Category: Chevrolet

In a surprising move, GM has confirmed that the long-awaited Camaro will be sold in Europe, but also in the UK in a right-hand drive version.

Nobody really expected GM to bring its muscle-car on the European market, but it has been confirmed that the Camaro will reach our shores thanks to its links with the Vauxhall VRX8 also sold in the UK. The Camaro shares its underpinnings with the Vauxhall model, the Zeta platform which has been designed to feature left-hand drive and right-hand drive versions. About 600 cars, half convertibles and half hardtops will be brought to the British market. The V6 powered and the rumoured four-cylinder unit will be reserved to the American market.

In order to cut maintenance cost, GM will only bring the most powerful version which shares its engine with the VRX8, a 400bhp V8 petrol unit. The Camaro will keep its current label, Chevrolet, as GM has plan to increase the sales of its brand on the European market. GM plans to double the lineup by 2012.

Source: Autocar

The V6-powered Camaro has been spotted during testing. As initially thought, the V6 is the same as in the Cadillac CTS.

The spotted coupé was powered by a V6 engine, one of the engines likely to be unveiled in September. The Chevrolet Camaro will offer a wide range of engine. The entry-level will be powered by a 260bhp turbocharged four cylinder unit,followed by the V6 which delivers 304bhp. Two V8 will be on offer, a 6.2-litre petrol engine and the LS3 V8 form the Pontiac G8 GXP which delivers 425bhp.

According to the latest information, GM might unveil the eagerly-awaited Volt at the Paris Motor Show.

The news is surprising as the Volt will only be sold on the American market at first. Bob Lutz even said the Volt might be only sold in selected states at launch. Behind the Volt, the American group wants to unveil the new Delta compact platform which will be share by the future compact models of the group: Opel/Vauxhall Astra, Pontiac G5, Saturn Ion and the future Saab 9-3.

The first model to feature the new platform will be the next-generation Lacetti that GM will also unveil at Paris. But the new Lacetti won’t be enough to attract media attention and customers to the Chevrolet stand. With the Volt, The American brand is ensured to attract visitors to see the new Lacetti.

The Volt has achieved its all-electric target and will go on sale from November 2010 has revealed Bob Lutz.

In an interview with AutoObserver, Bob Lutz has revelaed that the Volt had finally achieved its all-electric target of 40mph during road-testing. By comparison, the current Prius reaches 8mph.

However, the car czar didn’t give further information on the technical side. If he’s happy to say that the target was achieved with "Even with a rough calibration, even with the wrong drive unit, the wrong body, etc. etc.”, he doesn’t what type of batteries was installed.

GM Vice President  has also revealed that the Volt will hit the showrooms in November 2010.

Chevrolet has reshuffled the Captiva’s range by adding a new entry-level diesel, while keeping the same 148bhp engine.

Until now, the entry-level for a diesel-powered Captiva costed £20,395, or £3,400 more expensive than the entry-level petrol-powered version. Chevrolet finally offers the diesel engine with the LS trim level which decreased the price tag to £18,295. The equipment featured on the LS level still includes air conditioning, glass-flip tailgate, electrically-adjustable heated door mirrors, eight-way adjustable driver’s seat, a powerful six-speaker RDS radio/CD player with MP3 socket, steering-wheel mounted audio controls, front, side and curtain airbags, remote control two-stage deadlocking and charcoal-effect roof rails.

With the 148bhp, the Captiva 2.0 VCDi LS accelerates from 0-60mph in 10.8 seconds, with a top speed of 112mph.

At £18,295, the entry-level Captiva is £1,900 cheaper than Kia’s base model Sorento, over £2,000 less expensive than the cheapest diesel Nissan X-Trail, and more than £3,500 less pricey than the five-seat Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2 CRTD GSi.

It was announced that the Camaro will be officially unveiled in September at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The announcement was made by the Central Indiana Camaro Club to which GM has given the green light to reveal the production date and place. The unveiled Camaro won’t be there just for media attention as many different models/engine combinations will be on display.

This is a smart move from GM to release the Camaro at Indy 2008 where it will be easier to target the core customers than during a motor show. The carmaker is sure to get all the media coverage instead of sharing it with competition.

The muscle car will be powered by V6 and V8 petrol engines.A four cylinder petrol unit is even rumoured. The engine under consideration would be the turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol unit of the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky. Its delivered power, 260bhp, is close to the V6 that will be featured on the Camaro, the 3.6-litre V6 of the Cadillac CTS. The V8 engine will be the Z28 which might produce more than 500bhp.

Chevrolet has unveiled a new range-topping Lacetti dubbed Sport powered by a small 119bhp 1.8-litre petrol engine.

The Lacetti Sport comes with the traditional body styling kit, 15in alloy wheels, lowered suspension and integrated front fog lamps. On the inside, there is a full charcoal grey leather upholstery, a leather-covered steering wheel and gear knob, and metallic-effect inserts on the doors and central console.

Power comes from a 119bhp 1.8-litre petrol engine, which gives the Sport the ability to run the 0-62mph in 9.8 seconds, with a top speed of 121mph.

The Lacetti Sport costs £12,495.