Camaro Celebrates 45 Years of Awesomeness

Happy Birthday to the Chevy Camaro!

“On this date in 1966, the Chevrolet Camaro went on sale at Chevy dealerships across the country. No longer did the Mustang corner the market on small, sporty cars: The pony car wars had begun.

Forty-five years later, we're taking a look back at the car that's become an icon. Though it's had ups, downs and even a seven-year hiatus, the Camaro has held a special place in American history. That's why we're bringing you an unvarnished look, from the Yenko cars to the Berlinetta, the ZL1 to the Iron Duke.

Our guide on this journey is GM's resident Camaro historian Scott Settlemire. He's a former Camaro brand manager, known on Camaro forums as the "Fbodfather," whose relationship with the car started when his family's dealership first sold one in 1967.

Settlemire said that the reason the Camaro has endured is that everyone has a unique Camaro memory. Whether yours is of a mint '67 SS 350 like the one shown above, your older brother's IROC-Z or your kid's Bumblebee toy, enjoy these Camaros past -- both fine and forgettable.”

Read more and check out Camaros past at http://www.wired.com/autopia/2011/09/camaro-celebrates-45-years/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired%2Findex+%28Wired%3A+Index+3+%28Top+Stories+2%29%29&pid=1331&viewall=true

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Top 5 Most Important Upcoming Car Technologies

Ever wish your car could tell if you were too tired to drive? The technology is already being developed. Read on for a sneak peek of the cars of the future!

“In the early 1980s television series Knight Rider, David Hasselhoff co-starred with a black Pontiac Trans Am named K.I.T.T. (that's the Knight Industries Two Thousand, if you're old enough to remember). The latter could talk, drive by itself and get its human partner out of a jam using its onboard artificial intelligence. At the time, such capabilities seemed like sheer fantasy -- even laughable. Yet today, these once "futuristic" car capabilities (and many more) are reality -- or close to it, anyway.

In this article, we'll explore five of the biggest upcoming technologies to watch for on the automotive scene, and when you might be able to experience them from behind the steering wheel.

In some cases, the technology is already here and ready to use. With others, you shouldn't expect to see them hit the roads until further research has worked out the flaws -- not to mention the high costs. But if past experience has shown us anything, it's that the race to provide cars that are safer, more efficient, faster and just plain cooler will keep pushing the boundaries of technology in what we drive.”

Read more:

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/trends-innovations/5-important-car-technologies.htm

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1969 Camaro Voted Best Chevy Of All Time

Not just any winner, but the overwhelming winner! Congrats to the ‘69 Camaro, the top pick of Chevrolet fans!

“Chevrolet fans have spoken: the 1969 Camaro is simply the best Chevy the brand has ever produced. As part of Chevrolet’s Centennial celebration, fans were asked to vote for their favorite vehicle from Chevrolet’s 100-year history, and the ’69 Camaro was the overwhelming winner.

If you ask Chevrolet’s current Design director, Tom Peters, that doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Peters says the ’69 Camaro is not only one of the best vehicles in Chevrolet’s history, but it’s also one of the best vehicles ever produced. He admits, however, that he is a little biased considering he has owned the same 1969 Camaro for nearly 20 years.

“I can vividly remember seeing one for the first time as a kid,” said Peters. “The intent of the Camaro was instantly understood, even to a 14-year old like me, because it possessed a very powerful personality and an elegant, simple design. The Camaro was so cool because it offered this great style, high performance, and yet was attainable for someone just getting out of school.

The full list of Chevrolet’s most popular vehicles are now available on the automaker’s Centennial celebration website.

Peters added, “Today, the ’69 Camaro has become one of the best examples of timeless design in the industry. Like the very best designs, the Camaro is much more than just a machine because it evokes powerful emotions in people of all ages. That’s why we looked to the ’69 for inspiration when designing the fifth-generation Camaro, and why the ’69 Camaro is an example of the timeless vehicles Chevrolet will strive to deliver for the next 100 years.”

Read more: http://www.chevroletinthenews.com/1969-camaro-voted-best-chevy-of-all-time/#more-1990

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GM Uses Stereo Headphone Technology To Help Fuel Economy

GM uses stereo headphone technology to help fuel economy.

The 2011 Chevy Equinox gets 32 miles per gallon on the highway, four mpg better than segment competitors like the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and Ford Escape – all rated at 28 mpg. It achieves this rating by enabling the crossover’s engine to run at a lower RPM. However, this posed a new challenge for noise and vibration engineers.

“There’s a boom, or very low frequency rumble that comes from the engine when it runs in that RPM range,” said Noise and Vibration Development Engineer Jim Vallance. “We knew if we could deaden those booms, we could run the engine at the lower RPM, which would provide a significant boost to fuel economy. So we started kicking around ideas and came up with noise cancellation like you see in some high-end stereo headphones.”

Vallance and his colleagues at GM’s Milford Proving Ground came up with a solution — an Active Noise Cancellation module. This module detects when the engine is running in the 1,000 – 1,500 RPM range and immediately creates a sound-killing countermeasure through the vehicle speakers, essentially eliminating the unwanted sound.

“We take a proactive approach and target only the unwanted sound in the vehicle, which in this case is linked with the engine firing frequency. Then we eliminate it,” said Vallance.

GM’s innovative Active Noise Cancellation system is standard on the Equinox when equipped with a four-cylinder engine.

Read more: http://www.chevroletinthenews.com/chevy-equinox-employs-sound-strategy-for-more-mpg/#more-1975

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Chevy Cruze Named To KBB.com’s “Top 10 Best Back-to-School Cars 2011.”

The Chevy Cruze was named to Kelly Blue Book’s  KBB.com “Top 10 Best Back-to-School Cars 2011.”

KBB.com editors called the Cruze an impressive car that is “nice enough inside that they might think you’re borrowing your more sophisticated older brother’s car. In addition to a well-appointed and quiet cabin, the Cruze can comfortably seat five and has a large trunk for books and gear. It also features OnStar telematics with emergency crash response—something mom and dad will love knowing you’ll have just in case.”

Something else the Chevy Cruze offers: The highest EPA rating of any mainstream gas-only vehicle sold in America. The Cruze Eco, when configured with a slick-shifting six-speed manual transmission, can reach 42 mpg on the highway, notably exceeding the highway performances of a wide range of hybrids. And in addition, the Cruze Eco also delivers excellent city and combined fuel-economy ratings of 28 mpg and 33 mpg, respectively. Drivers who prefer an automatic transmission aren’t left out in the cold, either. In fact, Chevy has boosted the fuel-efficiency marks of the Cruze Eco with its advanced six-speed automatic all the way up to 26 mpg city/39 mpg highway/31 mpg combined.

As the experts at Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com note, meeting the needs of parents and pupils alike requires a ride that is safe, affordable, reliable and fuel-efficient, but also good-looking, versatile and fun-to-drive—just like the Chevrolet Cruze.

Read more: http://www.chevroletinthenews.com/chevy-cruze-graduates-to-kbb-com-best-for-back-to-school-list/#more-1959

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Chevrolet Volt Named To Edmunds.com 2011 Consumers’ Top Rated Vehicles List

The Chevrolet Volt was named to Edmunds.com 2011 Consumers’ Top Rated Vehicles List.

In addition to being one of the nation’s premier resources for online vehicle research, Edmunds.com also provides a key opportunity for owners themselves to review their vehicles, creating a unique—and important—measure of quality from consumers who know those vehicles best.

Comments from new Chevy Volt drivers included:

• “I have owned my Volt since mid-March, and have used exactly 20 gallons of gas over 3,100 miles. I also own a Prius and feel that the Volt, though a bit smaller, is a big leap forward over that fine car. The Volt is quicker, handles better, is quieter, has much lower operating cost/mile (I pay only $0.10 per kWh), and has been totally glitch-free. It’s an astonishing achievement.”
• “The Volt is my first American car, ever. I currently also have a VW and SAAB. The ride and handling to me are very much like a European vehicle. The fit and finish are impressive. This is an extremely well-thought-out vehicle.”
• “My Volt is incredible. My lifetime mpg is 112 and rising. I’ve driven over 1,000 miles without any gas. I didn’t buy any gas the first month I owed it. It has a sport mode that makes it fun and sporty to drive with speed to jerk your head back. It’s as powerful as a V6. I’m loving it.
• “The car, the concept, everything about it is game changing. My other car is a CTS-V and it has been parked ever since I got the Volt. Saving gas $$ is not my objective—using the cutting-edge technology and proving it in everyday use is the fun part.”
• “The Volt is absolutely the best car I’ve ever driven. It’s quick, nimble, stylish, and simply incomparable from a technology standpoint.”
• “Now in my second month and still have not used more than 2 gallons of gas. The car is surprisingly responsive, feels solid and has had no bugs, defects or annoyances that sometimes accompany new purchases. My average battery range is about 42 miles, but with the range-extending on-board generator, there is no anxiety whatsoever about ‘getting there.’ Moving from my prior Mercedes S 430, I find the Volt to be a remarkably well-engineered product.”

Perhaps even more remarkable: When the 2012 Volt goes on sale later this year, it will have a starting price that’s more than $1,000 below that of the 2011 base model. Showcasing an MSRP that begins at $39,995, and a net cost to consumers of just $32,495 (after a full $7,500 federal tax credit), the 2012 Chevy Volt is available for ordering now—at Chevrolet dealerships in all 50 states.

 

Read more: http://www.chevroletinthenews.com/consumers-vote-volt-no-1-at-edmunds-com/#more-1953

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