GM Begins Building Chevy Sonics

GM has started building the subcompact Chevy Sonic at their Orion Hills, MI plant. The upcoming Chevrolet Sonic may be small in size, but the automaker has huge plans for the subcompact car, which replaces the forgettable Korean-built Chevy Aveo in its lineup. Chevy has gone to great lengths to promote the Sonic, despite the fact that it won’t hit dealer showrooms until sometime this fall.

Like the Aveo, the Sonic was developed in South Korea; unlike the Aveo, the Sonic will be built in the United States. GM is quick to point out that the Sonic is the only subcompact from a domestic manufacturer built in this country. If you count the Fiat 500 as being from Chrysler, it’s built at their plant in Toluca, Mexico. Ford’s Fiesta also comes from south of the border, and is assembled at the Ford plant in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.

The Sonic began production at Chevy’s Orion Township, MI plant today, justifying some $500 million in upgrades that GM has spent on the facility, which also builds the Buick Verano. At launch, Chevy will offer the Sonic at a base price of $14,495, which makes it slightly more expensive than a base Ford Fiesta. Opt for the 1.4-liter turbo engine, and the price goes up by $700. If you want the range-topping LTZ version in hatchback form, that price starts at $17,235.

Chevy has alluded to the Sonic’s handling, referencing its direct DNA link to theChevrolet Corvette. We’re struggling to make the connection between a front-engine, front-drive subcompact and one of America’s premier sports cars, but we’ll give Chevy some latitude, at least until we have a chance to drive the Sonic.

gallery:2012 Chevrolet Sonic

 

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Source:The Detroit News

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Comparison Test: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze LTZ vs. 2012 Ford Focus Titanium

All hail the death of the American shitbox. With the 2011 Cruze and 2012 Focus, Chevrolet and Ford have finally delivered compact cars that aren't cheap turds with rental-car interiors.

Certainly Chevy and Ford are tired of losing sales to the more refined Japanese competitors and those sneaky imports from South Korea who trump all comers with an unparalleled feature-per-dollar ratio and worry-free warranties. Today, buyers want their 40 mpg as well as a driving experience and level of quality previously reserved for cars a class or two higher. Well, duh.

So the globally designed and engineered Chevy Cruze and Ford Focus are not just the same old heaps in new wrappers. No shitboxes here. But there can only be one winner.

What We Tested
To find out which is best, we gathered the top trim level of each, the Chevy Cruze LTZ and the Ford Focus Titanium, to see just how far American small cars have come. Both offer power windows and locks, power seats, automatic climate control, cruise control and Bluetooth as standard features.

The Cruze LTZ starts at $22,695 (including $720 destination). Our tester, fitted with a couple of pricey options including a $1,995 navigation system and a power sunroof, totaled $26,085. The Focus Titanium starts at $22,995 (including $725 destination) and our tester, fitted with $3,605 in options, including a Titanium Handling package, navigation and special interior trim cost $26,600.

Out of Europe and Into America
The 2012 Ford Focus was developed in Europe and is currently on sale in more than 120 markets around the world, but don't worry — the North American version is built right here in the good ol' U.S. of A. at Ford's Wayne, Michigan, assembly plant.

The Cruze is also a global machine — it was penned at the former Daewoo facility in Incheon, South Korea, while engineering was based at GM's European headquarters in Russelsheim, Germany. But despite the Cruze's foreign roots, U.S. and Canadian versions are built at GM's Lordstown, Ohio, plant.

Hop inside either car and you're sure to be impressed with the level of quality and execution. But don't expect Toyota Camry-like space — these are still compact cars. Similar wheelbases (105.7 inches for the Cruze, 104.3 for the Focus) return similarly adequate passenger room, although rear head- and legroom will be tight for anyone much above average height.

Both cars offer folding rear seats, but the Cruze gets points for practicality with a 15-cubic-foot trunk and a pass-through large enough to squeeze in a bicycle when the rear seats are folded. The Focus' trunk is encroached upon by its full-size spare (necessitated by the summer tire option), and its small pass-through is better suited to hauling less bulky cargo.

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Report: Chevy developing two-door Cruze

2011 Chevrolet Cruze – Click above for high-res image gallery

Thus far, the Cruze has been a big success for Chevrolet. Although you could chalk up part of its meteoric rise to a lack of supply from Japan, the Cruze was the best-selling compact in America last month. To build on that success, General Motors is reportedly developing a two-door coupe Cruze for future production.

Although officials have yet to confirm the Cruze coupe, reports indicate that development is already well under way, with production earmarked for the Orion, Michigan, plant where the Sonic is being built. Why not the Lordstown, Ohio plant where the Cruze sedan is built? That facility is already running at full capacity – even into overtime – just to meet demand.

It would be interesting to see the Cruze spawn a coupe variant, particularly since two-door versions of theCobalt and the Cavalier that preceded it, lamentable though they were, proved popular among teenagers as first cars. We particularly miss the Cobalt SS, which was available in both coupe and sedan bodystyles before the model was discontinued, as it offered one of the best performance to price ratios on the market.

Gallery:2011 Chevrolet Cruze 1LT: Review

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[Source: The Detroit Bureau | Images: Copyright 2011 Steven J. Ewing / AOL]

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Report: Chrysler 200 nameplate a stopgap?

2011 Chrysler 200 - Click above for high-res image gallery

In redesigning the Chrysler Sebring, the decision-makers at Team Pentastar wanted to give the vehicle sort of a fresh start, and opted to rename the car "200." Sure, the new 200 may look a lot like its forsaken forefather, but early returns show that the sedan and convertible have gained back a measure of respect – and sales, to boot.

But while the 200 has been an improvement, the The Detroit Bureau reports that the next-generation Chryslermid-size sedan will not carry the numeric moniker. Chrysler and Fiat have long asserted that the long-term replacement to the 200 will feature Fiat architecture, and The Bureau says the designs are frozen and a names have already been chosen.

This doesn't mean that the 200 nameplate is history, however. If Chrysler does decide to change the name of the 200, it will lose the momentum it created for the name with the infamous Eminem Super Bowl commercial. Further, another new advertising campaign to introduce a new name will likely cost many millions of dollars. But if Chrysler wants to forever disassociate itself from the Sebring, changing the name one more time may be the right thing to do.

Gallery:2011 Chrysler 200: Review

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[Source: The Detroit Bureau | Images: Copyright 2011 Chris Shunk / AOL]

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2007-2011 Cadillac Escalade By Hennessey

On paper, a race against a Japanese buzzsaw called the Cadillac Escalade SUV and the ’Godzilla’ Nissan GT-R, doesn’t seem like a fair fight, especially when you consider that the ’fight’ is actually a 0-60 mph test to see which vehicle can hit the mark first. On one end, you have the Japanese buzzsaw called the Nissan GT-R, a car that has earned the nickname, ’Godzilla’. Can a three-ton SUV whose hulking mass is enough to drag itself down compete against the faster GT-R? Hennessey has made sure of it.

This mismatch was given a fair shake by the folks over at Hennessey, which gave the Escalade an HPE1000 performance upgrade, getting the 6,000lb SUV’s 6.2L engine a total of 1008bhp at 5,900rpm and 967 lb-ft of torque at 3,700 rpm. This was done with a forged & balanced 427 cid LSX engine, high flow cylinder heads, a Hennessey HPE1000 camshaft, an intake manifold upgrade, upgraded fuel injectors, an upgraded fuel system (pump, lines, and Rails), twin ball bearing turbochargers, and much more.

With the playing field somewhat leveled, the two protagonists took to an isolated country road to find out which vehicle can smoke the other. To our surprise, the Escalade, which is more than twice as heavy as the GT-R, managed to outpace the Japanese supercar by the slimmest of margins - one-tenth of a second - with a time of 3.3 seconds compared to Godzilla’s 3.4-second time.

While we’re not totally blown away by the result considering the ’assistance’ the Escalade got from Hennessey, the mere fact that a mammoth of an SUV can actually outpace a powerful Japanese rocket really got us thinking just how dementedly brilliant the people over at Hennessey are.

Check out the video to watch the proceedings and hit the jump to see the full specifications for the Cadillac Escalade by Hennessey.

HPE1000 Twin Turbo Upgrade Includes:  Forged & Balanced 427 cid LSX Engine  High Flow Cylinder Heads  Hennessey HPE1000 Camshaft  Intake Manifold Upgrade  Upgraded Fuel Injectors  Upgraded Fuel System (Pump, Lines & Rails)  Twin Ball Bearing Turbochargers  Dual Wastegates  Air-to-Air Intercooler  Dual K&N Air Filters  Electronic Boost Controller  HPE Stainless Steel Turbo Manifolds  High Flow Catalytic Converters  Stainless Steel Cat-Back Exhaust  160 Degree Thermostat  HPE Engine Management Calibration  All Necessary Gaskets & Fluids  Professional Installation  Dyno Tuning & Road Testing  Hennessey Exterior Badging  Serial Numbered Dash & Engine Plaques  1 Year / 12,000 Mile Limited Warranty Upgrade is available for GM SUV & Trucks (Tahoe, Suburban, Silverado, Yukon, Sierra, Escalade, and H2)

Source:Hennessey

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Video: Chevrolet Racing Track To Street Season 2 Episode 5

In Chevrolet’s latest Track to Street series, Corvette Racing takes us along on a hot lap around the LeMans track. This is the very same track where driver Oliver Gavin received first place in the GTE Pro division of the 24h endurance race a little over a week ago.

In addition to the lap around the track, Chevrolet has also provided a second video featuring in depth interviews with drivers like Richard Westbrook as they describe what it’s like to be on and off the track. This video came out before the team’s win at LeMans, but after watching the Gavin make the quick lap around LeMans, it seemed necessary to go into the the team’s preparations for the 24 hour long event.

Let’s just say that we envy the thrill of being a part of such a famous event, but are in awe of the endurance these drivers have to have in order to complete the race.

One more video after the jump.

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2011 Jeep Wrangler Mojave

Jeep knows how to strut its stuff when it comes to special editions for their rugged lineup of vehicles. We’ve already seen a number of them primed and ready for the 45th Moab Jeep Easter Safari, but the New York Auto Show is getting its own special models, one of them being the Wrangler Mojave. The Mojave pays tribute to the well-known and rugged Mojave Trail and it will go on sale at a starting price of $29,195, excluding the $750 destination fee.

The new Mojave edition is based on the Wrangler Sport and features a unique desert theme inside and out. The exterior features a body-color hardtop and fender flares, "Mojave" and lizard decals on the hood and rear, the Sahara model’s side steps, and a new set of mineral gray 17-inch wheels shod with 32-inch tires. There are three colors to choose from: Sahara Tan, Bright White, and Black combined with a black fuel filler door and taillamp guards.

The interior follows in the desert theme with dark saddle leather and a lizard logo embossed on the front seats. There is also a unique driftwood surrounding the vents, front-passenger grab handle, steering-wheel spokes, and door-handle inserts.

gallery:2011 Jeep Wrangler

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gallery:2011 Jeep Wrangler Mojave

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