Remember back in the good old days when American car companies gave their cars mild updates every year or so just to keep them fashionable? It appears that the good old days are here again, at least with…

2014 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ Road Test Review

Given that the eighth-generation Chevrolet Malibu was only just launched in 2013 as an all-new model, one might have expected that it would enter 2014 relatively unchanged. Instead, faced with softer-than-forecast sales, Chevrolet's mid-size family sedan was trotted back to the design studio to get a bit of a refresh for its sophomore year.

It's not that the new Malibu hit the market with any significant faults, mind you: It's a thoroughly competent machine, based on Chevrolet's Epsilon II platform and sold as a global car across six continents and over 100 countries. In my review of the 2013 Malibu Eco I called it "conservative, yet handsome and capable looking," and I was impressed with the interior and the infotainment system. The problem is that the Malibu sells in a crowded and extremely competitive market, and being conservative and capable wasn't getting it noticed. So for 2014 Chevrolet set out to fix that.

The changes include a new front fascia with a wider upper Read Full Story
In today’s world of restricting fuel economy standards, every possible way an automaker can eke out efficiencies needs to be explored, and when proven technologies deliver significant results yet don’t…

Silverado and Sierra 1500 pickups to get optional 8-speed automatic for 2015

In the light-duty pickup truck arena, the big three can't be seen as behind the times. Leave such mundanities as normally aspirated V8 power conjoined with six-speed automatic transmissions to Toyota and Nissan, which don't compete as fiercely for top dog as Ford, GM or Ram. It's ok to have one of the above, but you'd better include some innovative tech under the hood and elsewhere if you want to be taken seriously or your loyal truck owners will start feel inadequate.

Ford F-150 owners should be feeling particularly virile these days, with the brand's EcoBoost turbocharged V6 giving them powertrain leadership bragging rights and now an all-new lightweight aluminum body shell seemingly more supercar than super-duty, while Ram owners will be feeling pretty smug about the new 1500's ultra-efficient and powerful EcoDiesel V6, eight-speed automatic gearbox and air suspension. How about Chevy and GMC light truck owners? The Silverado and Sierra are excellent pickup trucks with superb Read Full Story
Do you like the idea of paying little to nothing for gas, but hate the idea of running out of electric power halfway through your commute? Chevy’s innovative Volt is a plug-in electric with the added…

2014 Chevrolet Volt Road Test Review

Maybe it was the gloss white dash in the interior or the green leaf that flashes across the screen when you open the door, but my first thought when getting into the 2014 Chevrolet Volt was that I was meeting EVE, the plant-loving robot from the Disney movie WALL-E.

The Volt can't fly, but entering its fourth year of production it remains a technological marvel that many non-EV enthusiasts still don't quite understand. Then again, with a sticker price this year that's $5,000 cheaper than last year's model, there are a lot more interested parties asking questions.

The Volt is an extended-range plug-in vehicle with a lithium ion battery, an electric motor, a smaller motor slash generator, and an onboard gasoline-powered internal combustion engine. While the gasoline engine does transfer some power to the wheels, its primary function is to drive the generator to produce the electricity that propels the car.

With a fully charged battery, drivers can expect a range Read Full Story
For most of its lifetime, the Chevrolet Corvette has been something of a bargain in the realm of ultra high performance automobiles.   Roundly celebrated for this fact, contemporary Corvettes have…

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stringray Road Test Review

For most of its lifetime, the Chevrolet Corvette has been something of a bargain in the realm of ultra high performance automobiles. Roundly celebrated for this fact, contemporary Corvettes have also been routinely lambasted for having interior treatments of such low quality it was half-jokingly said Chevrolet contracted Fisher Price, makers of the Playskool line of plastic toys, to craft the passenger compartment of the Corvette.

Characterized by overtly plastic-looking materials, uninspired designs, ill-fitting parts, squeaks and rattles, the maladies went on and on and on. And yet, with every preceding generation of Corvette, we've been told this problem has been corrected; each new Corvette has been said to have more attention lavished upon its interior treatment than any previous model. Thing is, they were all so bad, even with extra attention lavished upon them, they still came out poorly-until now.

The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray has a world-class interior Read Full Story
The last time we saw seatbelt interlocks, way back in 1974, they were a much-hated regulatory requirement foisted upon the   car-buying public by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).…

Seatbelt interlocks make a comeback with GM

The last time we saw seatbelt interlocks, way back in 1974, they were a much-hated regulatory requirement foisted upon the car-buying public by the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).

Those early seatbelt interlocks weren't always reliable (they'd sometimes prevent the car from starting even when all occupants were buckled up), and the outcry against them was so loud that the NHTSA was quickly forced to lift its mandate, abandoning the technology in favour of airbags.

Now GM is quietly bringing the seatbelt interlock back as an option for a select number of models. There's no government mandate this time. Instead, the system is being marketed as a "Belt Assurance System" that, in addition to increasing occupant safety, can help prevent drivers from getting violation tickets for failure to wear seatbelts.

Rather than preventing the car from starting until front-seat occupants are buckled up, as the original seatbelt interlocks did, GM's Read Full Story