I don't care for the
steering in that or the RAM.
But it's a big truck either way.
I was just going
to say, I'm also
looking for stuff that
makes shorter stature.
You know, women buying
trucks, which again,
and we've talked about.
There's a lot of horse women.
In the Silverado, that
step in the bumper that
let you get in the bed,
the assisted gates,
you know, the Silverado
had a power-lift gate.
Most of them are easier
now, grab-handles
to get in, all of them have
that, adjustable pedals.
Silverado did not have
the adjustable pedals.
[INTERPOSING VOICES]
RAM does, F-150 does.
So things like that make
it easier for someone
who is a little shorter.
It's an important truck
for GM, in the sense of A,
they compete with Ford for the
best-selling vehicle in America
each year.
Not truck, vehicle.
Vehicle.
Right, right, not just truck.
Small volume.
And secondly, it is
going to be the basis,
the platform basis
for their SUV's,
so the Chevrolet Suburban, the
Chevrolet Tahoe, the GMC Yukon,
the GMC Yukon XL, the big ones.
And last generation, they
didn't launch Silverado well,
according to the Consumer
Reports' annual auto survey
reliability data
from our members.
And those trucks
also had problems.
Hurt the others,
hurt the others.
They also had reliability.
So we'll see getting
them through testing
in the next couple of weeks.
We're going to move to questions
right now, because we've
got a lot of great ones.
We had that one about eTorque.
But we've got a--
We through the
eTorque in up there.
Right.
So the first one, e
have a video question
about all-weather tires.
Take it away.
Hey, Talking Cars.
So I've been thinking
of getting some snow
tires for my new Ridgeline.
But I really don't want to
changing tires over every six
months.
I saw your reviews on
some all-weather tires
from Toyo Celsius CUV,
Goodyear WeatherReadys,
and some Nokian WRG3's,
RG4's or new, I guess.
I'm in the same
state as you guys.
And I don't need to go to
work when it's extremely bad.
But I do need to be able to
drive when it is snowing.
Are these new all-weather
tires decent enough, especially
in something like a Ridgeline?
It's pretty heavy.
I'm leaning towards
the WeatherReadys.
But I also kind of like
the Toyo Celsius CUV.
Thank you, have a great day.
OK, a really good
question and something
we hear from people a
lot about type of tire
for the transitional weather.
Ryan our black-donut expert,
what should this gentleman do?
So it's a great
question, because this
is the exact situation why
these tires were designed for
or what they were designed for.
People that do encounter
snow, but don't
want to be hassled with
the tire change over.
Actually, we just
got done testing
our last all-season
program of car tires.
And there's actually
five all-weather models
that we tested in the
performance all-season group.
And there's a good spread.
I mean, we have a
couple at the top,
middle, and then
closer to the bottom.
And I think they're
a great compromise.
They are still a compromise.
Tires are always a compromise.
In what way are
they a compromise?
Well, you know, you can't have
a tire that is amazing in snow
and is amazing on wet roads.
It's just-- there is one.
He skewed more towards
snow, but yeah,
give up maybe something else.
So yeah, I mean, I definitely
recommend an all-weather tire.
Take a look at our
ratings, we just
came out with all new ratings.
And there's five
different models in there.
If that doesn't work,
if you can't maybe
find something that
fits you, you know,
there, the next
best thing is really
a set of snow tires
on wheels ready to go.
And you can go to
a local tire place.
And they'll mount them
for you, maybe even
store your other tires, so you
don't have to deal with that.
I know sometimes
storage is an issue.
Can you give us a rundown
just in the brands
that are making them?
And also are there any
worries that you may have,
because I think they're
kind of limited.
It's interesting.
You can look at these
tires and they all
look radically different.
I mean, the Michelin looks
almost like a summer tire,
but they do it all
with compounding.
The grip comes from compounding.
The Nokian looks
like a snow tire.
It's really unique.
But it's usable on dry roads.
Exactly, if you
look at our ratings,
you'll see the benefits of each.
So right, consumerreports.org,
we've got our ratings.
And we might have some
free content up there too.
But members can go to
consumerreports.org.
Also, send us your
video questions.
We really like those, text it
to TalkingCars@icloud.com, send
them in via our YouTube site.
Wherever we can get
questions from you,
we want to answer them.
So moving on, we have a
question from a young viewer
who's buying his first car.
Hi, I'm 15.
I love cars.
And I'm coming up on
buying my first one.
I live in a place
that snows a lot.
And my parents want
me to buy a car
with either 4x4 or
all-wheel drive.
I have no idea
what to look into.
And I have a budget
of about $10,000.
What should I get?
So first I'm going to
steal Jen's game, because--
Stealing my game.
--everyone has to come
up with a suggestion.
But I'm going to
go to Jen first,
because Jen maintains a list,
top used cars for teens,
fits right in here.
Jen, go.
At the risk of being repetitive,
just to say, you know,
we try to balance not too big,
not too small, not too fast,
not too slow, obviously
reliable, obviously full
of safety features.
The Goldilocks of cars, right?
Yeah, right kind of the
Goldilocks and that's
how we narrow that
teen driver list.
So my pick was--
I mean, my gut at first was
to go to all the Subarus,
you know, reliable.
I think, you know, I said I'd
lease one for my own daughter.
But if you look there, resale
prices are a little higher.
So where I ended up
for him is a RAV4.
Toyota RAV4.
Yeah, 2009 or later, excellent
reliability, ESC was standard.
I would really like
you to get something
with Electronics
Stability Control,
regardless of what you
buy, please look for that.
Four-cylinder, so
it's not too quick.
But fuel efficient.
Fuel efficient, reliability
was excellent, room,
your all-wheel drive, that's
what I settled on, RAV4.
Ryan, what did you
bring to the table?
So I went down the
Subaru road, just
because all-wheel drive and
they do make great cars, a 2010
or later Legacy.
The Impreza is too small.
I think the Legacy
is a little bigger.
It's a nicer car, I think,
a little more solid.
And like Jen said,
definitely try
to get stability control, 100%.
I was looking-- there's
some Hyundai Santa Fe's
mentioned, Santa Fe Sport.
I saw the Forester.
I went with the Impreza.
Both of you knocked it--
We didn't knock
it, I just didn't.
Truly, I just didn't.
So I'm not knocking it.
I just was weighing out the--
But you both gave reasons
not choose it here.
Non-turbo, key, no
WRX, no WRX, OK?
That's--
And you look at the price range.
You could see these 22,000.
That's the WRX.
And summer tires or super-ultra
high performance all-season
is not going to
give you snow grip.
You know, you can
look 2010 to 12's.
You know, that's
the lower end of if.
You might get some high mileage.
Also, pretty good reliability
and owner satisfaction data
from our annual auto
survey of CR members.
So I think all great option.
You want to know the other
one I through in there?
Toyota Matrix.
There's just not a
lot of them around.
There isn't.
But that was a great car.
I forgot about the Matrix.
You got to put snows.
He wants an all-wheel
drive or 4x4.
Well, you can get
all-wheel drive.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, you could get
an all-wheel drive.
But I thought that was--
Rare car.
Yeah, rare car.
You maybe not be
able to find one.
Proper tires, though.
That's on our list, so.
Right, in any case.
OK, so we have one more.
We have an electric
vehicle hybrid question
from a viewer in the
Dominican Republic.
Hello, from the
Dominican Republic.
Yay, I love our
international audience.
I think it's the first one.
First one from a island
versus --and are Canada.
--youthful.
A whole lot of questions
from the youngsters.
That's good.
Well, they're texting.
They're doing the text.
That's good.
That's good.
So let's start.
Hello, from the
Dominican Republic.
I spend over an hour
in traffic every day,
burning fuel and traveling
five to eight miles at most.
Sounds like he lives in
San Francisco instead.
[LAUGHTER]

On weekends, I take the
family to the mountains,
which is a 200-mile round trip.
I know hybrids and EV's
are different animals,
but which one would perform
better in stop-and-go traffic
driving environment?
What do you think?
We've already talked about that.
Right, so I think in his case
a hybrid is the perfect one.
EV's would work for his commute,
but may not work for the travel
into the mountains.
Exactly what we said
five minutes ago.
That he's not going to find
a charger in the mountains.
So to me perfect
person for a hybrid.
And stop and go is actually
where hybrids excel.
You know, you think
of long commuter miles
on the highway, that's actually
not where they get their most
benefit.
It's in that stop and go,
in the city, perfect car.
So I would say,
absolutely go with hybrid.
Then you have the option and
when you're on your weekend
to the mountains, that
you have the backup.
You don't need to
worry about charging.
I thought a Prius,
Toyota Prius or Prius V.
The V is a little bigger.
You go to the mountains, you
can carry some extra stuff.
You know, one thing that
I was thinking about,
the charging infrastructure.
You know, I mean, what do
we see here in the States?
Right, well, we
were just talking
about how in Connecticut,
we don't have that many.
I mean, there are chargers, but
maybe in this area there isn't.
And you know, that deters me
from wanting an electric car.
I don't know what
it is down there.
I can't imagine it's
better than here, you know,
in terms of frequency
of chargers.
So you know, that's
one of the things.
I looked online.
It seems like there's
only one or two chargers.
Maybe that's only one or two
public chargers in the --it's
Dominican --not
Republic --to say
--he can't have one at
home, but yeah, right.
Right, but still and
then we go to the mileage
of an EV or the range, you're
going to maybe get 200 at best.
And that's a Bolt
or a Tesla Model 3.
If you buy a LEAF,
that's way low, right?
Batteries don't like heat.
You're going to be
using the AC a lot.
You know, that range
is going to be lower.
Any suggestions for Him?
Yeah, the only thing I added--
and you're right, Prius,
Prius V would be
great with something
maybe slightly larger, if
they're camping or going
on a round trip.
I said Highlander
hybrid or a RAV4 hybrid,
so keeping in that
Toyota vain, but yeah.
What about people who
maybe aren't living there,
but want an EV?
There is some news
about them actually.
Right, so we just
published an article.
It's an industry thing.
But right now, if
somebody is looking
to get into the
electric vehicle market,
there is a glut-- we
actually us that word.
Of used EV's in
the used car market
to be had for super reasonable.
We're talking about 1/3
of what they're MSRP was.
$10,000, you can get into a
LEAF or something like that.
Albeit, not 200 miles
range, but if you
wanted to pick up a second
vehicle as a commuter vehicle,
now is the time.
We even said, what a great
way to get new safety features
in a $10,000 car.
We talked about
this young driver.
It's hard to get ESC
yet for under $10,000.
You really got to look.
But a brand new car,
$10,000, great teen vehicle,
great way to try it, great
way to get a second car.
Yeah, if you live in
that kind of situation
I was talking
about, you know, you
have a commute 20 or 20
miles or you can charge,
that really works.
Yeah, if you have the parking
and a charger at home,
would be awesome time.
Yep, well, you know that article
and more about EV's and hybrids
is free on consumerreports.org.
And members can get our
ratings on EV's and hybrids.
That's going to do
if for this episode,
so remember to check the
show notes, also, send us
those video and text questions
to TalkingCars@icloud.com.
We really want them, potentially
for another all-question
episode down the road.
Thanks for watching and
we'll see you next time.
[MUSIC PLAYING]

2019 Chevrolet Traverse Review: A Roomy 3-Row Family SUV

Edmunds:

SPEAKER 1: We've
been talking a lot
about vehicles that are good for
families with young children.
The Honda Pilot comes
to mind is one that's
particularly baby friendly.
But kids grow up, and
families with teens
have different car needs.
The 2019 Chevy Traverse
promises cargo space and a more
grown up approach
to the midsize SUV.
Will it do its chores without
being reminded seven times?
Let's find out.
First, a very
important question.
Does it do a burnout?

No.
A little bit.
All right.
The Traverse does a burnout
if you start on gravel.
Today's midsize SUV as are like
minivans in flannel shirts--
they're trying to
look more macho.
The Traverse was
redesigned in 2018,
and I think Chevy
did a good job.
It's boxy, kind of
aggressive, but not boring.
I recently reviewed
the Kia Sorento,
and in the comments
on that video,
I got scolded by Kia
Sorento for saying
that the Kia wasn't sporty.
That made me realize, OK,
sportiness is subjective.
I mean, it all depends on
what you were driving before.
So OK, mid-sized SUVs are
sporty in the same way
that bowling is sporty.
And now, you can all be mad
at me for dissing bowling.
But what I mean is it's not the
same as a Miata or a Corvette.
It's specifically designed
to be a softer ride,
and to be more gentle and quiet.
To me, that's not sporty.

That said, the Traverse has
a pretty zippy 3.6 liter
V8, making 310
horsepower, and backed
by a nine speed
automatic transmission.
It has noticeably
more passing power
than most of the
crossovers I've been in.
It's good the V6 is
such a solid engine,
because there really
aren't any others
that you can choose from.
Well, that's not true.
There is the RS trim, which
comes with a turbo charged
four cylinder, and it gets a
little bit better gas mileage.
But honestly, the V6
gets 20 miles per gallon,
and that's right on par with the
rest of the SUVs in this class.

On the highway around town, the
Traverse has an excellent ride.
It's very comfortable,
it's very predictable.
And it's very quiet.
For more spirit and driving like
on this curvy mountain road,
well, it's not the car
I would choose for fun,
but I feel perfectly safe.
Like I said, this
isn't what it's for.

Safety is obviously
a major consideration
when you're buying a vehicle to
haul your whole family around
in.
This Traverse, the High Country,
has everything you'd need.
Lane change assist,
and lane keep assist,
and pedestrian warning,
emergency braking,
adaptive cruise control.
All the things, but you
can't even option them up
on the lower trim models.
And I think when a lot of
the competitors like Honda
and Toyota and Kia are
offering that stuff as standard
all the way up and
down the trim levels,
Chevy ought to get
with the program.
Stop being so stingy.

The Traverse isn't
intended to be primarily
an off road or tow vehicle,
but it's capable of both
if you option for the all
wheel drive and tow package.
The controls for that
are in this mode dial
down here by the shifter.
And you can go two wheel drive,
all wheel drive, the off road
setting, and a
tow setting, which
I think changes shift points.
The dial is a different
approach to all wheel drive
than some of the competitors in
this sort of front wheel drive
midsize segment,
because usually, they
do it as a sort of
automatic all wheel drive.
Like, it just senses
if there's wheel slip,
and moves from front wheel
drive to all wheel drive
for as long as you need it.
But Chevy has sort of giving
you more control as the driver.

We tend to talk about
the infotainment systems
in these reviews while we're
parked, which is fine if you
think ahead, and are ready.
But a lot of times,
you're on the road,
and then you're like, oh
crap, did I plug my phone in.
And I don't want to
listen to this anymore.
And it's always
interesting to see
how hard it is to
figure out these systems
while you're driving, which
I guess you're not really
supposed to be doing, but
you know that you are.
Anyhow, it's easy
to plug a phone in.
It doesn't matter which
USB you plug into.
Apple CarPlay or Android Auto
will work from either one.
And everything in the screen
is reachable and visible
while you're driving
without having to look away
from the road for very long.
The steering wheel controls
aren't quite as easy.
I don't like the adaptive
cruise control at all.
I can barely figure
out how to turn it on
and I have a hard time
knowing when it's on.
It just doesn't show
very much in the dash.
It's great that the Traverse is
so big and roomy on the inside,
but it's also very
big on the outside.
And with some pretty
substantial blind spots,
that can make
parking intimidating.
Luckily, there's some
tech that makes it easier.
There's a rear view camera,
and a 360 degree camera
so you can see everything
that surrounds you.
There's also a pretty
nifty little camera here
in the rear view.
Mirror and rear sensor
to tell you when
you're getting close to stuff.
Let's see how it works.
Going backwards in
a straight line,
not going to hit anything today.

Parked.
Success.
OK, so Traverse is great
at backing into spots.
But what about
pulling into a spot?
You know, it's got
a pretty long hood,
and I can't really
see the end of it.
I can still use the
camera, that's great.

No parking sensors in the front?
What the what?

Earlier, I said
that the Traverse
was a really good choice for
parents with teenage children.
One of the reasons I said that
is the Traverse has something
called Teen Driver,
a monitoring system
for when your kid takes the car.
It's not like valet mode,
where it limits them
to first gear or 30 miles an
hour or something like that.
I mean, you can drive normally.
But it gives a report card at
the end that you can go over
with your kid, and talk about,
Oh, what was their top speed,
and did any of the
traction aides come on.
Was there any emergency braking.
And so it can kind
of help you help
them to improve their
driving without you
having to be in the car.
Oh, it also prevents them
from turning on the radio
until their seatbelts are on.

The Traverse has a
tough guy exterior,
but inside, it's
surprisingly soft.
The steering wheel
is pretty squishy,
it has a lot of leather
trim on most of the spots
that you're going to touch.
And overall, it's
pretty luxurious.
Now bear in mind, we're
in the High Country
trim, which is the top
of the line Traverse.
So as you go down
in the trim levels,
you won't have all
of this luxury.
Traverse come standard with
a seven inch touchscreen,
and we have the optional
eight inch here.
There are plenty of storage
cubbies and a nice big console.
And so many options
for charging a phone.
From front to back, I
counted 10 different ways
that you could plug-in and
charge a phone, or a tablet,
or something similar.
And that's including USB
ports 12 volts AC adapter.
There's even a hidden charging
spot behind the screen in case
you're a spy, and you have
like, a secret burner phone
or something.
I don't know.
The point is, there
are enough spots
for everyone in the car to
charge their phones and then
some.
Noticing all the
places to charge
your phone was sort of
what made me think, man,
this would be a
really good vehicle
for somebody with teenagers.
Because you know, little kids
might use the dropdown screen
or whatever, but big kids tend
to bring their entertainment
with them.
And I just feel like Chevy
is thinking about that.
You know, they have
a lot of leg room,
and there's a lot
of charging spots.
And there's sort of
a lot of privacy.
Like, they could sit all the
way in the back and sort of feel
like they weren't stuck
right up with mom and dad.
There's plenty of room in
the front of the Traverse.
There's a lot of space between
the driver and the passenger,
and between the
driver and the door.
The seats however, are
a little bit narrow.
And there's actually
a big gap here.
And if you are broader,
you might feel a little bit
cramped.
They're also very firm.
Which is fine.
Some people like a firm seat.
Me, if I'm driving in
a big SUV, I kind of
want to feel like I'm
in a barcalounger.
So I wouldn't mind if
they were a little softer.
They are heated though,
and that makes up for it.
One thing Chevy did really
well in the Traverses
give it this bright
airy feeling.
It's really nice and light
all the way from the front
to the back of the car.
I hate it when you
get into these SUV
and it's just all
black plastic and you
feel like you're in sort of
a terrible cave of misery.
The Traverse doesn't
feel like that.
It's really bright.
Some of that might be
from the twin sunroof
on this car, which is
standard on the High Country,
but you can option it on
some of the lower levels.
Hurray for second rows
with plenty of space.
There's foot room, there's knee
room, there's plenty of room
all around you.
It's nice back here.
Especially when you option
up to the captain's chairs.
Feel pretty important.
My same complaints
about the front seats
apply to the back seats
in that they aren't plush,
they're a little bit firm.
But they're totally comfortable.
I'd be happy to sit back here.
The best thing about the second
and third rows in the Traverse
is how easy it is to get
from one to the other.
I mean, you can just walk there,
like it's a freaking airplane.
Or if you're getting
in from outside,
the passenger seat
tilts forward.
You can even do it with
a child seat in there
and it's not a problem
there's plenty of space
to get into the back row.
Take the baby out first.
I've been in second rows
that don't have as much room
as the third row
in the Traverse.
I mean, it's pretty
great back here.
Plus, it has all of the
creature comforts-- cup holders,
USB ports, a vent
for climate control.
I mean, I wouldn't want to
be the kid in the middle
here on a long road trip, but
for around town, totally fine.
With 23 cubic feet
behind the third row,
and 98 cubic feet with
it down, plus the ability
to have just part of it
down the Traverse winds
the cargo space awards
offering more room
than the Honda Pilot, Toyota
Highlander, or Ford Explorer.
Bonus points for how easy it is
to put the seats down and bring
them up again.
Bonus, bonus points for bonus
storage under the floor.

Obviously, I don't play the
cello, but maybe your kid does.
Or maybe you find and refinish
antiques on the weekend.
Whether it's for your growing
family or your outsize hobbies,
the Chevy Traverse is
big on interior space.
It's not just big, it's useful.
And isn't that the whole
point of a midsize SUV?

For reviews of the Chevy
Traverse and other midsize SUV,
visit Edmunds.
For more videos
like this, please
subscribe and make sure
you follow us on Facebook,
Instagram, and Twitter.

2020 Chevrolet Corvette C8 Reveal - Finally, A Mid-Engine Corvette!

Edmunds:

[MUSIC PLAYING]

CARLOS LAGO: We just watched
the reveal of the 2020 Chevrolet
Corvette Stingray.
The base price is going
to be less than $60,000.
That's incredible.
This is the eighth generation
Corvette, and of course now
it's mid-engine.
There is a 6.2-liter
V8 right about here.
Now, that's a big deal
for a lot of reasons.
Well, one, it's the first
time that a Corvette
has gone mid-engine.
Two, it brings a ton
of performance benefits
and it makes a pretty radical
change to what Corvette is.
Really quick, that engine
is still a pushrod V8.
That means it's low, it's
sacrificing a little bit
of valve train sophistication
for sitting low in the car
itself.
It's attached to an 8-speed dual
clutch automatic transmission.
The only transmission
offering, and of course, it
drives the rear wheels.
Now, it makes 495 horsepower
with the performance exhaust,
and with Launch Control, and
with the performance options,
like the Z51 track package
that was on the C7, and so on,
enables 0 to 60 in less
than three seconds.
Push is pretty spectacular.
Now, one of things
that happens when
you switch to a
mid-engine configuration
is of course all that space that
was once cargo volume is now
engine volume, I guess?
But there's still
a trunk behind it,
which Chevy says can
fit two golf bags, which
is pretty impressive.
It shows Chevy's
commitment to understanding
the practicality
aspect of the Corvette,
and why owners really
appreciate that.
It makes this car more
usable for more people.
On top of that, there's also
a front trunk, or frunk,
up front.
Combined, both of those
compartments make 12.6-ish
cubic feet of cargo space,
which is pretty important.
Let's go a little
bit further up.
One of things they maintained
was the removable roof,
which has always been a
highlight of Corvettes.
It's nice to be able to
take the roof off and just
go for a cruise.
There are a couple of
other big, dramatic changes
to the rest of the car, as well.
Gone are the
transverse leaf spring
setup that used to underpin
Corvette for a long time.
Now we're just down
to coil overs, which
is more traditional,
and should make
for a really sophisticated
ride and handling,
especially when paired with the
magnetic fluid-filled shocks
that Corvette's been using
in recent years, and those,
we've really liked a lot.
Chevy says in the
press materials
that the Corvette equipped
with all-season tires
can generate 1 G laterally.
That's ridiculous
for all-season tires,
and that's such a high
amount of grip capability
that actually all Corvettes
now will have a dry [INAUDIBLE]
oiling system to ensure constant
lubrication to important engine
bits when you're
cornering really hard.
A lot of really
exciting stuff there.
Let's move our way to the front.
And one of the real advantages,
beyond all the performance
headroom, of having the
engine in the middle,
because it's putting more
mass on the rear tires,
giving them more traction to
brake, accelerate, and handle,
but you also move the passenger
compartment quite a bit
forward in the cabin.
And that means you can
put the hood down lower,
because there's no
longer an engine there.
You can make the
windshield bigger.
That gives you a
better sight line.
And because there's no
longer an engine blocking it,
you can have a shorter
and more direct steering
system, which makes the
whole thing feel more direct.
It also helps when you're
closer to the front wheels, too.
It makes the process
feel a little bit better.
Let's find a way to
hop inside and talk
about what's going on in there.

The interior's a
pretty dramatic change,
like the rest of
the car, I guess.
Two seats, of course.
Squared-off steering
wheel, which
looks interesting, but
in my experience, cars
that use this design work
pretty well because you have
four unique points
of contact that
help in doing hand-over-hand
steering around tight corners,
or when you're in a power
slide, as I like to do,
it helps you locate where
the center of the wheel
is really quickly.
Big digital gauge cluster
behind that, infotainment
display here, all
very driver-oriented
how it wraps around you,
especially this little trim
piece of HVAC controls.
Very interesting decision.
It's going to be a while
before we actually figure out
if we like it or
not, but I will say,
I like having physical buttons
rather than digital ones buried
in the menu.
One of things we
haven't talked about
is something that's
really impressive,
and that's a button
hidden up here
that lifts the front
end of the car when
you're approaching like a
speed bump or your driveway.
And the cool thing is when
you do that, you can actually
have the GSP system
remember where that was,
so when you get home, you don't
have to always hit that button.
Or if there's always a speed
bump or a pothole on your drive
home, the car will just
learn that as you use it.
And that's a really cool
thing to have in a sports car.
There's nothing more
embarrassing than scraping
the nose on your sports car
as you leave your driveway
in the morning.
Very, very embarrassing.
There's a lot here that we're
going to learn, and experience,
and talk about.
But for the time being, this
Corvette looks really cool,
and we can't wait to drive it.

2018 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 – Review and Off-Road Test

Kelley Blue Book:

The Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 is a rock-crawling, trail-blasting dirt goblin
spawned from Chevrolet's mid-sized
Colorado pickup truck.
The ZR2 has been meticulously modified
for an unpaved world. It has electronic
locking differentials front and rear, the
bumpers have been altered for improved
off-road clearance,
there's underbody protection for the
rocker panels, radiator, oil pan, and
transfer case, you can swap the
standard carpet for easy-to-clean vinyl
floor at no cost and rubber meets
whatever via 31 inch Goodyear Wrangler
Duratrac off-road tires mounted on
17-inch aluminum wheels. Oh and a
dealer-installed tire carrier can be
mounted in the bed for redundancy and
style points. Unsurprisingly the off-road
tires make a fair bit of noise on
pavement. Consider that motivation to
avoid pavement. Most impressive is the
ZR2's suspension. In addition to cast-iron
control arms, a 2-inch higher ride, and a
three and a half inch wider track the
suspension's movements are damped by
Multimatic DSSV dampers. Without diving
down a technical rabbit hole
the Multimatic dampers replace the
piston and shims found in traditional
shocks with spool valves, offering
superior reliability, tunabilty, and
performance on or off road. For
perspective, my first exposure to
Multimatic DSSV dampers was in the
Camaro ZL1 1LE. It's kind of cool to see
that technology applied to an off-road
pickup truck. So all the pieces are in
place for a top-shelf off-roader let's
see what two days driving Zulu Romeo
deuce can teach us.
We just arrived at our first off-road
location. I'd like to point your
attention to the gauge cluster. There's
two things that are vexing me right now.
One is the check engine light. The other
is that even if you go through the
process of turning off Stabilitrak it
will still reactivate, which means the
kind of, you know, fun sideways
shenanigans you would hope to do in like
an off-road truck aren't really possible
if you can't use that power on oversteer.
As I turn and floor it Stabilitrak says
"no". I am making the truck dusty though
that is a form of fun. Yeah.
Making my way around. I'm doing a lap!
I'm doing a lap!
Okay.
So, after a little bit of messing about
on the playa here I've discovered that
the ZR2 can be fun when you pick up the
speed. So if you do parking lot style,
slow-speed donuts not a great jam but if
you pick it up a little bit you can
brake into corners and get the the truck
to rotate and that's kind of fun.
And I will point out that with its
small form factor you can squeeze
between bushes and all sorts of fun
stuff.
Alright, day one taught us that the
Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 can be fun and
fast but in our case that fun included
complications. Of course as soon as we'd
wrapped the check engine light magically
disappeared. As for the unwanted
Stabilitrak intervention our contact at
Chevy suggested my rally-inspired, left-foot braking might be the culprit.
Undeterred we marched onward to day two.

Though I love driving fast and sideways
my hope is that the ZR2 is better suited
to traditional off-roading. You know, trails,
rocks, articulation.
Off-road the ZR2 rides more firmly than I
would have expected. If you go bouncing
through some whoops
you will notice.
I have noticed there's a ton of bumper
and ground clearance. In fact I haven't
scraped yet which means I might not be
trying hard enough. Hmm, just scraped. I guess I am
trying hard enough.
Despite being a midsize the turning
circle on the ZR2 is not great. So if you
need to backtrack on a trail and do a
u-turn it's gonna be Austin Powers style.
Mostly though I'm impressed with the way the ZR2 claws its way up rock-strewn
hills. It's small enough that you can
choose the smart path but also capable
enough to handle with dumb one. And I
will say that slow speed rock climbs are
the right application for the diesel
engine. There's so much torque the only
question is whether the tires have
enough grip for the surface. So far the
answer is yes.
If you have a passion for dirt the
Colorado ZR2 is a clearly capable choice
but there are others.
The iconic Jeep Wrangler is one and the
Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro is another. At the same time, even though it's a larger
truck and costs at least ten thousand
dollars more, comparisons to the Ford
Raptor
are inescapable. If driving as fast as
possible across the desert is your goal
the infinitely-driftable, Baja-ready
Raptor remains to go to choice. Even so
there are some very good reasons to
choose the Colorado ZR2. As a midsize-er
the Colorado slips through gaps that
would confound a full-size pickup. That
manageable form factor also makes
domestic life much more enjoyable.
Speaking of size the ZR2 is offered as
an extended cab with a six-foot bed or
an optional crew cab with a 5-foot bed.
If you have more friends than stuff choose the crew cab.
Considering its off-road technology the ZR2's $41,000 base price, including
destination charges, is a relative
bargain. For that sum you get 6 airbags,
MyLink infotainment with an 8-inch
screen, a trailering package with
integrated brake controller, and Teen
Driver; a feature that lets parents
customize vehicle behavior for
inexperienced drivers. Because not every
teenager will make the kind of smart,
mature decisions that I do.
Yeah, responsibility!
If you want the towing and fuel economy
benefits of a diesel in an off-road
package there aren't many choices. The
diesel ZR2's superior range also
addresses range anxiety when exploring
true desolation. That said, for driving
quickly the 3.6-liter gasoline engine is
the right choice. The 2.8-liter is rich
in torque but it is not quick.
For transmission duty the diesel uses a
6-speed automatic while the gasoline
engine sports an 8-speed. Interestingly
the gas and diesel engines are both
rated to haul 5,000 pounds, though I'm
guessing the diesel's nearly 100 pound -foot advantage makes that load more
bearable.
Alright, the check engine light is off. My
left foot is well clear over the brake
and the rear differential is
electronically locked. Let's see if I can
slide this thing.
Saints be praised. The ZR2, she slides! Weee!
The Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 might not
replace my favorite domesticated trophy
truck but it is still a very fun,
effective, right-sized tool for
off-roading. For those occasions where
you absolutely positively need to flee
the city, the ZR2 is a brilliant ride

2020 Chevrolet Silverado 2500/3500: First Look – PickupTrucks.com

Cars.com:

this is our first chance to see the 2020
Chevy Silverado heavy duties right next
to me is a 2500 LTZ and you can look at
it and tell that this is an all-new
pickup truck powertrain design interior
everything has been completely redone as
far as powertrains the carryover Duramax
diesel is gonna come to the new 2020
Silverado HD s what you have here are
some Auto Show cables so it might look a
little bit different but still the exact
same carry over engine 445 horsepower
910 foot-pounds of torque but now has a
10 speed heavy-duty Allison transmission
made it up to it also the big news in
all-new 6.6 liter direct injection v8
engine 401 horsepower 464 foot-pounds of
torque now that new gas engine is also
made it up to a revised six-speed
transmission and also one thing to
consider here if you're doing any work
on your engine on these new heavy duties
they're a little taller than they were
before so when you're trying to reach
for this hood it's a little difficult
inside everything is going to be very
familiar to the Silverado half-ton
pickup truck regular extended and crew
cab is going to be larger more legroom
especially for rear passengers but the
inside - very very similar to what we've
already seen on the half tons dual glove
boxes this is the LTZ package very nice
organic looking center console plenty of
storage here in the middle and also a
uniquely designed gauge cluster for the
driver another feature we like an
all-wheel drive capable transfer case on
a heavy duty vehicle that's a segment
exclusive here at the back of the truck
we love the fact that it's got the rear
view cameras push button tailgate drop
does it automatically you also have four
fifth wheel or gooseneck hitches you've
got the 4 and the 7 pin hitches here on
the inside also a three-prong 120 volt
plug here on the opposite side and then
you've got almost 7 inches of extra
width in the beds and the longest beds
in the segment no matter what the cab
configuration
and then because this has the auto
dropout a lift tailgate one push button
and it'll send the tailgate right back
up and closed
there's obviously tons to talk about
with this new vehicle and we will be
talking more about this after we get
some time behind the wheel but to call
out just two features that we really
like the DEF tank is right here at the
fuel filler and the fact is that every
single duly equipped Chevy heavy-duty
Silverado 3500 with the diesel will be
able to tow over thirty five thousand
pounds for more information go to pickup
trucks.com
you

Chevrolet (Mexico) Superbrands TV Brand Video - Español / Spanish

Superbrands TV:

In a world of global commerce and competition,
excellence matters above all else.
Outstanding brands distinguish themselves
through collaborative enterprise, creative
marketing, and superior products. These are
exceptional brands which stand apart, elevating
themselves to the prestigious distinction
of being named a Superbrand.
Chevrolet is a Superbrand.
With more than 100 years. Chevrolet is the
brand of General Motors with more tradition
and sales. In 2013, they sold a car every
6.3 seconds, That means 5 million cars sold.
In 1935, began the installation of a plant
in the country that opened two years after
the production of a Chevrolet SUV. That same
year the Suburban made its appearance, a unique
vehicle that has been produced without interruption,
for nearly eighty years.
Today, in Mexico, Chevrolet offer consists
of five segments: family, youth, work, high-performance
and the future with 18 different models and
equipment versions : Matiz, Spark, Aveo, Sonic,
Cross, Malibu, Camaro and Corvette Stingray
as far as cars are concerned; SUV's: Trax,
Captiva Sport, Traverse, Tahoe and Suburban.
Pickups: Tornado, Colorado and Silverado / Cheyenne
and Vans and commercial: Express and Silverado
3500.
Chevrolet puts special attention to after
sales service with products such as Road assistance
that provides 24/7 all year long, and for
the enthusiasts of running it offers the ability
to create unique designs in customising their
vehicles with “Concepto Chevrolet”.
In Mexico, Chevrolet has won eight EFFIE awards
for creativity and impact of their advertising,
particularly highlighting the campaign “and
the Cheyenne pa? “
Chevrolet is committed to the power of Human
Ingenuity and promotes the use of alternative
energy sources such as the Volt model, with
a range of 40 to 60 kilometres, available
in the United States and Canada. In Mexico
it is in a pilot program to determine its
viability.
Besides doing its promotions in traditional
media, Chevrolet has been present in the movies
Transformers, Captain America and Turbo. They
also use the available Social Media.
In 2013, Chevrolet introduced its new global
vision: “Find New Roads”, the cornerstone
on with new products and technologies are
developed through the power of wit.
Superbrands: The most respected universal
seal of enduring excellence.