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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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
Chevrolet Performance Taps The Weather Company
IBM:
You know, there's probably,
at the end of the day,
one optimum setup for a car that's
gonna make it run it's fastest lap.
But what these guys have
to do going that fast is
you know, they gotta decided when
to lift off the throttle and turn in
with things coming at
them at 300 ft/sec almost.
So it's very intense.
You have to mange your emotions.
You gotta manage that adrenaline rush,
and remain in calm, and
slowing things down.
And if it rains, and instead
of coming into pit when logic
would dictate that we do
it, we're gonna stay out.
And if it rains, then everybody has come
into pit and your the
last car on the track
that hasn't pitted, you're in the lead.
And that happened to us once last year,
and we won a race because of it.
What my team has done over the years,
our job has kinda been to introduce
these various pieces of
technology to the race teams.
They're the ones that will
take the weather feed, and
all the other information we provide,
and kind of bake that into
what are we going to do next
and when are we going to do it.
Timely, accurate, and easily
digestible information
about weather and integrating with
our other tools is very important to us.
So, that's what we're going to do
with The Weather Company data.
Just have to cross first,
doesn't matter by how much.
Discuss: Is General Motors' Policy on DC Quick Charging Slowing Chevrolet Bolt EV Adoption Rates?
Transport Evolved:
It’s the world’s first long-range electric
car costing under forty thousand U.S. dollars,
can travel upwards of two hundred and thirty-eight
miles on a charge (more than three hundred
if you’re good with your right foot), and
is on sale now in certain U.S. markets and
South Korea.
But while the Chevrolet Bolt EV deserves a
place in the history books when it comes to
range versus price, this five-seat compact
electric car isn’t selling as well as some
had hoped.
What’s more, it’s being outsold by the
older, cheaper, less capable Nissan LEAF.
So is the Chevrolet Bolt just not priced right?
Is Nissan undercutting the Bolt EV so much
that people are going for the shorter-range
LEAF instead?
Or is General Motor’s lack of interest in
charging networks hampering the rollout of
this influential plug-in car?
I think it’s the latter -- and I’ll tell
you why next.
Hi there everyone!
It’s Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield from Transport
Evolved, and today I’m here to discuss why
I think sales of the Chevrolet Bolt EV are
being hampered due to a lack of decent DC
quick charging infrastructure across the U.S.
-- and why GM’s lack of interest in supporting
public charging infrastructure, along with
its policy of charging extra for DC quick
charging capabilities on the Bolt EV -- is
not helping.
Launched at the tail end of last year, the
Chevrolet Bolt EV was the first all-electric
car to go on sale with a price tag of less
than forty-thousand U.S. dollars and a real-world
range in excess of two hundred and thirty-eight
miles per charge.
And after a good month of sales in January,
when GM managed a decent number of sales in
the launch markets of California and Oregon,
sales during February and March have been
well… a little flaccid.
Worse still, the Bolt EV has been outsold
by the 107-mile Nissan LEAF, which, ahead
of the debut of the next-generation LEAF this
fall, has been heavily discounted by dealerships
looking to get rid of existing inventory.
But while some point to LEAF discounts as
the reason why the Bolt EV is not selling
as well, and others -- including me -- have
reminded folks that the Bolt EV is still only
available in parts of the U.S. while the LEAF
is available nationwide -- I’m starting
to think that the issue for slow sales lies
elsewhere.
Namely, the lack of decent CCS DC quick charging
infrastructure, and the lack of interest the
GM has in helping expand DC quick charging.
And the fact that GM charges seven hundred
and fifty dollars extra if you want a Bolt
EV that can use a CCS quick charging station.
Right now, according to the U.S. Department
of Energy, there are some one thousand and
fifty eight charging locations across the
U.S. that offer CCS DC quick charging.
That’s the standard used by the Chevrolet
Bolt EV.
There are one thousand five hundred and thirty
charging locations that can make use of the
CHAdeMO DC quick charging standard used by
the Nissan LEAF.
And if you’re interested, there are three
hundred and fifty-two Tesla Supercharger locations
(although each Supercharger site on average
has more stalls than either a CHAdeMO or CCS
site).
What does this all mean?
Well, in short, it means there are far less
places to charge a CCS-compatible car than
there are CHAdeMO.
And while the Bolt EV can travel a lot further
per charge than a current-generation LEAF,
the disparity between the number of charging
stations means that many prospective Bolt
EV customers are put off owning one.
Why?
Well, if there are less CCS quick charging
stations than CHAdeMO charging stations, the
likelihood of not finding a quick charging
station along a specific route or at our destination
is higher if we’re driving a CCS-compatible
Bolt EV than it might be if we’re in a LEAF.
What’s more, there’s less chance of redundancy
-- finding another compatible charging station
within easy reach if things aren’t working
as they should.
We’re creatures of habit.
We don’t like going out of our way to recharge
and we don’t like the idea of being stranded.
If there are few charging stations, even if
our car can travel further, we’re less likely
to want to own it compared to a model that’s
better supported.
Now, I’m making massive generalizations
here and I should also note that charging
infrastructure for CCS cars is catching up
to CHAdeMO, so in the not-too distant future
this shouldn’t be a major issue.
Then there’s the final issue.
While Nissan, and many other automakers are
actively supporting the roll out of DC quick
charging, investing large chunks of cash to
help establish a new fuelling infrastructure,
GM has said publicly that it sees infrastructure
investment as a job for charging providers
and government, not automakers.
Which means that while GM will sell you a
car, it won’t help you fuel that car, something
that BMW, Nissan, Volkswagen and other automakers
have been doing for a long time.
What’s more, these three automakers -- and
others -- have been offering customers incentivized
free charging when they buy a new car, lowering
the cost of ownership dramatically.
Own a Bolt EV and you’re on your own, paying
for charging and hoping that you pick the
right charging networks to be a member of.
If charging networks were already well developed
and widely available, this wouldn’t be an
issue.
But right now, it is.
Do you agree?
Is the Bolt EV losing out because of the charging
network policy of GM?
Or is there some other reason?
Leave your thoughts in the Comments below,
don’t forget to like, comment and subscribe
-- and make sure you hit the notification
bell so you don’t miss a single video.
If you’d like to see more videos from Transport
Evolved, please consider supporting me through
Patreon (there’s a link below and at the
end of this video) and I’ll be back tomorrow
with more clean, green, awesomeness.
Until then, I’m Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield,
thanks for watching and as always, Keep Evolving!
Hyundai Kona Electric vs. Chevrolet Bolt EV: Which Is the Best Affordable Long-Range EV? | Edmunds
Edmunds:
[MUSIC PLAYING]
DAN EDMUNDS: Prevailing
wisdom suggests
that an electric vehicle needs
more than 200 miles of range
to stave off range anxiety
and make it useful for more
than just commuting.
But until now, there's only
been one affordable example.
The Chevrolet Bolt EV brings
238 miles of range to the table.
But now there's a new
Hyundai Kona Electric
with 258 miles of range.
KURT NIEBUHR: Which of
these vehicles is better?
Are these finally
the affordable EVs
that everybody's
been waiting for?
Before we answer that, make sure
you subscribe to our channel,
and visit Edmunds.com to
help find your next vehicle,
electric or otherwise.
DAN EDMUNDS: When I
first proposed this test
in the office, everybody said,
why are you putting a Bolt up
against a crossover SUV?
Well, the Kona electric isn't
really that much of an SUV.
I mean, it's only got
front-wheel drive.
There's no all-wheel
drive version.
KURT NIEBUHR: And the Chevy's
just kind of a tall hatchback
anyway, and it's
front-wheel drive too.
I mean, these things are
pretty close on paper,
when you look at the specs.
DAN EDMUNDS: Oh, yeah, the
wheelbase is identical.
And the Kona is only
about a half inch longer.
And both of them have 150
kilowatt electric motors.
Chevy says theirs is
good for 200 horsepower.
Hyundai's number
is 201 horsepower.
But I'll give it to them,
because their electric motor
makes more torque.
KURT NIEBUHR: These things
do not look the same at all.
DAN EDMUNDS: No, no,
the Kona Electric
is both lower and wider than
the Bolt, some SUV, right?
KURT NIEBUHR: People around
the office are asking,
why didn't you guys
include the Leaf?
Why didn't you
include the Model 3?
DAN EDMUNDS: Well, the Bolt
has 238 miles of range.
And the Kona Electric
has 258 miles of range.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah, the Leaf's
150 is just way too short.
DAN EDMUNDS: Right.
As for the Model 3,
the $35,000 version,
with 220 miles of range,
they're not making it.
I mean, we can't compare
these two vehicles
to something that doesn't exist.
KURT NIEBUHR: Nah,
that's just vaporware.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, really.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
KURT NIEBUHR: So what
are we looking at?
DAN EDMUNDS: Well, at the
moment, a whole lot of plastic.
But up in here is
the electric motor
that drives the front wheels.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah, I
can just see it up there.
DAN EDMUNDS: Right.
We move back and there's this
big aluminum expanse, the width
of the car, really long.
This is the battery pack.
65 kilowatt hours
of storage, that's
like gallons to a gas tank.
And that's what gives this
car 258 miles of range.
KURT NIEBUHR: It's so flat.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, the
smoothness of this battery pack
and the plastic ahead
of it contributes
to a 14% reduction in drag
compared to a regular Kona.
KURT NIEBUHR: That's a lot.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah,
it's not nothing.
And we move back
here, and we see
a really nice
multi-link suspension,
which gives this car really
good ride and handling.
And also makes room
for the battery pack
to be as big as it
possibly can be.
KURT NIEBUHR: So I imagine
that the Chevrolet looks
exactly the same underneath.
DAN EDMUNDS: Well, maybe.
KURT NIEBUHR: So
we're under the Chevy
and there's a lot of black
plastic underneath here too.
DAN EDMUNDS: Absolutely,
but trust me,
there's an electric
motor up in there
that drives the front
wheel, just like the Kona.
We move back, and we see,
this is the battery pack.
But it looks different.
It's narrower.
It's not as long.
But it's almost as big,
at 60 kilowatt hours,
238 miles of range.
So it's got to be taller,
which might be why the Bolt has
the roofline that it has.
KURT NIEBUHR: It's also
not very smooth under here.
DAN EDMUNDS: No, it's not.
It doesn't look like they
paid nearly as much attention
to smoothing the
airflow underneath here.
We move back and we see
something different here too.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah,
this suspension
does not look anything
like the suspension that's
in the Hyundai.
DAN EDMUNDS: No, this is
a basic twist beam rear
axle, which is really pretty
cheap and inexpensive.
It was popular in compact cars.
But it's not the most
sophisticated suspension
for ride and handling.
It'll be interesting to see how
the two compare when we start
driving them back to back.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah.
DAN EDMUNDS: They might
not be the same at all.
KURT NIEBUHR: I can't
wait to find out.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
So both of these
have plenty of space
if you fold the seats down.
But they have a lot of range,
so you can go somewhere
with the family.
So you might have
four people in this.
Where are you going
to put the luggage?
Will it fit?
KURT NIEBUHR: I don't like
how that kind of rides
on the plastic trim back there.
DAN EDMUNDS: It's
a little bit tight.
What about third one?
KURT NIEBUHR: The third one,
we're going to have to put it--
DAN EDMUNDS: No choice there.
KURT NIEBUHR: It's easy
enough, but will it shut.
DAN EDMUNDS: Oh,
actually pretty easily.
No problem.
KURT NIEBUHR: But we
can lower the floor.
DAN EDMUNDS: Oh,
yeah, that's right.
And it's a pretty
dramatic change.
Oh, look at that.
You can stand these things up.
Easy.
KURT NIEBUHR: There we go.
On the Kona--
DAN EDMUNDS: Well,
you can already
see that the
floor's longer here.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah,
there's more room.
DAN EDMUNDS: More width too.
KURT NIEBUHR: You can
probably shove that one in.
DAN EDMUNDS: I think so.
KURT NIEBUHR: And it shut.
DAN EDMUNDS: Not a problem.
You can also lower
the floor as well.
KURT NIEBUHR: Oh, yeah.
DAN EDMUNDS: It's not as deep.
But it might do the job
Yeah, this stands up.
There out the line of sight.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah.
DAN EDMUNDS: If you don't
want to drop the basement,
this has a little more space.
But if you do, there's
really not a big difference.
Wow, who was driving this thing.
KURT NIEBUHR: I was.
DAN EDMUNDS: Well, I
got to bring it back.
Are you OK?
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah, I'm OK.
DAN EDMUNDS: How's that.
KURT NIEBUHR: It's OK, you
can go back a little farther.
I'm actually happy back here.
I've got enough
room for my legs.
I got enough room for my feet.
I even have a heated seat.
Let's go check out the Hyundai.
DAN EDMUNDS: All right.
Oh, I'm going to have to
bring this one back big time.
KURT NIEBUHR: This
isn't so bad back here.
Oh, what are you doing.
DAN EDMUNDS: I got
to bring it back.
KURT NIEBUHR: Oh, I hate you.
Oh, my god.
OK.
DAN EDMUNDS: That's
a power seat, though.
The other one wasn't.
KURT NIEBUHR: There's less leg
room back here than in the Bolt
by quite a bit.
DAN EDMUNDS: You think?
KURT NIEBUHR: My feet
are starting to go numb.
Could you move this forward?
I can't get out.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Now comes the fun part.
DAN EDMUNDS: We've left town,
and we're in the mountains,
and we're going to go
up to Crystal Lake.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah, and because
we have plenty of range,
we don't have to
worry about range
and we're not going
to talk about ranch.
DAN EDMUNDS: Right, we can
think about the normal things
that people think
about, ride, handling,
steering, braking, how fun
are these things to drive.
KURT NIEBUHR: Let's find out.
DAN EDMUNDS: Let's
take the Bolt.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Wow, these roads are
pretty incredible.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah,
they really are.
DAN EDMUNDS: What's not
incredible is this seat.
It feels like I'm
sitting on a seat frame.
It's really narrow.
I'm sitting on it,
rather than in it.
KURT NIEBUHR: I
think I'm overlapping
on the side of the seat.
And I'm with you.
My upper back, my shoulders
are not happy with the seat.
DAN EDMUNDS: The driving
position is good, but the seat
itself just feels too small.
The interior just
feels kind of cheap.
It just does not have
really attractive materials.
I wish they'd put a little
bit more money in the seats
and the interior panels.
KURT NIEBUHR: The
one thing that's
really prominent in my eyes,
and it's literally in my eyes,
is how bright and
light the interior is.
Because there's a lot of shiny
or light plastics, which now
we're in shade, and it's great.
But as soon as we come
back through the sun,
like reflections flicker
off the windscreen.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, the
angle of the windshield
is just about perfectly wrong,
because it's reflects the--
every detail of the top of
the dash back into my eyes.
It's like I need
sunglasses just for that.
But that is an option.
I suggest that you get
the darkest one they sell.
KURT NIEBUHR: You'd have to.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, absolutely.
You know what's really
cool about this car,
the driving position is great.
I mean, the telescopic steering
wheel's right where I need it.
I feel I can see out really
well, other than the glare.
And the re-gen on this thing,
using the motor's magnetism
to slow the car, is really easy.
You just flip the shifter
and it goes into L.
And now, when you lift off the
throttle, you're slowing down
and you're not touching
the brake pedal.
And it's really kind of fun.
It's not kind of fun, it is fun.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah.
DAN EDMUNDS: I got to get
on a little bit of breaks
for this tight hairpin, but--
yeah, the tires, they
make a little noise.
KURT NIEBUHR: We
might be having fun,
but the tires don't sound
like they're having fun.
DAN EDMUNDS: Low
rolling resistance.
But that doesn't mean low fun.
Because this thing really
changes direction really well.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah.
DAN EDMUNDS: And I have really
good control of the car's entry
speed because of the
lift throttle re-gen
It's really kind of neat.
Yeah, these seats
though, they're--
[TIRES SQUEALING]
Listen to that.
What was I saying?
All right, I guess it's
your turn to drive, right?
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah.
I'm absolutely with you
on the seating position.
I can get comfortable in
this car very quickly.
I like the range the steering
wheel moves towards you.
The seat is very adjustable.
DAN EDMUNDS: It just
isn't nice to sit on.
KURT NIEBUHR: It's not
a comfortable seat.
DAN EDMUNDS: No.
KURT NIEBUHR: This
could be the like worst
seat I think I've sat
in that's on sale today.
Now I get to make the
most of this car's torque.
DAN EDMUNDS: Oh.
KURT NIEBUHR: All
EVs make torque right
from zero miles an hour.
DAN EDMUNDS: Well,
it's not just that.
This thing's got 200 horsepower.
I mean, we can't forget that.
KURT NIEBUHR: No, and it's
actually fun to drive.
It's not sloppy.
DAN EDMUNDS: That's
a tight hairpin.
And that's a skinny tire.
KURT NIEBUHR: That's
a skinny tire.
But I have to tell you that
I'm not using the brake
pedal, I'm just using the
re-gen of the throttle pedal,
because it's so intuitive.
Back off a little bit to slow
down, twist it to speed up.
DAN EDMUNDS: And you know, the
body isn't rolling a whole lot.
I mean it's rolling some, but
any car would on this road.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah.
DAN EDMUNDS: But that's
probably because the battery's
under the floor, so the center
of gravity of this thing
is really low.
KURT NIEBUHR: I
will say that I feel
like I'm sitting more
on top of the car
than in the car, which creates
more of a sensation of speed.
Like I feel like I shouldn't be
driving the car this fast, even
though the car feels just fine.
DAN EDMUNDS: The
cal is really low.
The seating position's
a little high,
because you've got the
battery under your backside.
Just needs some
sticker tires I think.
KURT NIEBUHR: This
is way too much fun
for an electric vehicle.
So what's your
opinion of the Bolt?
DAN EDMUNDS: Well,
I like driving it.
I mean, the steering,
the handling.
It's got plenty of
power, they regenerate
braking is really fun,
actually even on a challenging
road like this.
I just don't like the
interior, the seats, the way
the dash is put together.
I'm not a fan of that.
But to drive it, it's great.
KURT NIEBUHR: I
completely agree with you.
And you must not buy the
light colored interior.
DAN EDMUNDS: Exactly.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Oh man, right away,
I love this seat.
It looks good, and it's
wide, and it's comfortable.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah, we are
definitely not in the Bolt
anymore.
DAN EDMUNDS: Exactly, and
we're a little further apart.
This cabin is wide
and spacious too.
And look at the materials.
This thing looks nice.
KURT NIEBUHR: I feel
more surrounded.
I feel like I'm
sitting in the car.
DAN EDMUNDS: Right.
KURT NIEBUHR:
Whereas, in the bolt,
I felt like I was kind of
higher up, kind of perched.
DAN EDMUNDS: And the controls
are really nicely laid out.
There's the touchscreen,
air conditioning, shifter,
and these are the heated and
ventilated seat controls.
KURT NIEBUHR: I've got vent--
I'm going to use mine.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, right?
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah.
DAN EDMUNDS: This
also has a sunroof.
The Bolt didn't
have one of those.
KURT NIEBUHR: No.
DAN EDMUNDS: And the
Bolt is the premier.
It is the top of
the line offering.
This is the ultimate,
which is also
the top of the line offering.
Its more ultimate.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yep.
Something else that's
glaringly obvious
is the distinct lack of glare.
Now, this is still a
light colored interior,
but I'm not getting blinded
by shiny plastic bits.
DAN EDMUNDS: Right,
right, I agree.
And as the driver,
I appreciate it.
The other thing I'm noticing
is going into that last corner
and some of these other ones,
the regenerative braking just
isn't quite as powerful
as it is in the Bolt.
KURT NIEBUHR: That
was a squirrel.
DAN EDMUNDS: Squirrel.
I do have three settings.
I can adjust it
with a paddle here.
But I set it to the max and
wish I had one more step.
You know, this car really
feels more substantial.
It's wider and it
feels like it has
a wider footprint on the road.
It's a little bit more composed.
The tires don't feel like
they're working as hard.
It's not squealing as much.
It's really nicely balanced.
I mean, the Bolt wasn't
unbalanced, it wasn't bad.
But this just feels better.
And even there, on that
really tight corner,
a little hint of
squeal, but nothing
like the Bolt generated.
KURT NIEBUHR: The bolt
was a little vocal.
DAN EDMUNDS: Yeah, the
transitions feel real nice.
The multi-link rear
suspension over twist beam,
I think we're feeling a
little bit of a benefit here.
KURT NIEBUHR: I'd say so
far, I feel less movement.
DAN EDMUNDS: It's almost like
this road is a smoother road
than when it was in the Bolt.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah.
DAN EDMUNDS: Oh, wow.
KURT NIEBUHR: That
was way better.
No arguing that, the Kona
electric rides better.
DAN EDMUNDS: I just
wish I could get
a little bit more lift throttle
re-gen in these corners.
It's just not quite there.
The steering in this
car feels pretty good.
When I drove it in town, I
thought, it's a little light,
it doesn't feel as distinct
on center as the Bolt.
And that's true.
But when we get up
here in these corners,
it loads up a bit nicer
than it does on the street.
I still think the
Bolt's steering feel
is a little better, but this is
better than it was in the city.
KURT NIEBUHR: So when am
I going to get to drive?
DAN EDMUNDS: Right about now.
If you listen closely,
there's that--
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah,
I think it gets
louder when you start moving.
DAN EDMUNDS: Listen to
that, that's awesome.
KURT NIEBUHR: You're
right, right away
the car feels more solid.
It isn't that the Bolt
feels the least bit flimsy.
It's just I like the
way this car feels.
I agree with you on
the steering feel.
It is a little light,
but I like the way
this feels through the corner.
And I also like the fact that it
has wider tires on it as well.
It's very noticeable.
There's not the tires
squeal that the Bolt had.
DAN EDMUNDS: It has the power.
It's just the matter of
not having as much power?
KURT NIEBUHR: No.
DAN EDMUNDS: That's not it.
KURT NIEBUHR: The power
feels more robust.
And the Bolt does not feel
like it's lacking for power.
DAN EDMUNDS: No.
KURT NIEBUHR: But the Kona makes
that power available to you.
DAN EDMUNDS: This has
about the same horsepower,
201 versus 200.
Let's call it equal.
But it makes more torque,
about 30 more pound feet
than the Bolt. So I think that's
what you're feeling coming out
of these corners.
KURT NIEBUHR: I'll
second what you said
about the interior of this car.
I feel like I'm sitting
in a more regular car.
Because the Kona Electric
is also a regular Kona,
it's the same car.
And the Bolt was built
just to be an EV.
DAN EDMUNDS: Right.
Which usually would make the
Bolt a better EV, because it's
purpose built. But
this doesn't feel
like they've made any sacrifices
to make an electric car
version.
Just look at the way the
battery is mounted underneath,
as we saw yesterday.
It's just so well
integrated into the chassis.
KURT NIEBUHR: You're
right about the re-gen.
I wish it was a little
bit more aggressive.
We have it set at the maximum.
We both seem to prefer the
way that the Bolt handles it.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
DAN EDMUNDS: Well, that was fun.
KURT NIEBUHR: That
was really fun.
DAN EDMUNDS: I mean,
why wouldn't it be?
These are compact hatchbacks
with 200 horsepower.
KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah, and we said
we wouldn't talk about range.
We're still not going
to talk about range.
Because we both have
over half a charge left.
DAN EDMUNDS: And
we're at 5,000 feet.
It's downhill most
of the way home.
Things are only
going to get better.
So let's go.
KURT NIEBUHR: Let's go.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
DAN EDMUNDS: So which of these
two EVs is the right one?
First, we have to talk pricing.
We don't know exactly what the
Kona Electric costs just yet.
But sources say the
base model's price will
come in close to that
of the base Bolt.
And we know with
certainty that the Kona
will be better equipped.
But here's another
point to consider.
Chevrolet is about
to cross the phase
out threshold for federal
tax credit eligibility.
The Bolt's $7,500 tax credit
will shrink by half to $3,750
early next year.
Then shrink again to $1,875
six months after that.
In just over a year,
it'll be down to zero.
Hyundai, on the
other hand, is just
getting started with EV sales.
The Kona electric will
qualify for the full $7,500
tax credit for years to come.
There's a lot to like
about these cars.
Both are more fun to drive
than you might expect.
They're practically
hot hatchbacks.
And you can go places
and be spontaneous,
because each offers enough range
to make them useful for more
than just commuting.
We like the Bolt for its
superior regenerative
braking and more
generous rear leg room.
But the clear winner here
is the Hyundai Kona Electric
on the strength of its
more sophisticated ride
and handling, nicer
interior, and longer list
of standard and
optional features.
The extra 20 miles of range
it offers is merely a bonus.
For more videos like this,
be sure to click Subscribe,
and visit Edmunds for all
your car shopping needs.
2018 Chevrolet Camaro: REVIEW
Dilawri Group of Companies:
This is the sixth-generation
2018 Chevrolet Camaro. The word Camaro
doesn't actually mean anything, at least
not officially, but it's said that GM
executives said that it means "a small,
vicious animal that eats Mustangs." Yes,
this is Chevy's direct response to the
Ford Mustang and over the years the two
have had quite the rivalry. Today we're
exploring the 1LT trim with the RS
package. The Camaro is a performance coupe that's also offered in a convertible
body style. Keep watching for our
overview and don't forget to subscribe
to see more from Canada's Largest
Automotive Group.
This Camaro has a
2.0L turbocharged inline-four paired to
an 8-speed automatic transmission but a
6-speed manual is also available. What's
great about the Camaro is that you can
really customize it to be as powerful as
you want it to be. Your engine options
include a 3.6L V6, a 6.2L V8,
and a 6.2L supercharged V8. The benefit of
the turbocharged inline-four is that it's
better suited for different situations--
for example if you drive a lot in the
city versus someone who, for example, is
dedicated to the track and may want to
opt for that V8 instead. This makes 275
horsepower at 5600 rpm and 295
pound-feet of torque between 3,000-
4,500 rpm. The 2.0L gets from 0-100 km/h in about 5.5 seconds but if you opt for
that supercharged V8 you'd be looking at
something closer to 3.7 seconds.
For reference, the highest-performing Camaro, the ZL1, makes 650 horsepower and
650 pound feet of torque.
You can't deny that the Camaro has presence on the road.
It's low, sculpted, menacing even... Today we have it in black although my personal
favorite is the Camaro in Bright Yellow. With the RS package you get this RS-specific
grille and high intensity
discharge headlamps with LED daytime
running lamps. The Camaro comes standard with 18" rims but you can upgrade to
20" options. With the addition of the
RS package you're looking at these
20" 5-split-spoke grey painted
aluminum rims.
And in the rear you have a dual exhaust
with bright tips.
The Camaro also has 258L of cargo
space. And now, moving on to the interior.
The Camaro has remote start and keyless
entry which makes it incredibly
convenient.
This has jet black cloth bucket seats but leather options are
available and so are performance bucket
seats from Recaro for the ZL1. The
driver's seat is 8-way power adjustable
and the front passenger seat is 6-way
power adjustable. Heated and ventilated
front seats are available on some of the
other trims. The Camaro has a leather
wrapped flat-bottom steering wheel with
a leather-wrapped shift knob. You also have steering wheel mounted paddle shifters.
A lot of brands are doing digital
instrument clusters but I still like the
traditional analog gauges and that is
what the 1LT has although a digital
configurable display is available.
Here are your controls for air conditioning
and heat as well as the controls for the
7" touchscreen display which
supports AM/FM radio, Bluetooth
connectivity, Android Auto and Apple
CarPlay. This Camaro also has a
six-speaker audio system and a head-up
display is available on some of the
higher trims. Let's talk about how the
Camaro performs on the road it's
rear-wheel drive and it is a lot of fun
and handles really nicely. It also has a
sport suspension so when you're taking a
corner or a ramp with vigor, it stays
tight. The Camaro also comes with a
limited slip differential for enhanced
handling and on the higher trim it becomes
an electronic LSD if you're interested
in adding a touch of performance you'll
definitely want to go for the Track
Package. which includes features like a
dual mode performance exhaust system, a performance suspension, and engine and LSD
coolers.
You have a few different drive modes:
Snow/Ice, Tour, and Sport, and for fuel
consumption the 2.0L turbocharged
inline-four gets 10.9L/100km city, and 7.7L/100KM
highway. If you're someone who's mindful of fuel
economy just know that the bigger
engines will be a little less efficient.
When it comes to safety the Camaro comes standard with the OnStar Safety &
Security Plan. Chevrolet is also offering
something called Teen Driver mode which
activates or deactivates certain
features associated with a certain key
fob. You also get an in vehicle report
which can help you monitor your teen's
and driving habits.
There are so many
options when it comes to configuring
your dream Camaro. While the 6.2L
supercharged V8 would be incredible to
have in the garage the inline-four is
still incredibly fun to drive and it's
significantly better on fuel economy. Whichever Camaro you decide to go for
will definitely depend on your driving
style, your habits, and your preference. We
encourage you to take it for a test
drive at your nearest Dilawri
dealership. Start your journey at Dilawri.ca.
Preston GM Corporate
prestongm:
2019 Chevrolet Blazer: First Drive — Cars.com
Cars.com:
When Chevrolet told us that they were
going to be introducing a new 2019
Chevrolet Blazer we got very excited. We
thought hey cool here's a new 4x4 meant
to go up against real serious
off-roaders like the Jeep Wrangler or
the new upcoming Ford Bronco but that's
not exactly what Chevrolet had in mind.
Instead they've introduced the new
Blazer as a five passenger two row
premium crossover vehicle meant to go up
against things like the Ford Edge or the
Nissan Murano. Now it's got the V6, it's
got all wheel drive but it's also got a
very sporty version in the new RS that
you see behind me. We came here to San
Diego, California to get a better look at
the new Blazer, to drive it and to see
exactly what Chevrolet is brought to the
new crossover party. You can have your
Blazer in one of a few different flavors.
The base model comes with a standard 2.5
liter four-cylinder engine making 193
horsepower and 188 pound-feet of torque
mated to a 9 speed automatic
transmission. Front wheel drive is
standard on all Blazers but if you want
all-wheel drive you'll have to bump up
to one of the V6 models, you can't get it
with the four-cylinder engine. This base
model is peppy and agile, has a decent
interior and features most of the
dramatic styling that makes the new
Blazer a real standout on the streets.
The front end bears a definite
resemblance to the more sporty
Chevrolet's like the Camaro but the
headlights are a little unusual.
Those lights up high on the fenders are
just LED running lights, the actual
headlights are HID projector style units
down in the bumper. All Blazers have a
floating roof design first seen on the
Nissan Murano many years ago but now
copied on to just about every automakers
new SUV. The overall effect is attractive
however especially if you get one of the
more standout colors like bronze or
bright red. Add the V6 to the basic
Blazer L and you'll get what Chevy calls
the Blazer V6 trim available with either
cloth or leather interior or spend a
little more coin and get one of the two
top trim levels, the Premier or the RS.
Both come with General Motors
omnipresent 3.6 liter v6 engine making
308 horsepower and 270 pound feet of
torque. Like the four-cylinder it's mated
to a 9 speed automatic sending power to
the front wheels. All wheel drive is
optional on all these six trim levels
but the Premier and RS trims get a
special dual clutch all wheel drive
system instead
of the more basic single-clutch system
in the lesser models. The Premier gets
a monochrome exterior paint job with
body-colored bumpers and fender trim as
well as 20-inch wheels. The RS gets a
sportier look with black out fender and
window trim, a more aggressive black mesh
grille and black painted 20-inch wheels.
21 inch wheels are an option on both the
Premier and RS trims. Inside the
influence of the Chevy Camaro is clear
from the design of the multimedia system
atop the dash to the big round air vents
that also control the temperature. The
Blazer looks decidedly sporty-er than
any of its competitors like the Ford
Edge or Nissan Murano. The more luxurious
Premier trim has some decent luxury
touches inside like unique leather dash
trim while the RS goes for a racy
two-tone look. Both have acceptable
quality trim on the dash and center
console but that material quality falls
off on the door panels and in the
backseat.
I will give Chevy credit for keeping the
height adjustable seat belts, something
they've been removing on new models
lately. The interior is comfortable up
front with plenty of width and height to
the cabin. This is a bigger SUV than the
compact Equinox crossover. It's almost as
wide inside as the much larger full-size
Chevrolet Traverse. The second row
features a sliding seat to maximize
either cargo space or back seat legroom
and the seat backs fold flat
via mechanical handles in the cargo area.
The back seat is comfortable for two but
might be a bit tight for three full size
adults across the bench. The cargo area
itself is spacious. This is a bigger SUV
then you might think. It is easily a
match for the new Honda Passport
or even the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Out on
the street the difference in driving
experience is actually greater between
the four-cylinder and six-cylinder
models than between the top Premier and
RS trim levels despite the RS' more
sporting pretense. All Blazers feel solid
and surprisingly substantial with
excellent body control and a ride and
handling balance that's impressive.
The RS gets a slightly more aggressive
suspension tune and a quicker steering
ratio but not really much else. It's not
like the Traverse RS that gets a unique
engine. The same engine power is the
Premier trim too. It's sporty-er than a
Murano or a Santa Fe but a Ford Edge ST
with its twin turbocharged V6 will
easily spike a Blazer RS in a contest
of acceleration. Suffice it to say the RS
delivers more
sporty looks than athletic ability
providing a fun styling statement and a
slightly tighter driving experience.
Choosing one trim over the other really
becomes more of which one you think
looks most appealing. The new 2019 Blazer
is not cheap. A base-model 2.5 L starts
at just a tick under $30,000 including the
destination fee while the least
expensive V6 front-wheel drive model
starts at $34,495. All wheel
drive adds $2,700
to that price. The RS starts at $41,795
while the Premier starts at
$43,895.
Load up an RS or Premier with all-wheel
drive and every option on the sheet and
you're easily into the low $50,000 range
which is a lot of coin for a midsize
Chevy SUV but is indeed comparable to
what you'd pay for a Murano, Edge or
Grand Cherokee. With its sophisticated
styling, its excellent ride handling
characteristics and the technology-laden
interior the new Blazer really is a
quite formidable competitor to the
Murano and the Edge. It's on sale now in
dealerships across the country and if
you'd like to learn more about the new
Chevrolet Blazer
please come look us up on Cars.com.
2019 Chevrolet Camaro: INTRO
Dilawri Group of Companies:
I'm Sharnelle from Dilawri Group of Companies and here with me today is the
2019 Chevrolet Camaro. For 2019 the
Camaro receives a few minor upgrades. The
exterior design has been freshened up
with a new front fascia and rear
taillights. What we love about the Camaro
is that it's the type of sports car that
can be enjoyed by anyone. The base model has a smaller more
fuel-efficient engine that's practical
for day-to-day use but if you upgrade to
the ZL1, you'll truly have a
performance vehicle on your hands that
is ready for the track. Take your pick
from a 2.0L turbocharged inline-four, a
3.6L V6, or a 6.2L NA or
supercharged V8 that can get you from 0
to 100 in as little as 3.5 seconds. This
also has Chevrolet's most up-to-date tech
like the new 8-inch infotainment system
supporting both Android Auto and Apple
CarPlay. The Camaro's near 50/50 weight
balance means this is a thrill to drive.
Explore it for yourself at your nearest
Dilawri dealership.
Chevrolet Tahoe RST 2018 | Full Review | with Steve Hammes | TestDriveNow
Steve Hammes New Car Reviews:
High performance SUVs - yes, they’re a thing
and their numbers seem to be growing.
But in recent years, GM hasn’t fielded an
entry.
Until now - with this new Tahoe RST, available
for the first time with the company’s 6.2-liter
V8 and other street truck upgrades.
Perhaps you remember the TrailBlazer SS, Silverado
SS or SSR – hot rod Chevy trucks of recent
vintage.
Now it’s the RST editions that are reviving
the pedigree.
Short for Rally Sport Truck, the big boy Tahoe
and Suburban are the first up to go RST.
Remember - there’s the RST Edition which
only gives you part of the street truck look
and then there’s the RST Performance Package
that drops in the 6.2, 10 speed Auto, and
performance calibrated suspension.
These brakes and Borla exhaust are extras.
Available on the 2 highest Tahoe trims, the
RST Edition adds $2,630 to the price and includes
22” wheels, black bowties – seems like
every Chevy has them these days, gloss black
grille, black mirror caps and black badging.
Set against this summit white paint the RST
has certainly got the look.
But it’s the next $2,820 that adds the real
stuff.
That’s where you’ll find the 420 horsepower
engine, the Ford-developed 10-speed gearbox,
high-capacity air cleaner, a transfer case
with 2-wheel, auto, 4-high and 4-low settings,
Magnetic Ride Control suspension with a performance
calibration and a trailer brake controller.
The larger front brakes which really seem
more like a necessity with this much power
and weight are a dealer installed option and
cost a hefty $2,795.
The dual side-exit Borla exhaust with black
chrome tips is another $1,249 and nets an
additional 7-10 horsepower at the wheels.
You get the picture – a loaded Tahoe 4WD
RST with Performance Package isn’t cheap.
How does $80,000 sound?
Definitely some sticker shock here.
Don’t think of the RST in the same vein
as a Trackhawk or the like - it’s just so
much bigger and heavier that it’s impossible
to extract that much performance.
You won’t be taking this to track day or
autocross.
What it is: is a brawny, body on frame truck
with a stiffer suspension.
Add in the throaty exhaust and upgraded front
brakes and it’s a confident Tahoe for those
who crave a little more of everything.
I can’t rectify its price per pound of additional
fun so it’s a pass for me but I’m sure
some will see the allure.
The Tahoe feels massive at over 5,600 pounds
as you tower over just about everything else
on the road.
And these seats are created for the fat cat
who can afford one so there’s virtually
no holding you in place during spirited driving
– a sport seat option would be nice.
Despite the normally excellent MRC dampers,
this Tahoe has lost its smooth, big rig ride
quality with the 22” all-season tires playing
a factor while adding considerable drag on
the steering.
Yeah, it bites a little harder on turn in
and body sway is muted but not to a degree
that would warrant this kind of investment.
The most impressive RST component is the powertrain.
This high-tech V8 and its 460 pound-feet of
torque can go into V4 mode to save fuel and
is direct injected with variable valve timing
– quite the engineering marvel.
And it gets a legit 17mpg in combined driving…far
more than you’d expect though it wants premium
gas.
But this transmission needs a sport mode in
order to keep the power on demand because
the 10-speed sometimes takes an awful long
time to kick down.
Plus, the gas pedal is designed for truck-like
work so it takes a deep push to extract the
power.
Once you’re there though this Tahoe can
run a sub-6-second 0-to-60mph time which sounds
more impressive than it actually feels.
I’d like even more rumble from the exhaust,
though…it’s pretty tame for Borla.
Towing is rated for 8,100 pounds.
Inside, features abound from wireless device
charging to a blu-ray player to a head-up
display to top-notch infotainment.
It’s living large 3-row style with every
creature comfort inside to make it comfortable
and easy to use.
This Cocoa/Mahogany combo looks rich in quality,
too.
A huge center consoled bin, power operated
2nd and 3rd row seats from the tailgate area,
all-weather floor liners, living room accommodations
with a drop down screen, easy access 3rd row
seats, vibrating safety alert seat replete
with all of today’s electronic helpers…OnStar,
Wi-Fi – this is a great place to spend time
and Chevy has aged this cabin very well.
The big price tag seems more legit when viewed
from the prism of amenties.
Keep in mind, because of the Tahoe’s construction,
the 3rd row seats are fine as long as you
don’t have long legs because the floor is
raised so they’ll be in your throat.
The panoply of RST bits takes the Tahoe in
a credible street truck direction but its
performance fails to wow with the force of
$80,000.
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