Archive for the ‘Chevrolet’ Category

The coveted Top Safety Pick designation from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) used to be quite exclusive—and a way for safety-conscious shoppers to narrow down their possibilities to a few top-rated vehicles in a segment. But since 2007, the number of Top Safety Picks has roughly doubled each year, going from just 23 vehicles then to 94 models—a huge portion of the new-car market—for 2009.

That’s slated to change beginning with 2010, as the IIHS requires that vehicles be rated ‘good’ in its new roof strength test in order to be named a Top Safety Pick.

The result—at least so far for 2010—is that the Institute’s 94...

General Motors’ large sedan future was looking rosy until the U.S. government decided to vote in favor of new CAFE rules, forcing automakers to improve the average fuel economy of their fleets to 35.5 mpg by 2016.

We were teased with all manner of rear-wheel drive and V-8 powered muscle cars, including sedans, coupes, and even a sports wagon, and while some of these have made it to production or are at least confirmed for sale, many have fallen off the radar.

One in particular is the replacement for the current Chevrolet Impala, which has been on the market since 2005. The next Impala will slot above the Malibu in Chevrolet’s...

General Motors first revealed the production version of the 2011 Chevrolet Volt in September of 2008 and ever since the original unveiling the car has appeared in the same silver exterior with an emerald hue. This will be the color of the first batch of production Volts but GM still needs a new and exciting name for it.

Late last month GM launched an online contest that asked for color name suggestions, with three finalists to be flown to Los Angeles this December to compete for a final chance to be among the first to test-drive a pre-production Volt.

Out of 13,000 entries, those three finalists have now been picked, with GM selecting...