2014 Chevrolet Cruze Diesel

US customers seem to be growing more interested in the technology that has been the primary mode of propulsion in most of Europe for many years now. Chevrolet has finally maneuvered to repurpose its European 2.0-liter turbo-diesel engine for US specification, which means it's cleaner here than overseas.

The first application of this rather impressive diesel engine is in the compact Chevy Cruze, which I spent a recent morning testing out. General Motors as a whole has high expectations for its new TDI-buster. Here's why:

Driving Notes:

• Chevy's diesel displaces 2.0-liters, makes 151 horsepower and 264 pound-feet of torque (with an overboost mode that allows for brief moments of 280 lb-ft), consumes an EPA-estimated 46 miles per gallon on the highway and 27 in the city, and launches the Cruze from 0-60 miles per hour in 8.6 seconds.
• Turn the key on the Cruze Diesel and, if the windows are down, you'll hear a rather loud, clattering noise from the engine bay, at idle. The sound isn't worse than other small diesels we've heard, but it is surprising since the sealed-cabin quiet of the Cruze is remarkably high. With loads of attention paid to refinement at speed, the Cruze is all but silent on the highway (there's some wind noise), and the exhaust note only intrudes when approaching the 5,000-rpm redline.
• Power from the diesel engine feels super strong from even very low revs, as is expected, I guess. Peak torque is available at just 2,600 rpm, and a full 250 lb-ft can be had over the broad expanse between 1,750 and 3,000 rpm. The Cruze isn't fast from a dead stop, but the acceleration from middle to high highway speeds (60 to 80 mph, let's say), is fantastic.
• I drove or rode for about 90 miles in total over this very short preview program, but early returns on the fuel economy are good. Cruising at around 75 mph on the highway saw the fuel econ meter settle at around 44 mpg after just 15 miles, so my guess would be that the estimated 46 mpg or better is easily within reach. On the second leg of our trip, which started on country roads and headed back to the highway, I saw roughly 30 mpg after starting really aggressively and then settling into speed-limit driving around 40 mph. Again, with an EPA City rating of 27 mpg, I'd guess that the Cruze is set to have better real-world numbers than its window sticker would suggest.
• The overall ride characteristic of the Cruze matches its noiseless cabin, insofar as the car really smoothed out the road underneath me. I drove over some pretty broken down Michigan backroads in the car, and found that only the worst potholes and pavement breaks filtered through the softish suspension setup.
• That softness in the suspension, combined with low rolling resistance tires, meant that when I did try to corner aggressively in the Cruze I was met with a lot of vertical motion from the corners and loss of grip. The small Chevy does have a nicely balanced front-wheel-drive chassis for the most part, but handling is only satisfying up to a warmed-up point.
• This diesel Cruze will need some time to penetrate the land of enthusiasts and diesel geeks, I'm guessing, but it's a fine sedan in its own right, and worth at least a look from even the most ardent TDI supporter.

Courtesy of Autoblog.com

Chevy Corvette Stingray shows off in Lime Rock Green

It's been a while since Chevrolet offered its Corvette with green paint – well over a decade, in fact. We've known for a while that the new C7 Stingray would be available in Lime Rock Green, but haven't seen it up until now in anything but the antiseptic studio shots offered up on the Corvette's configurator. Well, we can now cross it off the list – at least online – as the first production example has been caught on video at the Lone Star Classic Corvette show by the folks at NCM Insurance.

According to CorvetteBlogger, the last production model to feature such verdant paint dates to 2001, when Chevy offered its sports car in Dark Bowling Green Metallic. But when we think of Vettes in this color spectrum, we tend to think of the Polo Green C4, a deep shade this paint reminds us of. This particular Stingray is fitted with the Z51 performance package, along with the 3LT Brownstone interior. As we think Z51-equipped cars tend to look better in darker shades (which better integrate/disguise the package's additional ductwork), this Lime Rock Green looks pretty good to our eyes.

What do you think, does the C7 look good in green?

Courtesy of autoblog.com

2014 Chevrolet Silverado

No one's underestimating the importance of the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Silverado. The GMT900 platform that's rolling along under the 2013 model has been underpinning fullsize GM trucks since 2007, and while the Silverado has stayed competitive through most of the intervening six years, the past two haven't been kind to the machine.

Chevy engineers stood back and watched this happen, biting their tongues and whittling away all the while on the next-generation 2014 Silverado. There are only a handful of carryover parts from old machine to new, and the result is a pickup that offers more power, efficiency and refinement than the previous generation while holding the pricing line. This is, without a doubt, the best Silverado ever built, but does that make it the best pickup?

The half-ton pickup now wears the bold, vertical face of its heavy duty predecessors, complete with an all-aluminum hood boasting a set of twin power domes that stretch from cowl to grille. As a result, the Silverado looks considerably less pokey than the previous truck from head-on. Throw in those handsome projector headlamps and the black two-tier grille of our Z71 tester and the new model looks both clean and modern without turning its back on the nameplate's history.

The 2014 Silverado is now 0.4 inches wider than before, and that small nudge in track helps give the machine a more planted look. Designers took advantage of the added width by slathering the sides with massive, exaggerated fender swells. The squared-off wheel arches of the previous generation have stuck around, but the look makes sense paired with this more angular design. The inset doors help give the truck a more modern, clean appearance from the side, while smaller Z71 badges show Chevy is capable of demonstrating some restraint when it comes time to apply stickers.

While base models ride on attractive 18-inch polished aluminum wheels, our tester came saddled with hefty 20-inch chrome rollers. The Z71 trim affords buyers Goodyear Wrangler all-terrain tires, no matter the wheel size. The rubber lands more on the civilized side of the all-terrain spectrum, but makes sense for a truck that will likely spend the majority of its time on paved surfaces or light gravel roads.

Move to the rear and the Silverado shows off a massive Bowtie badge as well as a standard corner step bumper in LTZ guise. The bumper offers a foothold for climbing into the bed, and engineers reworked both rear stake pockets to accommodate a gloved hand for an easier, more secure way to get to cargo. More importantly, the tailgate now features a torsion spring that cuts the effort of closing it by half. Opening the tailgate is as simple as unlatching the lock and letting it drop. The spring gently lets the whole contraption down and into the open position without any help. We owe whoever came up with that one many, many beers. The design is brilliant.

But it's indoors where the 2014 Silverado really differentiates itself from its ancestors. Here, designers finally gave the truck some much-needed attention. The dash is both more attractive and better thought out than before thanks to a simple-to-use center stack. Buttons and dials have been kept to a minimum, and those present are easy to locate and read at a glance. All of the controls have been moved higher up on the dash than before, and those that are set low are still within arm's reach without having to lean forward or take your eyes from the road. We love the big piano key toggles for traction control, cargo lighting, lane departure and the like.

But the driver gets a more substantial steering wheel with new redundant controls, and the redesigned gauge cluster is both good-looking and easy to read. The big, clear TFT screen mounted between the tachometer and the speedometer delivers a spate of vehicle information, from fuel economy and trip readings to the status of the engine's cylinder deactivation.

Speaking of cylinder deactivation, GM threw every efficiency trick in the book at the new EcoTec3 engine family. In addition to active fuel management, which can drop from V8 to V4 power to save fuel, the engine now boasts a direct-injection fuel system and variable valve timing for the first time. As a result, this is the smartest 5.3-liter V8 to ever find its way under the hood of a Silverado. With 355 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque, the engine delivers 40 more horsepower and 48 more pound-feet while returning 16 miles per gallon city and 22 mpg highway. That's an increase of 1 mpg in both categories over the comparable 2013 model.

On the road, the 2014 model is a few millennia ahead of its predecessor. The cabin is phenomenally quiet thanks to a cornucopia of tricks. The frame is both lighter and stiffer than before. Crew and Double Cab models boast both sheer and hydraulic body mounts to banish solid axle freeway hop. Acoustic fender liners keep tire noise at bay while triple door seals make wind noise an unpleasant memory from this truck's past. Throw in spray-in sound deadening along the firewall and transmission tunnel, and this is the quietest truck on the road, hands down. There are luxury SUVs with worse noise, vibration and harshness characteristics.

Unladen, the 5.3-liter V8 delivers excellent power, hustling the truck to 60 miles per hour quicker than should be feasible. Shifts from that old six-speed are solid and well sorted, but the Silverado offers a more pleasant surprise in the brake system. While the 2014 model technically uses the same size stoppers as before, the entire system has been recalibrated. As a result, the pedal feels more confident with positive bite and excellent response. Considering the previous generation had all the stopping prowess of a hog on ice, the change is more than welcome. The rotors now use GM's Duralife coating, which helps keep rust at bay and significantly increases rotor life in the process.

GM has also done an excellent job of implementing an electronic power steering system on the 2014 Silverado.

Throw 5,000 pounds worth of empty horse trailer behind the Silverado and you'll never know it's there. Chevrolet says that depending on configuration, the 2014 Silverado will be able to tow up to 11,500 pounds safely, and engineers worked to make the truck more stable while doing so (for the record, as optioned, our tester could only tow a maximum of 9,600 pounds). While the marginally wider track is part of that recipe, so are new wheels and higher specification tires with stiffer sidewalls to reduce squirm and wander under a load. Of course, a number on a page hardly tells the whole story. Like most tow ratings, the closer you get to the ceiling, the harder the truck has to work. We put 8,600 pounds of trailer and skid steer behind the new Silverado, and while the truck could confidently pull the load about, we'd think twice about knocking on that 11,500 number's door.

GM has done an impressive job with the 2014 Silverado, building the truck back into the contender it once was. The remarkably refined driving dynamics and quiet cabin are enough to earn it a special place in our hearts.

Courtesy of autoblog.com

Chevy sees greener pastures with 2014 Silverado High Country

It's no secret that fullsize pickups are the financial engines that power Detroit automakers – it's been that way for decades. In recent years, though, growing consumer appetites for dolled-up trucks has meant even more opportunities for manufacturers to line their coffers while pleasing increasingly discerning customers.

General Motors has been content to let its GMC brand harvest top-shelf pickup buyers for some time now – particularly with its high-line Denali models – but it's hard to turn away easy profits. GM says over 30 percent of new pickup sales now transact above $40,000, and that figure is growing by the year. Thus, it's no surprise that execs are finally letting Chevrolet get in on the action with this new range-topping High Country trim for the 2014 Silverado. Officials tell Autoblog that it's the first premium-branded Chevy pickup since the Cameo Carrier of the 1950s.

Sitting above the LTZ and Z71 off-road model, the Silverado High Country sets itself apart with trim-specific chrome grille and body-color bumpers front and rear – the only fullsize Chevy so equipped – along with unique 20-inch alloy wheels and a few bits of chrome frosting to go with the usual complement of badges. Available only in crew cab configuration, High Country will be offered in both two- and four-wheel drive with the buyer's choice of V8 engines – 5.3-liter or 6.2-liter – along with either a 5-foot, 8-inch or 6-foot, 6-inch box. There are no specific powertrain or suspension calibrations for the model.

Inside, the changes continue the somewhat restrained Western theme, with saddle brown leather (a grade nicer than what's found in lesser Silverados) lining heated and cooled bucket seats that have the High Country logo embroidered on the headrests. We've already had the chance to sit in the truck, and it's a comfortable, high-quality environment that's perhaps a notch or two down on the cowboy overtones compared to something like an F-150 King Ranch. GM knows they need this model to perform well in Texas, the nation's largest truck market, but they're also hoping the model plays well on the coasts.

Pricing has not yet been announced, but options will be few. A High Country Premium Package with driver alert technologies (read: lane departure and collision warning, rear cross-traffic alert and haptic seat), power pedals, trailer brake control and heated steering wheel figures to be the big-buck bundle, while other options will include navigation, sunroof, rear-seat entertainment, and GM's new CornerStep bumper finished in chrome.

Interestingly, Chevy's research suggests that pickup buyers at this elevated price point are less brand-loyal than those under $40k, so the company is eying more conquest sales than it might with lesser models. Yet officials say they don't think High Country will cannibalize GMC Sierra Denali buyers, because despite their close mechanical and visual kinship, the two brands support different owner demographics (GM labels target High Country buyers as "Everyday Hero" and Denali customers as "Disciplined Achievers"). As it is, the High Country will be priced above the starting price of well-equipped Sierras but fall short of Denali models. The latter will also keep some exclusive features to ensure it remains GM's most prestigious pickup, including a reconfigurable eight-inch screen in the instrument cluster. Chevy Truck director of marketing Maria Rohrer says the two GM divisions are working "closer than ever," presumably to make sure the divisions don't step on each others' toes as they approach each other at the high-dollar summit of the truck market.

Courtesy of Autoblog.com