Why Chevrolet Spin Phase Out

Why Chevy Is Radically Changing The Corvette

CNBC:

The Corvette is widely regarded
as America's sports car.
The Chevrolet Corvette has been in production
since 1953, making it one of
the longest running production
vehicles in history.
Of course, it's also one that
has occasionally risked the axe, especially
in times of stress for
Chevrolet parent General Motors.
In spite of that, the car has endured
and it is about to undergo its
biggest change in history.
The Corvette is becoming a mid-engine sports car
and it is one of a small
number of mid-engine sports cars that can
be bought for less than six
figures.
GM President Mark Reuss told the crowd
at the Corvettes unveiling that the
car would start at less than 60
thousand dollars and gasps could be heard
from the audience to
understand what this means.
It is important to take
a look at Corvette's history.
The first Corvette was designed
by legendary General Motors designer
Harley Earl.
Earl saw that American soldiers returning
from Europe after World War 2
had gone crazy for European sports cars,
and he wanted to create an
American competitor.
GM built 300 of the first Corvettes
in 1953, while the initial Corvette
was a virtual masterpiece
of automotive design.
The car's performance was mediocre.
GM engineers had put the car together
from materials the company had on
hand. Its six-cylinder engine lacked the
horsepower needed to match the
car's sleek looks.
The first Corvette sold poorly and was
being outsold several times over by
competitors such as
the Ford Thunderbird.
Just a few years after its creation,
the Corvette was already in danger of
being discontinued.
But the car had caught the attention
of a Russian born Belgian immigrant
engineer and race car driver named Zora
Arkus-Duntov, who soon got a job
with GM and became the
Corvettes first chief engineer.
Arkus-Duntov is credited with pushing
for a sportier, higher performing
Corvette. Over time, the car grew a
reputation as a working man's answer
to high end Italian and German supercars
and developed a proud and devoted
following apart from its lower price.
It also, over time, became known for
keeping its engine in the front of
the car. Like many conventional cars.
But the performance and handling of
a mirror engine layout is often
favored among makers of super cars
and high end sports cars.
Arkus-Duntov
had pressed his bosses to make a
mid-engine Corvette, and for years the
company experimented with designs.
You know, creating a car with the
drive train centralized in the middle of
the vehicle helps
centralize the mass.
When you do that, you end up with
more equal weight between the front and
rear axles and on the front tires.
Essentially, that makes the car more
stable, even at higher speeds and
even around sharper corners,
braking and acceleration.
Everything you're doing in the car especially
is a performance car is more
stable, more balanced when you have
mass centralised engine design over
time.
Chevrolet developed several different iterations
of what was called the
Chevrolet Experimental Research
Vehicle or CERV.
These cars were outfitted with
mid-engine configurations too, some of
which Arkus-Duntov himself held patents, but
none of the designs ever made
it to production, even as high
end performance vehicles from other
manufacturers routinely demonstrated the
advantages of the mid-engine
layout.
That Corvette was able to compete with
many far more expensive cars was
impressive that it did so while keeping
its engine in the front of the
car. For many of its fans added to
its charm, in some ways, the car
appeared to succeed in
spite of itself.
I think that when we talk about Corvette
and the idea that it stayed true
for so long to its heritage front engine,
rear drive and over time, as we
saw more mid-engine cars coming out,
performance levels getting higher and
higher.
Part of the mystique and the aura
around mid-engine was literally that was
the engines like right
behind your head.
Changes like ride and
drive dynamics, too.
But it kind of gave this idea that,
to compete at this level, you have to
have a mid-engine.
At the same time, Corvette soldiered on
and it was great Nuremberg lap
records.
It was crazy amounts of power grid,
all despite the fact that didn't have
this latest and greatest
exotic car engine.
Part of its success has come
from the credibility Corvette has established
in racing.
Corvettes have been a popular choice
for racing enthusiasts for decades,
even when General Motors has not
been formally involved in racing.
In 1960, a private race team entered a
Corvette in the 24 hours of Le
Monde endurance race in
Le Mans, France.
In 1999, GM began sponsoring a Corvette
racing team, which has since won
107 races around the world.
That is more than any other car
in the history of the International Motor
Sports Association, one of the major
sanctioning bodies for racing in
North America.
In addition, the current Corvette racing
team has had eight victories in
the car's class and the 24 hours
of Le Monde race since 2001.
The Corvette also benefited from some
clever publicity, courtesy of early
NASA astronauts in the early 1960s.
GM President Ed Cole and a Florida
Chevrolet dealer named Jim Rathmann, a
former Indy 500 winner, offered astronauts
from some of the Apollo
missions a special deal that let
them drive any Chevrolet vehicle they
wanted for a year for one dollar.
Many, of course, chose the Corvette.
That doesn't mean things have always
been easy for the Corvette.
General Motors has been
close to canceling the.
Car a few times, but it's always seemed
to save it at the last minute.
One famous incident was in the 1990s
when GM wanted to shut down the
Corvette program in favor
of more popular models.
At that time, the company was
reportedly losing 1000 dollars on every
Corvette it made.
But Corvette program manager Russ McClain
and his team secretly went to
work on a new Corvette.
McClain told no one except his wife that
he had been ordered to cancel the
car.
The car they created was released in
1997 and became Motor Trend's Car of
the Year in 1998.
Corvette sales have seen a decline
in recent years, falling from 33,329
units in 2015 to
18,791 units in 2018.
GM, along with rivals Ford and
Fiat Chrysler, have rapidly been abandoning
traditional passenger cars.
However, industry watchers say the Corvette
name has now lived long enough
to attain a kind of iconic status,
not unlike the Ford Mustang, which Ford
has decided to hold on to even
as it slowly drains its portfolio of
traditional sedans and coupes.
But General Motors has decided it is
time for a big change to Corvette,
and many industry observers say the
mid-engine gives GM a shot at
attracting a new audience to the car.
I think for General Motors and
virtually every automaker whose main stream
or even the luxury brands
that have these halo cars.
The rationale is literally that is that
we have to have something that
brings you into the showroom or gets
our own employees excited because it
does have that trickle down
effect from said vehicle.
And it's one of those things where
you're never going to justify on paper,
you work in product planning, your
corporate bean counting, whatever you
want to call it.
On paper, it doesn't make
a lot of sense.
Can you truly measure
its effect overall?
Not really.
I mean, if you really want extrapolated
down to word of mouth kind of
thing, which again, is pie 1, the
highest, you know, most reputable things
is , I heard it from X, Y, Z,
and you really can measure stuff like that.
You can say, you know, on the
internet we saw this much activity.
We saw as many clicks.
But at the end of the day, it's
one of those things that you really can't
measure people's feelings.
And we know the cars of this nature,
they stir the soul and they get
people excited.
The new Corvette boasts
some impressive specs.
It will have 495 horsepower.
And when paired with a performance package,
we'll be able to go from zero
to 60 in under three
seconds according to GM.
That is approaching
supercar performance levels.
For example, it is within just fractions
of a second of the times boasted
by the 350 thousand dollar Ferrari
488 Pista and the 573 thousand
dollar Lamborghini Aventador
SVJ Roadster.
Chevrolet said redesigning the new Corvette
from the ground up provided a
historic opportunity Chevrolet designers have
wanted for 60 years.
The company said the Corvette can stand
tall with the best the world has
to offer.
GM President Mark Reuss also said Corvette
has pushed the potential of its
front engine design as far
as it can go.
But not everyone is happy about
the switch to a mid-engine layout.
Some longtime Corvette fans have cried
foul over the change, some
considered a betrayal
of Corvettes legacy.
Some complain the car is just aping
European designs and some don't like
how the mid-engine layout
changes the car's proportions.
Others are more optimistic;
if a bit guarded.
General Motors has been trying to
cut costs and improve profitability, and
its push has resulted in some bold,
if controversial moves such as cutting
production of several of its
passenger cars in late 2018.
As of September 2019, shares of GM
had risen about 12 percent over the
past five years.
With sales being so small, many think
Corvettes status as a kind of 'halo'
car becomes ever more
important to its survival.
It gives GM a chance to make
an inspiring, attention grabbing vehicle and
showcase the company's
engineering talent.
By switching over to
a mid-engine design.
Corvette is showing it can make
a world class vehicle and undercut
higher-end makers of super
cars in price.
It's always fascinating to
watch the supercar evolution.
This is a this is
a segment that doesn't stop.
It's never standing still.
It's never static. Every
not even a year.
It's really more like almost
every three to four months.
There's another super car
coming around the corner.
I think General Motors has stepped
into this competitive segment with a
very capable entry in this
new C 8 Corvette.
And it will be fascinating to watch
how how effectively they compete at
their price point with
much higher priced vehicle.
When they've got a vehicle that already
looks like it's going to be
offering performance based models that
are just being produced, despite
all the data that shows sport
utility is taking over the U.S.
auto market.
The next few years could be
some good ones for sports cars.

Last Cruze to roll off GM Lordstown production line on display in Boardman

WKBN27:

Chevrolet Bolt EV Traction Motor - Deep Dive

WeberAuto:

Hello, I'm professor John Kelly and this
is the Weber Auto YouTube channel.
In this episode we will be disassembling
the drive unit the electric motor and
gear reducer out of our 2017 Chevrolet
bolt on the hoist behind me here. now
this drive unit and electric motor
combination is is all one piece,
unlike the Nissan Leaf that has a drive
unit that unbolts from the electric
motor. This drive unit is rated at 150
kilowatts which is 201 horsepower, it is
also rated at 360 Newton meters of
torque which is roughly 266 foot-pounds
of torque.
Now let's let's talk about torque just a
little bit. That torque rating is what
the motor itself is capable of producing,
that is not the same as the torque that
ends up at the wheels of the vehicle, so
for example the Chevrolet Spark EV
produced by Chevrolet before the Bolt
here
actually had an electric motor that
produced 540 Newton meters of torque, the Bolt EV electric motor only produces
360 Newton meters of torque and so you
might be misled into thinking that the
Spark EV had more torque; well, the motor
did, but not the torque delivered to the
axles that drive the wheels. So the gear
reducer right here on the side of this
drive unit has an impact on that because
gear reduction is also torque
multiplication minus frictional losses, so
the Spark EV had a 540 Newton meter
electric motor but it only had a three
point one five to one gear reduction
unit which resulted in about 1700 Newton
meters of torque at the wheels, at the
axles. the Bolt EV electric motor
produces 360 Newton meters of torque a
whole 180 Newton meters less of torque
from the motor, but it has a seven point
zero five one eight to one gear
reduction through this gear reducer
which multiplies that 360 Newton meters
of torque by seven point zero five one
eight, which gives us over 2,500 Newton
meters of torque at the axles. So there
are other electric vehicles out there
that are being produced right now that
have higher torque higher motor torque
than the Bolt EV
but what would be interesting, I and
I don't know what their gear ratios are
yet, is to see what is the torque
actually to the axles what's the torque
to the ground because that's what you'll
feel when you step on that accelerator
pedal, that's the torque to the wheels
that makes the vehicle move. The design
of this drive unit this electric motor
it has a peak amperage draw of 400 amps
versus 450 as for the Spark EV so it
uses less current to provide more torque
so it's a more efficient better design
electric motor. The electric motor in
this drive unit spins clear up to 8810 rpm where the
Spark EV only spun up to about 4500 rpm,
and we'll take a look at some
differences in the electric motor design
and the stator winding design that
allowed it to spin at those higher rpms
without the AC losses that typically
occur at higher rpm. As mentioned in the
previous video on high voltage
components of the Chevrolet Bolt EV this
drive unit uses about 2.9 litres, around
3.1 quarts of Dexron HP fully synthetic
base transmission fluid automatic
transmission fluid. It also is cooled by
the General Motors Dexcool 50/50 mix
of coolant and deionized water. Okay
let's take a look at the outside of the
housing here of this drive unit. The
official name or designation of this
drive unit by General Motors is the
1ET25. The one means it's a one speed
trans axle, this doesn't shift, E means
it's electronically controlled, T means
it's a transaxle, and the 25 is a
relative torque rating. Alright, right
here on the front of the transmission is
the actual last eight digits of the
vehicle identification number and you
can see that MMF right there, that is
the three-digit regular production
option code the RPO code that you can
find on label in the back of the Bolt EV if
you take out the lower compartment
carpet and look in what looks like a
spare tire tub, there's a label on the
driver's side that has a whole bunch of
three digit codes on it
MMF just means that's which transaxle
or transmission this vehicle came with.
Okay right here on the top of the trans
axle is the transmission range selector
actuator and this is a brushless DC
motor with a gear reducer that actually
moves the shift lever to put us in to
Park reverse neutral Drive and low, now
technically inside of this drive unit it
there's really only park and not park,
but there is a position sensor in here
called an internal mode switch that will
monitor which position the transaxle
range selector is in so that the vehicle
can act appropriately. For example the
shifter itself on the center console is
not directly connected to the drive unit,
it's just an input to the computer that
controls this actuator, so when we go to
the reverse position for the neutral or
drive or low, there's a feedback on the
internal mode switch electrical
connector right here, that lets the
engine control module, even though this
doesn't have an engine, know which gear
range you have selected so that it can
request the trends axle act
appropriately. Also, right here by the
electrical connector for the internal
mode switch is the transmission fill
plug, so if you want to put fluid into
this transmission you need a 14
millimeter wrench or socket to take this
plug out and put the Dexron HP fluid
into the transmission. There are two
drain plugs on this transmission, one for
each side, so there's one down below on
each end of the transaxle the driver's
side and the passenger side, there's
there are two separate drain plugs to
get the fluid out of each side, now
there's only one fluid that goes
throughout this entire transaxle but
because of how its baffled and set up
inside to remove all the fluid you need
to remove both plugs.
Now speaking of fluid and fluid level
when you drain fluid at whatever the
recommended fluid change interval is or
if you're doing service work on the
transaxle here and you're adding fluid
you need to know when to stop adding
fluid, so on the other side of the
transaxle right here is the transaxle
fluid level check plug, so the drain
plugs right down here, the fluid level
check plugs here, the fill plug is on the
other side so you take the fill plug out
you take the fluid level check plug out,
and you add fluid until fluid comes out
over here, and then you let it sit and
stabilize for a minute add a little bit
more and make sure that fluid comes out
comes out to a slow drip, and then the
instructions tell us to put both plugs
back in and go drive the vehicle until
the transmission fluid temperature
reaches 35 degrees Celsius or 95 degrees
Fahrenheit and then double-check the
fluid level again to make sure that
comes out at a very slow drip. Alright,
while we are here on this side of the
transaxle we have an electric motor an
electric pump for the transmission fluid
so there's a big filter we'll see when
we take this thing apart down the bottom
center of this transaxle it will pull
fluid up from the filter and then put it
into what's called the oil sump so the
oil sump is basically just a great big
bathtub looking area up here that the
pump fills full of fluid and then there
are these little drain channels that
fluid drains down to cool the stator
windings and lubricate bearings and so
on and we'll see that once we get the
cover off so we have an electric 12 to 14
volt driven electric motor that pumps
fluid throughout this transaxle. From
what I read this pump only works when
you are in Reverse or Drive, it does not
pump when you're in park or neutral.
Alright, we have another electrical
connector right here, this connector is
for the resolver which measures the
angle of rotation the direction of
rotation and the speed of the electric
motor rotor itself, and then there's a
transmission fluid temperature sensor
that is in the bottom of this
transmission case cover here. All of
those are accessed electrically through
this electrical connector right here. As
you may have seen in my other video on
high-voltage components we have the air
conditioning compressor of the bolts up
here and then we have our coolant pipes
that go into what's called a coolant
sump in the bottom of this transaxle and
we'll see that here in a few minutes but
we have coolant going in coolant coming
back out and goes through a series of
cooling fins and cooling circuits to
absorb heat from the transmission fluid
right here on the back we have the
electrical connection for the
three-phase cables that come from the
the
single power inverter module that sits
two modules above here. Three-phase
orange cables come down to drive the
electric motor, there's a cover
the cables bolt on and then there's a
cover they'll holds the cable in place.
We have a transmission vent right here,
let's just take that vent off while we
vent tube off while we're here now you
can see the oil sump area again on the
top and the cooling sump coolant sump
area here in the bottom all right there
is one additional plug on the side of
the case with the electric motor and
there's nothing in the service
information to indicate this but I
believe this is a pressure test plug to
check the pump output pressure, but I
can't find any information on what that
fluid pressure should be. Okay, I'm going
to be disassembling this transaxle right
here on the workbench but there actually
is a special fixture to hold this
transaxle and allow you to rotate it and
disassemble different pieces of it and
still be able to rotate it for
convenience. I have this special adapter
as you can see here in this photograph
but the way it's mounted it's too high
and too difficult for me to disassemble
in that holding fixture being in a
wheelchair, so the workbench is where I'm
going to disassemble it, but I wanted you
to know there is a special fixture for
that and I tried it it just doesn't work
for me.
by the way this transaxle weighs about a
hundred and seventy pounds or 77.4
kilograms. Okay, well we're ready to
start disassembly, the first step is to
remove this oil pump the 12-volt power
oil pump, it has three bolts right here
and a few seals underneath it as you can
see here there are two seals that seal
the pump to the transmission case right
here there are two bolts that hold the
cover over the pump gears themselves
there are no instructions on
disassembling this so I assume we're not
supposed to disassemble it but that's
exactly what I like to do
take things apart I'm not supposed to as
long as I can get them back together and
make it work again here we go we've got
a Jew rotor style oil pump there's an
o-ring right here that needs to fit in
this groove to seal and then the cover
just bolts on okay the next thing on the
list is to remove the left-hand and
right-hand output shafts that go into
our differential side gears in the gear
reducer this is the left-hand side right
hand side over there it calls for a
slide hammer and a old pilot bearing
removal tool for a manual transmission
so this is the pilot bearing removal
tool right here and a slide hammer and
we are supposed to put this up inside
and put it into the snap ring groove for
the CV shaft and then pop it out well
come to find out the snap ring groove is
thinner than the tip of this tool that's
supposed to go into it and I didn't
realize that's what the problem was and
I had a hard time getting these output
shafts removed I finally got him out but
once I got a mound got looking at the
tool versus what they were supposed to
be grabbing I realized I need to grind
these down make him a little thinner so
that they'll actually fit into the
grooves of the her for these CV shaft
snap rings that are there so since I've
had this entire transaxle apart before
and I'll put it all back together
I've removed those snap rings they'll
hold these output shafts in place so I
can just pull them out by hand right now
this big long left hand output shaft
goes right through the center of the
rotor of the electric motor itself it's
it's hollow in the middle
and it has a big heavy-duty bushing
right here on the outside with the axle
seal and this is our left-hand output
shaft and then the CV shaft itself plugs
into here that goes to the left front
hub and bearing assembly and tire and
we'll assembly so there's our left-hand
axle shaft there's a snap ring that fits
in that groove right there typically and
I've just removed and I've just removed
that snap ring for ease for this
demonstration here obviously I'll need
to put that back in when I reassemble
so that's the left-hand axle shaft on
the other side we use the slide hammer
again and pull out the right hand axle
shaft as you can see this one is much
shorter than the other one and it has
the support bearing in the differential
case itself that holds it in place and
its own snap ring that I've already
removed and of course an axle sill here
on the other side as well okay the next
thing on the list is to remove this
transaxle case to remove the case I've
got to take the linkage off and our
actuator off and then we've got these
bolts to go all the way around and then
we'll be able to see the gear reduction
transfer gear and the final drive ring
gear and differential gear set so I'll
take the clip out and lift up for a
linkage on the shift actuator and then
take the bolts out
okay here's the shift actuator assembly
itself transmission range selector
actuator kind of a great big piece I
I've seen some of these that are smaller
right I'm not sure why this one is so
giant I'm not I've never seen one this
big but it obviously does the job of
mechanically shifting the transmission
range lever since you have an electronic
shifter on your center console alright
let's take these bolts out of the trans
transmission case okay I've got all the
bolts out of the transmission case now
we can attempt to slide it off it has a
couple of dowel pins they'll hold it in
place there's a couple of pry points
plus one right back here and another one
right here there we go
I'm going to come in with a plastic
mallet here and just tap lightly there
we go okay we can see inside of the
transmission case itself and the only
things in here of real interest are the
transmission internal mode switch right
here we got the electrical connector
right here harness right there that
connects to this outer blue connection
connector that will read which Range
Park reverse neutral low you have
selected with your transmission shift
lever and then we have the parking
linkage right here we've got Park
reverse neutral Drive
and low now of course normally
transmission fluid would would be
pouring out of here of whatever didn't
get drained out when you drained it
previously but I've had this apart and
cleaned everything up before we have our
ring gear right here and our
differential gear set and as notice we
have real nice ball bearings here these
bearings since their ball bearings
instead of tapered roller bearings have
to have in place shims so there's a
special shimming procedure to control
the end play of these bearings that will
have to go through when we reassemble it
so you're supposed to take these shims
off and throw them away well and then
replace them with new new ones when you
go back together I suggest that you take
them off and measure them and then hang
on to them because you might you might
need them again when I took these off
previously and measured them they were
almost all identical in the thickness so
there are six of these shims for the six
ball bearings that are in this transaxle
four of these shims measured exactly
half a millimeter in in with the other
two one of a measure one millimeter in
width and the other one measured 0.9
millimeters so you need to keep track of
what thickness shim you had where and
write those down so that you you'll have
an idea of at least what it was before
you took it apart now if you're just
going back together and you haven't
changed any shims or any parts inside
just reuse the old shims but if you're
changing a bearing or any of these
internal pieces you need to go through
the special measurement procedure that
we'll see when we go back together to
determine if these shims are correct
okay so there's there's special shims on
each of these
bearings I've measured all of them RIT
written their dimensions on the ziploc
bag here that I keep them in and will
refer to those when we go back together
all right now we just need to remove the
counter gear right here and the final
drive a ring gear and differential gear
set this is where our short little
output shaft plugged in right here and
then our long one came all the way
through on the other side okay before we
remove these gears there is a an
aluminum gasket with a rubber seal
embedded into it the instructions tell
us that is not reusable
there is also an oil baffle right down
here to channel transmission fluid away
from the ring gear to reduce losses as
it rotates into it and to splash oil up
into different channels to lubricate the
the bearings if we look in this case
half right here you can almost see what
looks like a funnel right there for the
fluid to drain back down and lubricate
this outer bearing and a similar one
here on this other other side for that
bearing so we've got a oil baffle to
remove all right I've got the oil baffle
removed on the other side of that is our
magnet for metallic particles from gear
normal gear wear and other malfunctions
okay now we're ready ready to remove
these gears pull out on the counter gear
and then pull out on the final drive and
it'll come right out if you don't pull
out on that counter gear first there's
not enough clearance for the final drive
Unit two clear so here's our final drive
you can see our open differential gear
set inside there here's our sim on the
other side as well
all right the instructions tell us that
we can if we won't want to remove the
park linkage in the internal notes which
I don't really care about that that's
just regular stuff that you'd see in any
other automatic transmission so let's
continue on with things that are unique
to the bolt
evie drive unit here the one ET 25
transaxle so let's turn the transmission
case around and we'll take off the
transmission case cover here on the
driver's side
now the SAE document the details the the
bolt evey drive unit here that I told
you about in the high voltage component
video tells us that the drive unit
itself was designed to be serviceable in
the vehicle that's why they have a case
removable case cover on one side and a
case cover on the other side for the
gear reduction unit you can leave this
Center portion with the electric motor
in it in the vehicle and just remove one
or both case covers to do service work
on components inside the case covers
seal replacements resolver replacements
internal modes with replacement and so
on but anyway we're going to take off
this case
cover next from the driver's side all
right this case cover is going to be a
little harder to get off than the other
one because the rotor that has internal
magnets embedded inside of it has now
magnetically pulled itself over to the
stator because we are no longer
centering it inside of the stator itself
and so it puts a it pulls it off to the
side just a little bit so there's a
prying
right here
and there's a pride point right down
here another prior point right here
there we go okay so here's our case
cover and it has an aluminum gasket
that's not reusable as well our case
cover has this long transmission filter
that's not serviceable without
disassembling things as you can see has
a temperature sensor down inside of it
right there and then this is our
resolver our serviceable resolver that
measures the position speed and
direction of rotation of the electric
motor rotor inside the transaxle here
let's turn this around oh by the way
down inside of the bearing housing there
is a shim for the ball bearing right
here on the rotor itself so we're
looking at the stator and the hairpin
six conductor deep stator design a
unique design we'll talk about that a
little bit more once we get the stator
out we have a lubrication channel right
here where fluid is going to drip out of
our oil sump and run along and drop down
on to the stator windings themselves and
cool the the stator windings it also has
a drip channel that comes over and goes
down to this bearing here to lubricate
it
so we've just got an 8 millimeter head
bolt holding the filter in place and as
you can see the filter just has an
o-ring seal on the one side and you can
see the pick up filter screen filter
element on the inside so this is going
to reach all the way in up underneath
the the stator itself to pick up the
fluid on the back side of it and on the
back side of it is the inlet of the
coolant so that would be the cooler oil
on the back side there all right then on
the resolver it just has eight three
eight millimeter head bolts to hold it
in place and one electrical connector
this resolver only bolts in in one
location it's not adjustable it has
automatic learn unlike the older Toyota
Prius resolvers that that would actually
come out of alignment
if you unbolted them and there was no
way for you to line them back up okay so
here is our resolver pull back on the
connector position assurance clip
depress the tab and remove the resolver
itself the resolver is a serviceable
unit when and if it ever goes bad but it
should should never go bad all right
then the remaining wire harness and the
pass-through connector here just goes
over to our temperature sensor okay next
on the list we need to remove what is
called the center support this is what's
supported the driver's side ball bearing
of our differential case assembly
okay this is our center support it's
held in place with six bolts and aligned
with two dowel pins right there now with
that removed there's nothing to stop our
transfer gear from sliding out it's just
a tight fit on the bearing in the bore
as it should be just pray lightly
sometimes these will just slide right
out and right in and other times they'll
they'll fight you here we go okay so
here's our transfer gear it's ball
bearing and shim so put that shit over
here with the others okay right here in
the end of the case we still have a
lubrication channel right here from the
oil trough the oil sump I mean right
there and then we have a cover for the
three-phase electrical connector right
here as well then on the other side we
have that oil distribution channel right
here that cools the stator so we've got
to remove that we are now to the point
where we are ready to pull this rotor
out but we just can't grab on to it and
pull it out it has some super strong
neodymium magnets multiple layers envy
configuration inside of this stator
you're not going to pull it out by hand
and you sure don't want to come in here
and start prying on it so the only way
to get that rotor out of there if you
want to remove it for service replace a
bit bearing on it or the gear on the
other side or another bearing or just
replace the rotor itself for whatever
reason loss of magnetism and trouble
code sets or whatever
it takes a special tool to pull it out
without having it rub on the stator
frame itself and without having it
injure you with you trying to pull it
out and it's pulling back in with all
its magnetic strength so true get that
out there's a special guide tool that
will hold it centered in the stator and
we need to set that up next and it
starts on the other side here so there's
a special tool kit that costs almost a
thousand dollars to Center this rotor as
you pull it out I found one on eBay for
a little bit less than that but but it's
a very expensive tool but if you want to
do service work on this transaxle you've
got to have it so let's bring in the
special tools okay so I brought in the
special tools to keep the rotor centered
there's a special spacer with a notch in
it to clear that notch right there this
is just gonna fit in there just like
that then there's a plate that bolts on
over the top of this to hold it in place
these don't need to be super tight
they're just holding that little spacer
in place so I'll just lightly Snug those
up then there's a sleeve here that's
supposed to fit down the center of that
rotor but these sleeves are a little bit
too big I've had to take sandpaper and
send them down to make them fit inside
of this rotor and I don't know if that's
because the tools were made for a first
design rotor and then they changed it or
if they just made the tools incorrectly
but these tools are from what used to be
can't more tools the special tools
supplier for General Motors it's now
Bosch service solutions so Bosch you may
want to take a look at this this tool
here the DT five two zero one one
- one - three because it doesn't fit
it's not doesn't Center up inside the
the rotor as well as it should
i've had to sand it down just a little
bit and then i'm able to tap it in a
little bit there but I think that it's
supposed to be if it's supposed to be a
tight fit but it should be able to slide
in by hand I believe then we have a
guide pin that's going to go through the
center of that then we have this outer
housing the bolts in place to hold the
guide pin in place so the blue sleeve
this one here because there's one for
the other side also centers the rotor
into this plate and then this sleeve is
centered into this plate so we've now
centered the rotor on this side of the
stator so now we need to go to the other
side to put additional tools in to get
it centered and then pull it up and out
okay at this point if I had the
transaxle mounted in that special
rotating holding fixture I would just
simply rotate it on its side and get the
get the rest of the tools hooked up but
I don't I'm not able to use that so I'm
just going to put some extra long bolts
in this side of the case to hold the
case up off of this tool when I tip it
over to support it as we pull the rotor
out
okay so here we go we're going to tip
the tip the whole thing up on its hand
just like that so now we've got
clearance for the tool underneath and we
can get the upper tools set up to pull
the rotor up and out all right while
we've got the transaxle tipped on its
side let's take this oil sump cover off
and show you what's inside of there so
it's just a big empty trough and you can
see has one two three four five six
holes in it where fluid is going to go
out and drip down on other parts inside
of the transaxle for stator cooling and
for the ball bearing lubrication the
cover itself has that same aluminum
gasket that's not reusable also while we
have this transaxle on its end let's
turn it over and take the coolant sump
off next okay here's our coolant sump
you can see this pipe right here is
where the coolant comes in and it has to
wind back and forth back and forth and
then come back out over here the coolant
sump which is visible from the bottom of
the car with the under car cover removed
also has that same aluminum gasket
that's not not reusable why are they not
reusable I don't know maybe the aluminum
crushes these I'm going to see if I can
buy replacement gaskets at the local
Chevrolet dealer it seems like I saw a
service bulletin saying that all these
parts are serviceable now and it gave
the part numbers for them but if not
none of these are damaged it only has 35
miles on it and I'll reuse them and see
what happens
okay so coolant sump oil sump so now we
are ready to pull out the rotor assembly
so to pull out the rotor assembly we
have a guide pin it's going to come in
and screw into that dowel they had a
threaded end on it all right so this
threaded guide pin did not line up
exactly perfect with the guide pin down
below I can't tell if we're just
spinning the whole thing there we go
all right it's screwed all the way into
that alignment dowel from below now we
have this tool that has three holes that
go over the holes where the stator bolts
are so we need to remove the stator
bolts next these stator bolts are not
reusable three stator bolts so we put
this tool over the top of that we want
to be very careful that we don't damage
pry lean or set anything on the stator
windings here that could cause damage to
them so we'll get that lined up just
like that now I'm going to reposition
the camera so you can see
how tall this next tool is that fits on
here all right we have two clamshell
type tools that are going to come in and
clamp down over the resolver cam rotor
there and this bearing they're gonna go
just like that except I need to split
them apart so I can get the next tool in
it says this big tall piece right here
that's going to go over and down into
our stator bolt holes so we've got this
threaded shaft we've got this adapter
right here that these little clamshell
tools are going to hook into and then
the threaded shaft with a nut on the top
of it we're going to tighten that nut
and pull the rotor up out okay so the
tricky part of giving this hooked up is
getting both of these
clamshell tools over this lip right here
so I have to loosen the nut on the top
and let it come down let me turn this
you can see what's going on
there we go okay so we slide that open
clamp the clamshells around it put this
sleeve over the top of it to lock the
clamshell in place snug up this nut to
hold the lock in place and then from the
top here we start to pull up on the
rotor itself I'm going to get
repositioned bring my chair up a little
higher here so I can reach that nut it
takes quite a bit of turning to pull
that out okay here we go thirty
millimeter wrench we want to turn the
nut and prevent the shaft from turning
so I'm just going to hang on down here
as it comes up those guide pins the
guide dowels keep it from rubbing on the
stator frame although although there's
almost a strange ratcheting sound as I'm
pulling this out that makes me think
it's barely contacting the the stator
laminations or the rotor laminations
anyway we'll pull it out and take a look
see if we can see any witness marks you
can see the top of the rotor now is
starting to appear
I think we're finally clearing the top
of the yes we are it all of a sudden got
real easy to turn the nut so we no
longer have the magnet pulling out or
resisting us pulling out okay you can
see the entire length of the rotor here
get another bearing down below it and a
gear below that now we're supposed to
just lift up on this and and pull it out
I'm not sure if I'm strong enough I may
have to bring in the the engine hoist to
pull it out of here but it's just
sitting on these three non-magnetic
aluminum poles here and we've got the
weight of the the rotor assembly itself
I measured it earlier but I can't
remember what it is at this moment but
let's see if we can lift this up and out
though I cannot so let me get the engine
hoist we have to lift it up high enough
to clear that alignment dowel so I've
got to lift it up probably four more
inches 100 millimeters or so okay I've
never tried this before it's just a lift
strap let's bring it up
okay the lifting or the tool was getting
stuck in one of the holes for the the
stator bolts there we go
okay here we go
and we've cleared the alignment dowel so
slide the case out of the way here and
we'll let that back down
oh let's see how much that weighs it
says it weighs 60 pounds with the tool
the tools probably 10 pounds of that
okay we have to remember that this rotor
is highly magnetic very strong eight
pole magnetic field around this thing
and so we need to keep it away from
anything any metal particles or any
tools or anything else that could cost
cause it to receive damage on its
laminations here in looking at the the
laminations from removing it I don't see
any obvious damage at all there let's
let this down and take the the tool off
and just look at the rotor itself
little clamshell pieces out of there
these tools are magnet earth iron some
some sorts so we got to keep those away
from the magnetic field as you can see
these blue bars are aluminum they're not
sticking to the the rotor itself and
then plastic of course works great with
the magnetic fields so now we've just
got our rotor we've got our drive gear
down here I've got a ball bearing and
another ball bearing there's another
shim down inside the case a bigger
diameter shim for this bigger diameter
bearing all right I'm going to get some
wooden blocks to put this in all right
here's the rotor for the bolt
evie as you can see this bearing seems
to have some sort of a gray coating on
the outer race where this one does not
and on the counter gear bearings they
also have this gray coating it doesn't
say anything about what that gray
coating is for I suspect it's to prevent
corrosion from the dissimilar metals
with possible induced currents going
through them with the the motor running
vehicle going down the road I've seen
this type of coating on universal joints
in universal joint caps universal joint
caps bearing caps in an aluminum
driveshaft the same color I don't know
if it's the same material but if any of
you know what this coating is for if
you'd please put that in the comments
below I'd appreciate that
I'm just speculating okay so we've got
the rotor out of the way this is a
serviceable piece now the last piece to
remove is the stator assembly itself and
it has three special guide pins that go
into the stator bolt holes and screw
into the transaxle case and then they're
tapered on the top here and that's to
allow you to slide the stator out
without it binding inside so I'll slide
that over there rotate it down and just
pull out slightly
here it comes just like that so here's
the stator for the Chevrolet bolt Eevee
if we zoom in close and look at the
stator windings you can actually see
there are 1 2 3 rows of these hairpin
conductors which means they are 6
conductors deep in this stator and from
what I read in the SAE document on this
new improved motor that helps reduce the
AC power losses at the higher motor rpm
a typical stator like in the previous
Chevrolet Volt had 2 rows instead of 3
so they were four conductors deep in the
Chevrolet Volts and six conductors deep
here and one of the people that was on
the original design team for the
Chevrolet Volt told me that when they
designed this electric motor and it's
designed for maximum efficiency and hand
power that there was no other motor out
there that could even match the
efficiency of this motor and they said
that they designed this motor to be the
next small-block Chevrolet so to say of
power trains so the small-block
Chevrolet was and still is a very
popular very powerful v8 engine and has
been for many many years and their
intent was to have this motor design
maybe even this drive unit be in
multiple platforms with the same high
power high efficiency motor system if we
look at the other side here of the
stator windings you can see the the
other end of the hairpin conductors and
then there's a drip channel right here
for oil to come out of that oil sump and
to drip down and go down and lubricate
the stator windings because these get
really hot this is the heat source
inside of the transmission and it and
although it gets hot it doesn't get as
hot as the fluid
although the fluid gets hot it doesn't
get hot as a normal planetary gearset
style automatic transmission and the
cooling system surge tank reservoir cap
was only pressurized to 5 psi for this
loop of the cooling system so much lower
amounts of heat compared to an internal
combustion engine with a torque
converter heat generating planetary
gearset style of automatic transmission
now just a couple of things to get
wrapped up with this disassembly video
because we will reassemble it showing
the special measurements for the shims
and everything when we go back together
but one thing I wanted to show you about
these electric vehicles is how simple
they are and when I mean when I say
simple I don't mean simple design
meaning it was easy to design these
simplicity is not necessarily easy but
if we look at the number of rotating
parts in this entire drive unit
there are basically three main rotating
parts we've got the rotor assembly that
then turns the counter gear right here
that then turns the final drive three
pieces no clutch packs no bands and no
sprags no roller clutches no Pistons
none of those hundreds of parts that you
would see in a typical automatic
transmission let alone the internal
combustion engine that this is replacing
of course there are three main moving
parts these pieces here but each one has
two bearings on it so there's six more
pieces so there's nine total and then
inside of the differential here we have
two side gears and two differential
pinion gears so that makes for a total
of 13 possible moving parts inside the
of this drive unit and only when you're
turning corners would the side gears in
the differentials
be rotating at a different speed than
the differential case so a real basic
very reliable system these electric
vehicles and and this one is is very
efficient and that the design is very
compact to where this left-hand output
shaft remember goes right through the
center of the rotor instead of being
offset like on the the Nissan Leaf and
other electric vehicles out there so
congratulations to Chevrolet and the
design team that came up with this
amazing and efficient and simplistic
evie drive unit and I think it's
absolutely beautiful so coming up I hope
to shoot a reassembly video with all the
measurements for this drive unit and
then we've got all of these parts out
the drive unit all of the electronics
and our and our Chevy bolt back here on
the hoist is totally empty yeah under
the under the hood so we've got to put
that all back together and and make it
work again even the battery is out the
whole thing is stripped as far as the
powertrain is concerned and we're gonna
put that back together and and make it
work and hopefully get it converted to a
DC fast charge thank you for watching

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.

Ford's Fight To Remain An American Icon

CNBC:

Ford Motor Companyis the oldest U.S. automaker. More than one century old,
it is the only one to have survived the
Great Depression, two World Wars and the 2008 financial
crisis without having to sell to a foreign buyer or file for bankruptcy. After one hundred fifteen years,
Ford is now at a critical juncture in its storied history.
Global auto sales peaked in 2016.
The entire industry is struggling with higher interest rates more expensive material costs and a global trade war.
Then there's Uber, Waymo, Tesla and
other new startups and companies that are
upping the pressure on the industry
to keep up with the latest technology.
Autonomous driving, electric vehicles, hybrids, all of which will take billions of
dollars in investment and years to
develop before any real payoff comes.
The automaker's stock sank below 10
dollars a share in July 2018 for
the first time since emerging from
the financial crisis in late 2009.
Under former CEO Alan Mulally. Since his departure in 2014 Ford, has struggled with his successors.
Mark Fields who was an executive with Ford for nearly three decades held the top job for just three years before
the board replaced him with current CEO Jim Hackett, a company outsider in April 2017.
And Hackett is already under pressure sales in China have plummete.
Falling 45 percent in October 2018 over
the same quarter in the previous year.
Ford's European business has deteriorated and it has long struggled in Latin America.
Hackett's promised $11 billion turnaround plan hadn't fully materialized by late 2018.
Although, investors have become impatient, analysts say
Hackett still has the backing of Henry Ford's great grandson.
Ford was founded at the turn of the 20th century by Henry Ford, a mechanically inclined young man from a
farm outside Detroit, Michigan. Uninterested in farming, He worked as an engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company,
where Thomas Edison encouraged the young entrepreneur to experiment with automobile designs.
Ford ultimately teamed up with a Detroit coal dealer and founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903.
I think it's important to know that Ford was not afraid of failure in fact he embraced and welcomed failure.
He would talk about how his first two car companies failed.
He would have rather setbacks along the way but he saw each failure as a to lessen a chance to learn something
and do better with the next attempt. So I think that was important.
At that time, cars were assembled slowly by teams of skilled craftsmen. Ford saw the potential to streamline the process.
He adapted assembly line techniques learned from other industries, such as brewing and canning.
This dramatically sped up production and reduced costs.
Henry's Model T car was the first automobile produced on a mass scale would turn him into a legend.
Its initial price in 1908 of $825, under $23,000 in today's currency, gave it widespread appeal.
By 1916, Model T production rose to more than 585,000 units and the price fell to $360. During their lifetime,
Model Ts represented half of all the cars on the road worldwide.
In 1917, the company made its
first foray into producing the vehicles, it is perhaps best known for today,
the pickup truck.
The truck was based on the Model T
and was a sturdy frame with a cab in the front.
Ford sold roughly 4 million pickups
before stopping production during World War II.
In the postwar period, the company would release a number of now classic cars, including the legendary Thunderbird.
Ford rolled out the Mustang, a two door pony muscle car in 1964.
Steve McQueen would turn it into an icon in the 1968 film, Bullet.
By the early 1980s though, Ford had suffered a number of bad years
and executives at the company began
looking for challenging and inspiring new designs.
The company rocked the automotive world in 1985 when it released the Taurus, a front wheel drive sedan with
rounded edges, that was strikingly different from what sedans looked like at the time.
The car is often credited with saving the company and its so-called Jelly Bean shape influenced auto designs for more than a decade.
But Ford would later face other challenges.
Reports started surfacing in the late 1990s of accidents involving the tires on Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles.
The scandal resulted in more than 270 deaths and 800 injuries in the United States alone prompted congressional investigations.
Millions of dollars in settlements and legal costs forced several executives to resign and severely damaged Ford's reputation.
Just as Ford was putting the scandal behind it,
Cracks started showing in the auto lending market in late 2005 and early 2006, foreshadowing the crisis to come.
Ford which made $1.6 billion in 2005 lost an astounding $12.6 billion the next year.
At the height of the financial crisis in 2008, it booked a record loss of $14.7 billion.
The big three Detroit automakers: Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler would go to Washington hat in hand for a combined $34 billion in loans that December.
But Ford was spared the fates of its rivals. Then CEO Mulally, who had been hired from Boeing in 2006,
was credited with having the foresight to see the credit markets tightening.
He amassed a $20 billion war chest
through borrowing before the crisis was in full swing.
The gamble paid off.
Ford was the only Detroit automaker that didn't take federal assistance or file for bankruptcy and has booked annual profits ever since.
But since Malawi's departure in 2014, the company has seen its fortunes sink.
Some industry watchers say Mulally, like other auto executives, missteps
by realigning Ford's portfolio around passenger sedans and compact cars,
missing the dramatic consumer shift toward SUV and pickups.
Hackett has inherited a challenge.
With U.S. auto sales down from their 2016 peak of 17.5 million vehicles sold,
the industry has been increasingly relying on high priced trucks and SUV fees to bolster profits.
The company has to slim down its operation, remain profitable, invest in new products for
the short term, and still show it is looking further ahead into the future.
And it has to do this while fending off competition from not only traditional automakers but a whole new ecosystem of companies,
from industries such as technology.
Some of which have very deep pockets.
They are in this transitional challenging place right now and and taking a lot of criticism.
But let us not forget it is not a company that's on the verge of bankruptcy.
They are still very profitable.
They have a lot of cash. So, it's not a company that's going away tomorrow as Ramos said it wouldn't.
Ford wouldn't make it through the next recession. That couldn't be further from the truth.
Of course Ford certainly has its strengths.
It has a strong brand, loyal customers and good products among other things.
But the auto industry could look very different in just a few years.
Investors aren't yet convinced Hackett can navigate through these choppy waters.
Whether Ford will see another century as an American icon remains to be seen.

2020 Chevy Equinox: FULL REVIEW | 2020 Updates Put Safety at the Forefront!

Car Confections:

What's going on YouTube?
Now everyone knows that the Silverado is the best-selling chevy model
but what a lot of people forget about is this equinox is also a great selling vehicle as
A matter of fact this year sales increase has it nipping at the heels of the rogue and CRV
That's why today we're taking a look at the latest 2020 version at Sutherland Chevrolet in Nicholasville, Kentucky
Of course if you're in the market for any new Chevy be sure to stop by their showroom or visit them via their website
which we provided a link to in the video description, so
With that all said, let's see if Chevy has made any changes in this year
So kicking things off with the exterior styling
There is one update right off the bat and that's this new midnight blue metallic paint color
Which as you can see is a very dark shade of blue
Other than that the front design does carry over unchanged this year
So for the premiere you have this fully chrome finished grille and on the other trims you have black bars with just the crumbs around
The other important premiere difference are these full LED headlights as
Opposed to the HIDs on the LT and the halogens on all the rest
In a separate housing down below you have the turn signal and for the premiere only the halogen fog lights
as
Far as the rest of the styling it continues with the same look for 2020 with the signature elements like the wraparound rear window
These tail lights also have the same design across all of the trims except for the LED elements that are premiered exclusive
and
Then finally at the bottom you have a single hidden exhaust outlet unless you go for the more powerful 2-liter turbo model
So all in all the equinox has a conservative design that looks handsome and will continue to age very gracefully
Now while the main part of the design has not changed there are some wheel updates for 2020
the biggest change is the fact that these
18-inch wheels on the premier now do without the black contrast inserts from last year, which does now give them a more subdued look
There are also some optional 19-inch wheels on this 1.5 liter model or standard on the 2-liter model
But otherwise you're going to be looking at 17 inch alloys as standard across the other three trips
Moving on up to the mirrors they come in three different finishes
Black body colored or chrome reserved for the premiere along with auto dimming abilities and standard blind spot monitoring
All models however, do get heating
And now that brings us to probably the most important change for
2020 and that's that most of the advanced safety systems are now standard across the entire
Equinox line up instead of just being optional on the premier
That means that even the base LS comes with forward emergency braking with pedestrian detection
Lane Keeping Assist and Auto high beam headlights and
Then the premiere also has the option of adding adaptive cruise control
This is definitely a great addition to the lineup especially since the base price has not changed
Well it pretty much finishes up everything to look at on the exterior, so now let's go ahead and check out the cabin
So unlike a lot of the rivals the equinox does actually give you Chevy's smart entry system standard across the board
And if you ought for the premiere you go get remote start on the file, or as an option on the LT
Now to get inside the vehicle itself there is not a sensor behind the handle so you just press the little button
All right
So checking out the cabin of the 2020 equinox
As you can probably tell there have not been any significant changes to the interior this year
That doesn't mean you'll continue to be presented with these same color options and materials as last year
So for your L and LS that's gonna be a cloth seat in medium
Ash gray only there if you go for the LT it does come shared with the same cloth
But you can option on leather and you can also get the additional color. Um jet black
Now when you go for this premiere
This is where you have standard real leather and jet black this ash gray combination or a special brandy color
Now turning over here to your door trim, it is very nicely finished
So you have this nice piece of leather that goes all through here and up to the top
Your driver's window is OneTouch auto up and down all the others are just Auto down
Towards your memory seats these two-person memory seats do come standard on the premier only
Now heading down to the see here the LT and the premiere do come standard with this 10-way power adjusting seat
And then the other models come with a six-way manual seat instead
And like I was saying here on the premiere we have the real leather seats
They feel very nice and they also look very good. I like the color contrast
So you basically have the jet black accents around the side and then the gray in the middle
So as far as the materials of the cabin they do carry over this year
So across the upper dash this will always be hard touch plastic across all the trim levels
but when you go for a higher-end model like this premiere we have this really nice piece of leather at
Two different types, so you've got the plain and then also the perforated and the real stitching to connect them
Your lower areas are hard touch, but everything does fit together very nicely
Standard across every Equinox is push button start
When you press it, you'll see one of two different displays fire up
On this premiere. We have the 8 inch display and on all the other trims. You will come standard with a 7 inch display instead
I'm checking out the gauges here. This is the premium arrangement with the larger multifunction display now starting last year
Chevy did bring this down to the LT. So it's on both the LT and the premier
And basically it just has the larger 4.2 inch multi-function display and you can scroll through all the different types of information
Including through different things like safety systems if you do have them equipped
Now coming back to the steering wheel
It is electric power assisted and the steering wheel is wrapped in leather if you go for the premiere
Or as an option on the LT
Now you do have your buttons for your cruise controls where some of your safety systems
And we also have the optional heating here on this premiere on this side
You get your phone voice and then your buttons for your multi-function display
As far as the steering wheel itself, it does manually tilt and telescope
Now moving on to interior storage this is one area where the equinox really thrives compared to the rivals
So starting out here with your center console
This is honestly bigger than just about anything in the class
I don't know if the camera can fully see this but this goes down like a foot and a half
Time does have a nice little pad down at the bottom. But this is like I said definitely bigger than most of the competition
You've also got two USB ports in there
Then we close that off. We got another storage cubby right here our two cupholders and
Then a really large console up here. You can stick your phone
This pad here does serve as a wireless phone charger if you go for the premier
And then back there you can see a regular USB port a USB type-c and aux track and a 12-volt outlet
Now Chevy has been able to give you that much space without going to the electronic shifter like its sibling the GMC Terrain has
So this just has a regular shifter you just pull back for drive. You can't shift manually with these little toggles here
But you will not find paddle shifters on any of the bottles
Now when we head into reverse, you'll see one of the other standout features of the equinox and that's this
360-degree camera system that's optional in the premiere through the convenience package -
This is one of the best systems in the industry, it's General Motors latest high-resolution camera system
Like in the Silverado. So basically you've got default in your 360 view and your traditional back view
But you have tons and tons of other views
So as you can see, we can cycle through all these different things including a trailer view this kind of three-dimensional look side. We use
And you can turn on and off your lines as well
Basically, like I said overall it's one of the best
360-degree camera systems in the industry right now and it is available here on equinox
And then back behind the shifter you do have an electronic parking brake
I'm moving on up to the climate controls. This is the dual zone automatic setup that comes standard on the premier only
However, you can option that this onto the LT through the confidence and convenience package
but of course as you can see
This is very simple to use you. Just have these two easy knobs to adjust the temperature
And then all your other buttons are laid out physically here for you to press though
They do pop-out redundantly up here on the display to you know, show you what you've selected
As far as the seat climate controls
three-stage heated seats come standard on the premier and
then the three stage ventilation ventilated seats that we have they come in the convenience and confidence package -
That's a premier only option
All right
And now that brings us up here to our audio system
Now every single model does come standard with a six speaker system throughout the entire lineup
However on the premiere you can option on the bow system when you choose navigation, and that's what we have
So let's go ahead and take a sample
Style quality of this system is excellent. Definitely one of the best systems I've heard in this class
All right, so now that brings us up here to our Chevy infotainment 3 system this was updated last year to the latest software
So we'll just go ahead and take a real quick look through the system. So what you're looking at here is the home screen you
Have these little tiles that you can click on that can take you as a shortcut button there
you also have the little shortcut buttons along the bottom that you can real quickly toggle between
Now I just hit the highlights here. One of them is going to be our models navigation system. This is optional on the premier
And like I already mentioned it does come with the Bose audio system as well. So
This is General Motors newest map display as you can see it is a very nice graphics
it's also very responsive to pinch-to-zoom and other types of motions and you can even do
Interesting things like change the tilt with three fingers kind of like Google Maps
now the other main thing I want to mention is that
Even if you choose the base models that come with the lower-end system and the smaller display
Those also come with apple carplay and android auto just like this one
So rest assured even if you do not get integrated navigation, which the majority of models will not have integrated navigation
You will still be able to access Google Maps or Apple maps through apple carplay or Android auto
But anyways, that's a real quick discussion of some of the main features of this system
However, we do have a dedicated tech tech help video available
For those of you who want to learn more a link to that video is in the description
I'm moving on up
We do have an auto-dimming mirror on the premier or option on the LT and that comes with three Universal home link remotes as well
And one thing you'll notice missing from this model is a moonroof
It's because Chevy does not offer a standard size moonroof
You have to choose the panoramic one, which is available as an option on both the LT and premiere
But obviously we don't have that option checked off
But overall the cabin of the Chevy Equinox continues to be a very pleasant place to spend time
The redesign that they did in 2018, really
Amplified and made this cabin a lot more pleasant of a place a lot more luxurious
And you definitely have all the features to make it a very class competitive environment
But anyways now go ahead and hand it off to my brother Mason who would check out all the back areas
Already so heading around to the 2020 equinoxes mercy
You are going to find a really large amount of space even for its class
You'll find 40 inches of rear legroom and 39 inches of rear headroom
Which does place it above the main rivals like the Toyota rav4 and on par with the Honda CRV
Now turning over here to the door trim. We do have a really nice one
so it is leather wrapped all the way through here and
It does have a nice color contrast stitching going through here
And you do have a power window now down below that we do some bottle storage
And as far as the seats themselves, they are that beautiful color contrast design. So you do a black on the outside
Grey on the inside and they do also recline
Now here in the center area Chevy has given us some very nice features as standard equipment
So you do have these rear air vents and standard equipment across all of the trim levels and down below that you will also
notice our heated rear seats
which are optional in the premier trim and
Down below that you will also find two smart charging USB ports and on this high-end model
We do also have a household style outlet down below that
Now here in the center we do have a fold up armrest with covers inside
and
Off to the left here. We have LED lighting and an assist grip and
like I mentioned
Before this is one of the largest offerings in the class and that definitely shows behind drew seating position
I have about I would say at least a foot of space
Between my knees in the seat back, which is very impressive and my feet can easily slide up on the seat
So hitting around to the tailgate of the equinox
It is standard hands-free power on the premier trim or it's optionally just regular power on the LT
So to open it just wave your foot under the bumper
Now once inside the equinoxes trunk
You are gonna find a little bit smaller space than you would in most of the rivals
You'll find 30 cubic feet of space behind the second row seats
And if you fold them it expands to 64 cubic feet now
Like I said, that is a little bit smaller than a lot of the main offerings like the Honda CRV and Toyota rav4
However, Chevy does finish it very nicely back here
So you do have a carpeted floor board and underneath of the floor. We do have a little bit more storage space
It actually goes all the way to the very back and it's probably eight inches deep
Now off to the side you will find the controls do fold the seats
So if you just grab these little low lovers and pull and they do fold nice and flat
Now over here on the passenger seat it is optionally eight-way power in the premier trim
while the other trims do have a four-way manually adjusting
Now in front of the passenger you do have nice materials and down below that you will find a good sized glovebox
it is nicely dampened and
Up top, we have a Sun Visor with integrated lights and a mirror and it does also detach and exit
Well guys that sums up all the rear areas of this Equinox
So now let's go ahead and get on the road and see how that 1.5 liter turbo performs
All right, so let's go ahead and talk about the powertrain options
Now this vehicle unlike a lot of the competition actually has three different engine options
so what we have is the base option, that's the most common configuration is a 1.5 liter turbocharged 4-cylinder making
170 horsepower and 203 pala feet of torque and it is paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission
now Chevy also offers a more powerful 2 liter four-cylinder engine and that makes 252 horsepower and
260 to pound-feet of torque and is paired with a 9 speed automatic transmission
And finally, there is also a diesel model now. I've heard some rumors. It's a little unclear
What trims are going to be offered with the diesel this coming up here
they're going to be eliminating some different configurations of it and it's not been EPA rated or anything yet for 2020, but
as a that what we've probably at 1.6 liter turbo diesel making
136 horsepower and 236 pounds of torque and that's routed through a 6-speed automatic transmission as well as
Far as your fuel economy the 1.5 liter with front-wheel drive gets 26 City 31 highway 28 combined
the 2-liter front-wheel drive is 22 city 29 highway 25 combined and
Then like I already mentioned that diesel does not have ratings at this time
But anyways that is it for the powertrain information so let's go ahead and see how it works on the road
so upon initial acceleration there
The equinox feels pretty good. This is a you know, small displacement engine, even for the class you usually the engines are
naturally aspirated or
a larger turbo
But it certainly doesn't feel too weak or anything
Yeah, I think it feels kinda competitive it's you know, it's not the most powerful one in the class or anything like that
But you know, it feels pretty class competitive here in the space form
And if you don't find that acceptable then it is worth noting that Chevy does have the 2-liter option if you want that
And it even even though it does cost a little bit more, you know
You have that option and that will put it at the top of its class in terms of comfort
That's right. Chevy is pretty unique in that
That's certainly not been
So we're cruising down the highway here at 55 MPH
Very smooth and very quiet
This is a really loud road I know from personal experience no matter what you drive on this road, usually it
a lot more Road roar than
Typical roads give you but this is handling it well, it's still hushed in here
I feel like I have a conversation at a
normal speaking voice
and
Then I also don't hear any wind noise whatsoever
Yeah, and her rides really really comfortably too you know it almost felt like we were sitting still, you know, I'm driving 55
I've been around in that corner there
You could definitely tell the equinox is a more luxury minded option compared to some of the rivals
and
The steering is very light
but of course that is typical
And you have a little bit of body roll. Nothing too bad. I'm going to like make your passenger's for sick or anything
But just enough to keep things real nice and comfortable like we already said it does ride very well. I mean we're up to
55 again I mean, I'm really really comfortable the seats are nice, you know, and it's quiet
Just very smooth we're about to hit the bridge here. Just very little makes it into the cabin it's almost pretty
uncharacteristic for the class to be that smooth
It really it kind of feels like a bigger car
I guess a big way to put it if it rides like it's a bigger and heavier
Vehicle what a lot
So overall, this is definitely a pleasant driving vehicle
You know the I don't really know exactly what to say about it. And I think that is actually a compliment in this class
because
It's not an exciting vehicle to drive. Sure
but
In this class of vehicle what you're looking for is that comfort that everyday you
Know driving abilities so you can just get in it Drive be comfortable
Have a nice experience each time, you know, and I think it really does that. Well, there's no characteristic of this that
Like there's no fatal flaw I guess is what I'm trying to say. It does everything well with
The driving experience and should be very satisfactory
All righty, and now let's go ahead and discuss the pricing for the 2020 Chevy Equinox
so for your very base L model that's going to start at twenty three thousand eight hundred dollars and
All of these prices are for the one point five liter turbo engine and front-wheel drive configuration
Then you have the LS one rung above that and that's going to come in at twenty six thousand three hundred dollars
Which is up four hundred over last year?
then one more rung up on that is the LT for twenty seven thousand five hundred which is up three hundred dollars and
Then you have the premier which is the fully loaded model
Which is what we have and that's gonna start at thirty one thousand four hundred dollars
Was which is also up three hundred dollars over last year
now if you want to opt for that 2-liter engine
That's going to be around twenty five hundred dollars extra and all wheel drive is an extra charge on top of that as well
now as far as how this particular
Equinox is equipped
We do have the premier trim with the 1.5 liter engine and optional all-wheel drive, and we do also have several options
packages checked off. So we have the confidence and convenience to package for
1650 as well as the
infotainment package for eleven twenty five and
Then we have the destination charge which has been raised this year from nine. Ninety five to eleven ninety five
So the price for this one as equipped comes in at thirty six thousand nine hundred and seventy dollars
Which is pretty class competitive
but it is worth noting that if you want to get it fully loaded it is going to be quite a bit more expensive than
a lot of the rivals
As you can tell we don't have a moonroof or anything like that and that is going to be additional charges
And it can you know go well over forty thousand in the upper trams with the higher end engine
Well guys we've enjoyed watching this first in-depth look at the
2020 Chevy Equinox
premiere
Pleased at those items and scribe buttons if you haven't already and we'll catch you next time as a sample more of the latest automotive
delicacies!

2020 Corvette: Retractable Hardtop | Chevrolet

Chevrolet:

For the first time,
Corvette is offering a
state-of-the-art
retracting hard top.
The advantages of this are:
vehicle security,
quietness
and beauty.
♪♪
The top operates very quickly
and it can raise and lower while
you're driving.
There's no loss of cargo space,
and you keep the beautiful lines
of the coupe,
even when you have a
full convertible.

Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 vs. Dodge Challenger Hellcat Redeye vs. Chevy Camaro ZL1 1LE - Drag Race

Edmunds:

Where Did All the Manual Transmissions Go?! | WheelHouse

Donut Media:

(fast-paced bongo beats)
- Oh, wow.
A white guy with facial hair
on a car channel loves
manual transmissions.
What an original premise.
Hold on, hear me out for a minute.
I learned to drive in a 1986 Ford Taurus
that my grandpa gave me.
It had a two-tone paint job
and pretty much everything in it broke.
It even caught on fire at one point.
It had a five-speed manual
and it was fun as hell.
But there's a big problem.
Manuals are going out of style.
In 1992, about 25% of car buyers
chose a manual transmission.
20 years go by and in 2012,
that number fell to just 6.8%.
In 2018, just 3.5% of buyers
drove off the lot with a manual.
As a result, car makers
started offering less cars
with a manual option.
In 2012, there were about 117 new cars
you could buy with a stick shift.
It's not a lot, but not bad.
In 2018, that number fell to just 85 cars.
Still not great, but it could be worse.
And it did get worse.
In just one year, the number of cars
with a 2019 model year that you can get
with a manual is just 57.
That's a 33% drop.
If the trend continues at this rate,
manuals could be gone in two years.
People are not happy about this.
You can't go into a
comment section of a video
about a new car without seeing someone say
would've been better with a manual.
(overlapping voices) Would've
been better with a manual.
(whispering) No stick, no buy.
I'm gonna find you, Toyota.
I'm gonna come into your
house and murder your dog.
And you know what?
I don't blame them.
Take the new Supra, the
highly anticipated followup
to the legendary sports car.
The Mark IV has a six-speed
and this new one doesn't.
(buzzer)
What the hell, Toyota?
Want another example?
The BMW 330i will not have a stick shift
in the US this year.
This is sacrilege
or is it?
There's a reason automakers
are putting an end
to the manual transmission.
It kinda sucks.
Enter the continuously
variable transmission or CVT.
They aren't like other transmissions.
They don't really have gears.
It's more of a belt
drive with two pulleys.
It's kinda complicated
and I'm not that smart
but the main advantages of a CVT
are super smooth acceleration
and improved fuel economy
over any type of transmission.
I mean, the Williams F1 team
was testing a CVT back in 1993
and that's when they were good.
Sorry, that was low.
So what would happen if an automaker
actually built a sweet car with
a manual transmission today
like people have been begging for?
How 'bout a four-door sedan with a big V8,
comfy seats, undercover
sleeper looks, and a six-speed?
Well, that did happen.
(funk music)
The Chevrolet SS debuted
in the 2014 model year.
They took a Holden
Commodore from Australia,
put some Chevy badges on it,
tuned the suspension a little,
and pretty much called it good.
Critics freaking love this thing.
Comparing it other sports
sedan's legends like the E39 M5,
a car that has been haunting
my dreams for months.
I want one bad.
Anyway, the SS was the stuff enthusiasts
had been clamoring for.
It had magnetic ride suspension,
450 horsepower, a six-speed manual,
and, my favorite, cooled seats.
The SS was set to be an instant classic.
There's only one problem.
Nobody bought one.
Over the SS's four year production,
just 12,860 of them were sold.
Just for comparison, Chevy sold nearly
10 times as many Corvettes
in the same period of time,
while Honda sold 1.4 million Civics,
and Ford sold over three million F150s.
Long story short, the SS was not a hit.
Just for fun, I went
on CarMax to find an SS
and to my surprise, there
were three of them for sale
but none of them had the six-speed.
I cried for half an hour.
It doesn't make financial sense
for them to build these cars
if no one is gonna buy them.
That's just business.
So, why aren't people
buying manuals in the US?
What makes this country different
from the rest of the world?
Besides automatics being smoother,
there has to be a good reason, right?
There are actually two.
The first is easy, convenience.
A lot of you probably daily a manual car
so you know driving stick in heavy traffic
is kind of a pain.
But if you take your
car out on the weekends
and hit the canyons, then the crappy-ness
of having to deal with that
is just part of the game.
But the average person
just isn't like that.
They'd rather get in their car
and listen to Oprah
Winfrey's Super Soul podcast
and drop me off at baseball practice.
The second reason is safety.
Now I used to think that driving stick
was the safest method because
it limits distractions.
It's hard to text and drive
if you have to focus on your shifts.
I personally believe that driving manual
makes you a more focused driver.
But it turns out, that's not exactly true.
A health science study at
Jonkoping University in Sweden
found that older drivers
had better reaction times
and make less mistakes
in cars with automatics.
When you combine that with
the fact that the age group
who buys the most new cars in the US,
35-54 year olds,
it's not hard to see why people
aren't buying new manuals.
Conversely, people aged 16-34
buy about half as many new
cars as the older group,
if they buy a car at all.
Companies are gonna listen
to who gives them money
so new automatics are pretty
much better in every way.
They're more efficient,
safer for old people,
and shift super fast.
But just because it's better
doesn't mean the car is better.
There's something about driving stick
that makes you feel more
connected to the car
than an automatic ever could.
And I'm not saying this to
talk down on auto drivers.
If you have fun with your auto,
that is totally valid.
I've had a lot of fun in automatic cars.
- [Zach] So you're only saying that
because you drive an auto.
- No.
(door chime)
That (bleep) Lamborghini was really fun.
But I think a good analogy for
driving a manual is surfing.
I grew up about half
an hour from the beach
but never learned how to surf.
But a few years ago, I
actually got a lesson
and caught a few waves.
And that's when I got it.
I understood why my friends would wake up
at 4:30 in the morning to catch a swell.
You're both at the mercy of the ocean
and totally connected.
It's a truly great feeling.
That's what driving stick feels like.
If you've never learned,
I definitely suggest
you get a friend or relative to each you
'cause it's the best.
So is the manual gonna die?
Maybe in new cars.
Also, electric is the future
and those cars don't
need transmissions, so
meh.
But as long as gear shifters are around,
I'm sure there'll be someone there
to shift them.
If this video gets
25,000 likes in 24 hours,
I will chug a gallon of milk in an hour
on a live stream.
They say it's impossible
but I don't believe them,
whoever they are.
My nickname in youth baseball
was the Milk Man, okay?
I can do it.
Thanks for watching Wheel House.
Follow me on Instagram @nolanjsykes,
consider subscribing to Donut right here,
watch last week's episode
of Wheel House right here,
and check out this episode ep-i-sa-do.
You know you had that one friend
that says he can drive stick.
Share this video with people
who need to learn to drive stick.
Be nice, I'll see you next time.

10 Cars Being Killed Off After 2018 — Discontinued Cars

Insider Car News:

Automakers kill off vehicles every year, mostly
due to slow sales.
While some come as a shock, others go away
without anyone ever noticing.
Here's a look at 10 cars being killed off
after 2018.
The Dodge Viper: Apparently, we didn't deserve
to have such a raw, unbridled monster in our midst.
And now it's gone.
The Volkswagen Beetle: Thanks to the financial
burden of the Dieselgate fallout, coupled
with overall declining sales, the Beetle must
go away for now.
But don't be surprised if this iconic car
comes back in the future.
The Infiniti QX70: Slow sales were what killed
off the QX70, and we'll miss that aggressive
exhaust snarl.
For now, Infiniti is placing its hopes in
the QX50.
The Jeep Patriot: This vehicle didn't live
up to Jeep's image of outdoor freedom.
It was obviously rated for going over speed
bumps and that's about it.
It's no mystery why sales suffered.
The Ford Focus: It's the only victim of Ford
ending the sale of cars in the North American
market for 2018.
The Fiesta and Taurus will follow in 2019,
and the Fusion in 2020.
The Honda Accord Coupe: Honda decided to put
the Accord Coupe out to pasture.
While it was the right decision, this is another
affordable performance car that's dead, draining
more joy out of driving.
The Chevrolet SS: This performance sedan packed
a strong V-8 punch, but thanks to a bland
appearance and little marketing from Chevrolet,
this model suffered from dismal sales.
The Buick Verano: If you want a compact Buick
car, you'll have to go with a pre-owned model,
because the Verano is a goner.
Sales show people would rather have a compact
premium crossover.
The Mitsubishi Lancer: With Nissan now in
charge as Mitsubishi's new owner, the order
of the day is SUVs, SUVs, and more SUVs.
That means we say goodbye to the Lancer, probably
forever.
The Hyundai Azera: If you didn't know this
sedan existed, you're forgiven.
There wasn't much marketing around it, and
as a result, it got pummeled by the likes
of the Toyota Avalon and Chrysler 300.