Video: 2013 Chevrolet Camaro 1LE at Virginia International Raceway

From Chevrolet.com:

The 2013 road-racing inspired Chevrolet Camaro 1LE, with Camaro engineer Aaron Link behind the wheel, lapped the famed Virginia International Raceway (VIR) “Grand Course” in 2:58.34 – a time previously accomplished by only the upper echelon of performance cars.

The $3,500 1LE package is available on Camaro 1SS and 2 SS coupes, with a manual transmission. A Camaro 1SS with the 1LE package starts at $37,035, including destination, making it one of the most affordable, most capable performance cars offered by any manufacturer.

“The Camaro 1LE combines the best elements of the SS and the ZL1 with a focus on handling,” said Al Oppenheiser, Camaro chief engineer. “We optimized every part of the SS for improved track driving, including gear ratios, suspension tuning, and chassis mounts. The result really brings the Camaro SS alive at every turn – whether you’re carving through your favorite backroads or working on lap times on the track.

“Best of all, the Camaro 1LE is $10,000 less than its nearest competitor,” Oppenheiser said. “For drivers looking for an affordable way to get on the track, what they save with the 1LE will the cover a lot of days at the track.”

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Trendy Inferno Orange is Now a Color Trend

From Chevrolet.com:

Inferno Orange is the second-most requested color for Chevrolet Sonic hatchbacks, accounting for nearly one in five dealer orders and signaling a new color trend in the subcompact market. Its popularity trails only the ever-popular black hatchback.

Pantone named PANTONE® 17-1463 Tangerine Tango the Color of the Year for 2012, recognizing orange’s widespread appeal and prominence. Taking cues from the fashion, architecture and furniture industries, Sonic’s design team monitored color to identify hues with longevity that best fit the Sonic attitude.

“Fashion houses can quickly jump on the latest color craze, since their products are designed for shorter life spans, but long-lasting Chevy vehicles must feature colors that will remain attractive and on-trend for multiple years,” says Michelle Killen, lead creative designer in the color and trim studio and exterior paint expert at General Motors Design. “We had a strong feeling that Sonic’s Inferno Orange would hit the trend at the perfect time and hatchback drivers would embrace it.”

Orange, a staple of Corvettes and Camaros, is firmly ingrained in the performance vehicle market. With the Sonic’s turbo-charged engine and Corvette-inspired handling, the design team wanted to visually express its fun-to-drive personality, Killen said.

Chevy design experts predict orange will remain a color trend in the future, transitioning from the bright, chic tint of today to a more burnt, coppery finish in the years to come.

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Chevrolet Sonic and Cruze Show Their Diamond Rings

(photo courtesy:  Chevrolet.com)

From Chevrolet.com:

The diamond-hard technology that enables razor blades to shave closer and last longer also allows the piston rings of the Ecotec 1.4L turbo engine, available on the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic and Cruze, to operate with less friction for better fuel efficiency and durability.

This use of diamond-like carbon coating, or DLC, on a General Motors powertrain component marks a first for Chevrolet. Although the advanced synthetic surface treatment is relatively new to automobiles, it can be found on a variety of high-end products, such as computer hard drives, orthopedic implants and semi-conductors. GM also is testing its use on machining tools.

In general, piston rings seal an engine’s combustion chamber, support heat transfer from the pistons to the cylinder wall and regulate engine oil consumption. In the Ecotec 1.4L turbo engine, the slick, synthetically hardened steel rings do these things with minimal wear and tear.

“Thanks to diamond-like carbon coating, we can use lower tension on the Ecotec’s piston rings to reduce friction, which improves fuel economy,” said Rich Ricchi, GM Powertrain technical specialist. “DLC also reduces oil consumption in high-mileage driving, due to the favorable wear properties associated with the DLC coating.”

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Chevrolet Equinox Offers Convenience & Comfort Features

From Chevrolet.com:



Consumers experience universal design every day, from sidewalk ramps to lever-style door handles. For most people, universal design adds convenience, but for people with limited range of motion, it can be a difference maker. A rear vision camera, programmable liftgate and easy-to-use touch screen controls are examples of Equinox’s ease-of-use features.

Ease of use is increasingly important to car design as automakers adapt to changing consumer demographics. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 65-and-older population is projected to grow to more than 71 million by 2030, and will account for 20 percent of the nation’s citizenry. That means more car buyers will be dealing with age-related issues that affect range of motion, eyesight, hearing, reflexes and cognition – issues that General Motors has studied in depth and has already begun to address in many of its vehicles such as the Equinox.

“We never design vehicles specifically for older consumers, but we increasingly integrate design solutions that work for all users, regardless of age,” said Carl Wellborn, senior staff engineer and project manager, GM Design and Technology Fusion. “Designs that make life easier for older users also work for younger users. Universal design is the key to unlocking usability solutions and implementing them successfully.”

Wellborn presented GM’s findings on increasing product value for an aging global market at the American Occupational Therapy Association’s national convention last year. The research was based on dozens of interviews with consumers who ranged in age from 21 to 65 and older.

“We are thrilled that GM is interested in better understanding the unique needs of aging drivers,” said Elin Schold Davis, project coordinator of the Older Driver Initiative at the American Occupational Therapy Association in Bethesda, Md. “We are a car-dependent nation and want to maintain our driving independence as long as we can. Vehicles that use universal designs can make it easier and safer for people to have and enjoy personal transportation well into old age.”

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Chevrolet Prepares for 60 Years of Corvette

From Chevrolet.com:

On June 30, 1953, the first of a new kind of Chevrolet – indeed, a new kind of American car – rolled off an assembly line in Flint, Mich.

The car had only two seats. There were no roll-up windows, or exterior door handles, for that matter. Its body wasn’t stamped from steel but, rather, molded from reinforced fiberglass.

While the postwar Baby Boom was in full swing, this was definitely not a family car. This was a very personal vehicle, one that promised a driver and a passenger all of the thrills of the open road.

Skeptics gave the car little chance of lasting beyond an initial run of a few dozen units. However, 60 years later the Chevrolet Corvette survives – and thrives – as an American automotive and cultural icon.  

“Through the years, Corvette certainly offered state-of-the-art features, designs, technologies and performance,” said Tadge Juechter, vehicle chief engineer for Corvette. “However, I think what has made the Corvette such an enduring concept is the exciting experience of driving one.

“No matter what your station in life, when you’re behind the wheel of a Corvette, you’re an Olympic athlete – able to go faster, stop quicker, and turn better than everyone else,” Juechter continued. “Very few cars can match that experience. And no other car has delivered that experience as well, or to more people, than the Corvette.”

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