Stunning Stingray: Convertible Chevy Corvette Stingray Concept Spotted?

Allow us, if you will, to play paparazzo for a moment and show you what may be an up-and-coming movie star. Photos of what appear to be a convertible version of the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (or Centennial) concept recently appeared online, and we wouldn't be surprised if the car is destined for a career in Hollywood.


You may have seen the coupe version of the Stingray in person at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show, but there’s a better chance you saw it on the silver screen. GM’s Corvette Centennial concept was tapped by director Michael Bay for Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, his 2009 sequel to Transformers.

So, then, what is this? We’ve no idea, other than the fact that someone (GM designers? Bay himself? Robotic alien creatures?) in the Southern California area managed to transform the striking coupe design into an angular roadster. Apart from the stubby wrap-around windshield and the waterfall decklid, we note a few other striking differences between this and the original Stingray concept design:

-a new hood, with two intake nostrils flanking a hood bulge that gives us flashbacks of the C3 ZL1 prototype

-new wheels, which adopt a new five-spoke pattern with deeply offset rims

-deeper front intakes, which appear to house fog/running lamps of some kind in their upper corners. These lamps seem to have replaced the slender, LED lamps that ran up the leading edge of the coupe’s front fenders

The Internet is abuzz with speculation of this car’s origins -- but seeing as Bay is already at work at a Transformers 3 and the car was spotted near a major film industry hotspot, we wouldn’t be surprised to see this ‘Vette gain a supporting role in the upcoming film.

Source: Corvette Blogger, BobsBlitz

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Chevrolet Volt Headed to China as a Buick in 2011

Buick's Chinese division will be adding another member to its lineup next year: a rebadged Chevrolet Volt.

Destined to share sheetmetal with the European-market Opel Ampera, according to GM-filed Chinese patent images, going the Buick route in China is likely GM's safest bet. The tri-shield marque performs especially well in the Middle Kingdom and a Buick-badged Volt/Ampera would supplement the already-available Excelle and Regal sedans, also known as the Opel Astra and Insignia, respectively, in other parts of the world.

The currently unnamed Buick-branded Volt will be assembled at GM's Hamtramck plant, imported to China in the first half of 2011, and is then scheduled to debut in the latter half of the year.

The Buick rebadge would be the fifth for the Volt EREV, joining fellow GM brands Holden, Opel, Vauxhall, and, of course, Chevrolet. The Chevy model is expected to be ready by the end of this year while Opel is targeting late 2011. Holden and Vauxhall have been assigned a 2012 release year.

 source by automobi

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Verizon Adds 576 Chevrolet Silverado Full-Size Hybrid Pickups for Green Fleet

Telecom giant Verizon, as part of its "green" goals, finalized sales of 576 model year 2010 Chevy Silverado hybrid full-sized pickups from General Motors Fleet and Commercial Operations.

The purchase is part of Verizon's comprehensive sustainability program which it implemented earlier this year. According to James Gowen, chief sustainability officer for Verizon, “By adding 1,600 alternative energy vehicles to our fleet this year we’re conserving fuel, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality in communities across the country.”

The Silverado's two-mode hybrid powertrain, which General Motors developed with German automakers BMW and then DaimlerChrysler, improves the truck's fuel economy by 40 percent city and 25 percent overall for an EPA-estimated 21 mpg city and 22 mpg highway while maintaining the truck's up to 6,100-pound towing capacity. The hybrid, whose standard 6.0 liter V-8 engine delivers an impressive 332 horsepower and 367 pound-feet of torque, can also move up to 30 mph on electric power alone.

Verizon and GM also worked with BrandFX Body Company to develop a custom fiberglass insert to be installed in the truck’s bed. The light weight insert will minimally impact the truck's mileage while securing service equipment such as ladders, wiring, connectors, and television set boxes.

Source: General Motors

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New Hyundai Models

A relative newcomer to the American marketplace, Hyundai is a Korean automaker with a product line that has improved considerably over the past few years. Hyundai cars and SUVs provide a high level of content for an affordable price, and are currently backed by one of the industry's longest warranties.
In 1947, Chung Ju Yung founded the Hyundai Civil Engineering Company. Mere months later, the outfit was bombed in the Korean War. However, the company regained its footing to distinguish itself as one of Korea's leading construction enterprises during the 1950s.


By the late 1960s, Chung had turned his attention to the automobile industry. The Korean government at that time believed that it made more sense to import vehicles than produce them domestically, and had made its opinion known. Still, Chung opted to follow his own convictions, and in 1967, he founded the Hyundai Motor Company.
The company quickly established an alliance with one of the industry's oldest automakers, signing a two-year contract with Ford in 1968 to share assembly technology. Hyundai's first car, the Cortina, was created from that partnership. The manufacturer's first car to be built and designed in Korea was the compact Pony (although the car was based on Japanese technology courtesy of Mitsubishi). The vehicle made its debut in 1974, and the following year, Hyundai began exporting it to overseas markets.
Hyundai entered the U.S. market in 1986 with the introduction of its subcompact Excel. The car was an immediate hit, with its supreme affordability being a primary selling point; more than 100,000 Excels were sold stateside in the first seven months. By 1988, Hyundai had begun to produce cars using its own technology. The midsize Sonata was the first fruit borne of this endeavor.
Unfortunately, Hyundai's nascent image was soon tarnished by the poor durability and reliability of its vehicles. Sales tanked. However, rather than abandon the American market in the '90s, Hyundai chose to invest heavily in new product designs and improvements in overall quality and reliability.
The decision started to pay off by the start of the new millennium as the quality, performance and overall desirability of Hyundai cars increased sharply. The company has also smoothed over any lingering doubts about quality by enacting an extraordinarily long warranty period. Though Hyundai's product lineup is smaller than those of most other manufacturers, it gains economies of scale through Kia, another Korean auto brand, which it purchased in 1998. These days, Hyundai is known for producing vehicles that offer great value at low price

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General Motors Garners Nearly $9 Million in Ads with MLB Corvette Giveaway

Earlier this week, we posted how General Motors offered a brand-new 2011 Chevrolet Corvette convertible to Detroit Tiger pitcher Armando Galarraga for his near perfect game against the Cleveland Indians. That generosity may have been a near $9 million win for GM as well.


According to Joyce Julius & Associates Inc., which measures and analyzes the impact of sponsorship on all forms of media from print to television to the Internet, General Motors’ giveaway to Galarraga generated nearly $1 million in exposure in over 700 television programs and nearly $8 million in over 150,000 publications, Internet articles and posts. Note that the automaker never requested or commissioned the study.

“We were not contracted to do the study,” Eric Wright, Joyce Julius' vice president of research and product development, said in an e-mail to Crain's Detroit Business, an affiliate of Automotive News. “We often look at national level happenings in sponsorship and provide that information to all of our clients and the media.”

Source: Automotive News (Subscription required)

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$20 Price Bump For 2011 Corvette Line; ZR1 Jumps By $2920

Chevrolet hasn't revealed how much the Z06 Carbon will cost, but, thanks to leaked 2011 Corvette pricing, you should be able to spec a Z06 just like one for under $90,000. The Z07 performance package, which outfits a standard Z06 with the Carbon's Brembo brakes, Michelin tires, and fancy magnetic dampers, costs $9495. The CFZ package, which adds carbon-fiber bodywork, adds $3995. And the 2011 Z06's price? Like the base model and Grand Sport, it increases by $20, now costing $74,895.


This pricing information comes from Corvette Blogger, who claims to have received it Kerbeck Corvette, a dealer in New Jersey.

A base Corvette coupe is still under the $50,000 mark after destination, at $49,540. A Grand Sport coupe isn't far off, at $55,380. And the herculean ZR1, for 2011, now totals $110,390 after its $2920 price bump.

That Z06 Carbon replica? Take the Z06, add Z07 and CFZ packages, and you're at $88,385. That's assuming, of course, Chevy won't require you to pick items like the $7170 3LZ premium equipment group, and so on.

The options list follows:
C2L Roof Package - Includes Painted and Glass Tops $1,400
CC3 Glass Roof instead of Painted Roof $750
CCR Special order option $0
CFZ Z06 Carbon Fiber Package $3,995
D30 Color Combination Override $590
F55 Magnetic Selective Ride Control - Grand Sports $1,695
F55 Magnetic Selective Ride Control - Coupe/Conv $1,995
H33 Cyber Gray Metallic Headlamp Override $590
H34 Blade Silver Metallic Headlamp Override $590
H35 Black Headlamp Override $590
J55 Cross Drilled Brake Rotors $500
MN6 6-Speed Manual Transmission $0
MXO 6-Speed Paddle Shift Automatic Transmission $1,250
NPP Dual Mode Exhaust $1,195
PYD Grand Sport Competition Gray Wheels $395
PYE Grand Sport Chrome Wheels $1,995
Q44 Z06 Competition Gray Wheels $395
Q6B ZR1 Chrome Wheels $2,000
Q6J ZR1 Competition Gray Wheels $395
Q76 Z06 Original Chrome 10 spoke Wheels $1,495
Q8A Z06 Spider Chrome Wheels $1,995
Q9V Chrome 5 Spoke Wheels - Coupe and Conv Only $1,850
QX1 Split Spoke Competition Gray Wheels $395
R8C Museum Delivery $490
U3U Navigation 6.5" Screen $1,795
US9 6 Disc CD Changer $395
Z07 Z06 Ultimate Performance Package $9,495
Z15 Grand Sport Heritage Package $1,195
**6 Two-Tone Seating $695
36S Custom Leather Stitching - Yellow $395
37S Custom Leather Stitching - Blue $395
38S Custom Leather Stitching - Red $395
0B1 Cross Flag Embroidery on Headrests $300
28U Inferno Orange Metiallic $300
45U Velocity Yellow Premium Tintcoat $850
85U Jetstream Blue Premium Tintcoat $850
89U Crystal Red Premium Tintcoat $850
GLB Supersonic Blue Metallic $300

All vehicle pricing includes a $590 destination charge.

Source: Corvette Blogger

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