News & Reviews- Make: Chevrolet

There aren't many domestic branded vehicles that get their first run in Canada before heading to the US, but launching the Trax north of the 49th a couple of years ahead of Chevy's largest and most important market allowed it to gain some traction in a safe environment.

Why safe? The move made sense due to Canada's greater acceptance of small rolling stock, and the Trax is certainly diminutive for a CUV, slotting into the subcompact SUV category. It's not like we don't have a history of such practices. We received Smart's ForTwo four years ahead of the US, and more recently Nissan launched its sub-$10k Micra here, although there are no plans to sell it south of the border despite Nissan USA hosting a journalist ride and drive program for it. There are many similar Canada-only and Canada-first small car stories such as the Acura EL and CSX (now the ILX which is available in the US), Mercedes-Benz B-Class (still a no go), Toyota Echo Hatchback (Yaris hatch predecessor) and first-generation Read Full Story

To think the Tahoe is merely the XXL version of the XXXL Suburban is mind-boggling. Trying to get this big mountain of an SUV into a camera lens can be tough enough, but doing likewise for a clean shot of a Suburban would require a number of large paces rearward and quite possibly a wide-angle lens upgrade for the camera.

This is why the Tahoe is most large SUV buyers' first choice, at least amongst bowtie models. The Suburban deserves our utmost respect because it's the octogenarian of the General's full-size SUV family, the great grandpa of the bunch, having been redesigned 12 times since inception in 1933 - yes you read that right. The Tahoe is a mere whippersnapper in comparison, just 20 years old and only on its fourth generation, but GMC's Yukon clearly outsells Chevy's alternative while the long-wheelbase Yukon XL almost doubled the Suburban's total last year.

What these two sets of fraternal twins do to the rest of the mainstream industry's full-size truck-based Read Full Story

The Chevrolet Cruze is a true global car. Drive around Metro Manila, Philippines like I spent a month doing recently and you'll see for yourself, although the majority of examples there run on diesel fuel. The highly efficient model is dubbed Cruze CRDi in the island nation, and in case you haven't already heard is also available here as the Cruze Clean Turbo Diesel or 2.0TD.

I spent a week test driving the new 2.0TD and found it as impressive as all the other Cruze models I'd previously driven, with the added bonus of much better acceleration and, of course, much improved fuel economy, the real reason people pay a little more for diesel power. The engine, a 2.0-litre four-cylinder, makes 151 horsepower and 264 lb-ft of torque (280 with overboost), and being that torque is what primarily gets a car moving the 2.0TD will likely put a smile on your face. It's mated up to a smooth-shifting and efficient six-speed automatic, which is about as good as it gets in the compact class, Read Full Story

Chevy's little Spark has been gaining traction in Canada, our market quite enamoured with small hatchbacks albeit just starting to wake up to extremely small city cars. Such is not the case in many other countries throughout the world, such as Manila, Philippines where I'm writing this review. Sparks are all over Manila, as are a bevy of alternative city car competitors.

Up against the Spark a number of Chinese models, particularly the BYD F0, Chana Benni De Luxe, Chery QQ3, Geely LC, and Haima 1, plus the Honda Brio and Toyota Wigo from Japan, the Hyundai i10 and Eon as well as the Kia Picanto from South Korea, and lastly the only car you'll likely be familiar with, the same Mitsubishi Mirage sold here, also from Japan. Strangely missing is the Nissan Micra, while Fiat and Smart don't sell within the Philippines so the 500 and Fortwo aren't available either. Just the same, considering the hefty competition Chevy's Spark does very well in the Philippines, and there's good reason. Read Full Story

In the truck business, styling might make more of a difference to buyers than in any other sector. A good example is the 1994 Ram 1500 which transformed an also-ran half-ton pickup into a major player thanks to big rig road presence, but Chevy's light duty trucks never had design problems to begin with.

Certainly there were years the Silverado wouldn't be considered a head-turner, but bowtie branded trucks were long considered the best looking of the lot even before the Silverado nameplate came into existence in 1998. Prior to that it was a trim level for a variety of Chevrolet's trucks and SUVs, the full-size C/K pickups boasting great looking designs since the '60s, while the Task Force trucks of the '50s are some of the most sought after by custom tuners today, and prior to that the late-'40s to mid-'50s Advanced Design pickups were very attractive for their era.

Speed forward to 2014 and Chevrolet's new Silverado 1500 is as bold, brash and downright good looking Read Full Story