Click to enlarge

Chevrolet has released a teaser image of its Colorado show truck, which will make its world debut at the 32nd Bangkok International Motor Show in Thailand later this month. The show vehicle will preview the next-generation Colorado midsize pickup truck, which the company says will build on the brand’s strong truck DNA and award-winning heritage.

Thailand was chosen as the site of the global debut because of the popularity of pickup trucks and the growing importance of the Thai market to Chevrolet. In 2010, the pickup truck segment accounted for 43% of vehicles sold in Thailand. The new Colorado will go on sale there later this year.

Click to enlarge

GM’s Chevrolet will bring the production version of the Cruze hatchback to Geneva, and here are the official images of the five-door. We expected the concept revealed in Paris 2010 to be close to final, and it has turned out to be true – barring the usual showcar flash, the Cruze hatchback is more or less identical to the concept.

Chevy points us to the Holden designed car’s “sweeping coupe roofline”, short overhangs and the same “dynamic stance” as the sedan, but I’m struggling to find this hatchback attractive, just neat. What do you think? Compared to the concept, the production car loses the four lamp headlights, LED driving lamps, big wheels and fancy taillights. Chevy says that cargo capacity is close to 400 litres and it will of course have 60/40 split rear seats.

Intended for the brand to go mainstream in Europe, the new hatchback is expected to add to Cruze sales, which last year surpassed the Aveo to become Chevrolet’s top selling passenger car nameplate globally. It will go on sale by mid 2011.

More pics after the jump.
[Read more...]

Chevrolet has unveiled its highest-performing Camaro at the Chicago Auto Show, and it’s all brutish with the ZL1, which is due to enter the market in early 2012.

The ZL1 gets its moniker from the all-aluminum racing engine of the same name, which was developed in the late 1960s and installed into a handful of regular-production 1969 Camaros. Only 69 were built with the engine, but they’ve achieved mythical status among enthusiasts.

This one, of course, gets a more modern mill in the form of a LSA 6.2 litre supercharged V8 engine, which produces an estimated 550 hp and 677 Nm. Components include a sixth-generation Eaton supercharger with four-lobe rotors, premium heat-resistant aluminium-alloy cylinder heads and high-strength hypereutectic pistons.

The block is mated to a Tremec TR-6060 six-speed manual, in this case the MG9 version, which has a higher torque capacity. Features include a dual-mass flywheel, twin-disc clutch and a new, shorter-throw shifter.

To differentiate the ZL1 from the rest of the Camaro range, the car gets a number of reworked exterior elements. The front features a redesigned fascia – replete with a front splitter and new vertical fog lamps – and an aluminium hood with air extractors and a raised, carbon fibre insert, which helps reduce the bonnet’s mass.

High-intensity discharge headlamps and fog lamps are standard, and at the rear, items include a diffuser and spoiler. The car wears new-design, 20-inch forged aluminium wheels, wrapped with Goodyear Supercar F2 tyres developed specifically for the ZL1.

There’s a specifically-tuned dual-mode exhaust system, first used on the Corvette, which offers a sound level and character in response to engine rpm. The car wears a Brembo braking system, with six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers.

Elsewhere, the car gets a Magnetic Ride Control suspension, with a choice of driver selectable modes, and the rear stabiliser bar’s drop links have been repositioned outboard of the control arms to offer more effective body roll control.

Inside, the ZL1′s leather seats feature microfibre suede inserts, and other enhancements include a redesigned steering wheel, alloy pedals, a HUD and a “four-pack” auxiliary gauge system featuring a boost readout.

Gallery after the jump.
[Read more...]

You’ve seen this before, the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback that was shown at the Paris Motor Show, and here’s the trademark filings from GM with the European patent office. These images confirm that the production model retains the concept’s shape and most of its design.

The front end features the same lower bumper design as the Cruze sedan with round fog lamps, instead of the straight line of LED driving lamps on the concept. The rear bumper design shown here is also more cluttered than the concept’s. The showcar had very distinctive head and tail lamps; we’re not sure if these will survive production.

This global car will wear a Chevrolet bowtie in most markets except a few. GM’s Aussie outpost Holden designed this car, and it will be sold Down Under with a Holden badge. Click here to see our live images from Paris. The rest of the patent filing images are after the jump.
[Read more...]

Word around the auto block is that Chevrolet will be scrapping the Aveo name for its next generation B-segment hatchback set to be sold next year, instead opting for a cooler-sounding name – the Chevrolet Sonic.

It is hoped that the new name would distance the all-new model from the previous generation’s less than fantastic image, and Sonic is also easier to pronounce than Aveo. The thing is, GM has already unveiled the Chevrolet Sonic at the 2010 Paris Auto Show this year and it has Aveo badges all over it. Is it too late for a rename?

It won’t be the first new generation GM car that’ll get a new name – the Optra and the Cobalt names were both scrapped in favor of a new C-segment sedan name – Cruze.
[Read more...]