By Don Hammonds
It’s probably safe to say that Chevrolet’s Cruze has turned the image of a Chevy compact on its ear.

After years of moving from gawdawful (Chevy Vega) to Cavalier (we remember wanting to see a convertible at a dealership and the mortified salesman couldn’t even get it started to move it off the sales floor) to Cobalt (pleasant, a big improvement, but no game changer), Chevy’s finally introduced one that  is hands-down terrific: the Cruze.
But changing an image is …

By
John Heilig 
Specifications
 
Model: 2011 Chevrolet Avalanche LTZ 4WD
Engine: 5.3-liter Vortec V8
Horsepower/Torque: 320 hp @ 5,400 rpm/325 lb.-ft. @ 4,000 rpm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Wheelbase: 130.0 in.
Length/Width/Height: 221.3 x 791 x 76.6 in.
Tires: P275/55R20
Cargo volume: 54.3 cu. ft. behind 1st row.
Cargo box: 63.3/98.2 (Midgate closed/open)long x 50.0 wide x 47.4 in. high (underneath with Midgate open). 1,350 lbs. payload. 7,900 lbs. trailer towing capacity.
Fuel economy: 15 mpg city/21 mpg highway/16.6 mpg test
Fuel capacity: 31.5 gal.
Curb weight: 5,646 lbs.
Sticker: $52, 840 (includes $950 destination charge, …

America’s consumers are about to get a little lesson in little cars.
The first vanguard of some really small cars like the Scion iQ, Fiat 500 and maybe even some version  of Volkswagen’s Up!  are hitting showrroms this shopping season, bringing some big surprises for people thought small meant frunmpy, cheap and poorly equipped.
Chief among the four wheeled “teachers”  coming to the sales floor will be Chevy’s 2013 Spark, a diminutive little car that Chevy says will be the only car in its segment …

 
By Don Hammonds, executive editor
This model year promises to be a blockbuster one, with so many new models coming out that you’ll need a scorecard to keep up with it all.
Yet, amid the dozens of new models, and hundreds of continuing ones, there are still some diamonds that we believe will shine far above the others before the model year’s out. 
We selected our picks based on their impact on the automotive market, their uniqueness, in some cases, their transformations from …

By
John Heilig
 
SPECIFICATIONS
 
Model: 2012 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible 2LT
Engine: 3.6-lite rV6
Horsepower/Torque:
Transmission: 6A
Wheelbase: 112.3 in.
Length/Width/Height: 190.4 x 75.5 x 54.2 in.
Tires: P245/45ZR20(F) P275/40ZR20 (R)
Cargo volume: 11.3 cu. ft.
Fuel economy: 18 mpg city/29 mpg highway/20.4 mpg test
Fuel capacity: 19.0 gal.
Curb weight: 3,719 lbs.
Sticker: $37,560 (includes $900 destination charge, $2,560 in options)
 
Five reasons to buy this car
1. Great warm-weather tourer
2. Good performance
3. comfortable
4. Handles well
5. Looks great
 
The Bottom Line: Even with its V6 engine, the Chevrolet Camaro convertible is a fun car to drive, …

By
John Heilig
 
SPECIFICATIONS
 
Model: 2012 Chevrolet Volt
Engine: 1.4-liter I4 (plus electric motor)
Horsepower/Torque: 84 hp @ 4,800 (gas); 111 hp, 368 lb.-ft. (electric)
Transmission: Automatic
Wheelbase: 105.7 in.
Length/Width/Height: 177.1 x 70.4 x 56.3 in.
Tires: P215/55R17
Cargo volume: 10.6 cu. ft.
Fuel economy: 93 mpg (all electric)/37 mpg (gasoline)/60 mpg (combined)/42.4 mpg (test)
Fuel capacity: 9.3 gal.
Curb weight: 3,781 lbs.
Sticker: $40,000 (est.)
 
Five reasons to buy this car
1. Excellent fuel economy
2. For local driving, no gasoline need be used
3. Very good ride quality
4. Decent performance
5. Unique combination of electric/gasoline
 
The Bottom …

Chevy  willl  be “cruzin’” to more success with its popular Cruze compact and “zoomin” to more sales with its speedy little Sonic subcompact duet due to hit the showrooms this fall.
The combination of the two products will give Chevrolet a “one-two” punch in the sales market in two of the most important sales categories–subcompact and compact cars.

2012 Chevrolet Sonic
The Sonic is big news at Chevy, and company officials say it has the most rear seat room of any car in its class. …

By John Heilig
Model: 2011 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Convertible
Engine: 6.2-liter V8
Horsepower/Torque: 436 hp @ 5,900 rpm/428 lb.-ft.@4,600 rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Wheelbase: 105.7 in.
Length/Width/Height: 175.6 x 75.9 x 48.7 in.
Tires: P275/35ZR18 (F)/P325/30ZR19(R)
Cargo volume: 7.5/11 cu. ft. (top down/up)
Fuel economy: 16 mpg city/26 mpg highway/15.0 mpg test
Fuel capacity: 18.0 gal.
Curb weight: 3,289 lbs.
Sticker: $74,235 (includes $950 destination charge, $14,685 in options ($9,700 for 4LT Premium Equipment Group)
 
Five reasons to buy this car
1. Excellent performance
2. Best looking Vette ever
3. Docile when it needs to …

Got a piece of paper?
Let’s start a petition and tell Chevrolet that they must bring the Colorado Show Truck, which was displayed at the Bangkok International Auto Show not too long ago.

      After years of being basically unchanged, we now have a really cool, stylish truck  that isn’t huge, ungainly, or boring to look at.
Chevy says that the concept previews the next-generation Colorado midsize pickup truck, and is set to go sale in Thailand, if it hasn’t already done so.
“Thailand is …

  Chevrolet’s timing couldn’t have been better when it announced an all new 2013 Malibu ECO model at the New York International Auto Show press days event.

After all it was against the backdrop of gasoline prices cllimbing ever so steadily toward the $5 a gallon mark, and consumers are once more putting fuel economy at the top of their car shopping-lists.
The 2013 Malibu Eco is being billed by Chevy as its most fuel efficient mid-sized sedan in the brand’s 100-year …