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Surprise! GM putting aluminum in next-gen pickups

Last month, General Motors launched a series of ads touting the benefits of steel over aluminum – specifically, with regard to the Chevy Silverado versus the Ford F-150. (Kind of. We're not sure what a grizzly bear has to do with anything.) We took issue with the ads, with editor in chief Mike Austin saying they "reek of insecurity, and distract from the Silverado's strengths that could be used for positive advertising." But what bothers us more, is that yet another report surfaced claiming anti-aluminum GM will indeed use the weight-saving material in its next-generation fullsize trucks. On Tuesday, GM announced a $877-million investment for its truck plant in Flint, MI. But Reuters says that huge overhaul is because the trucks will use "substantially different equipment than the tools GM uses today." The report specifically states, "People familiar with the company's plans say GM's next-generation pickups and SUVs will make use of various materials, including aluminum and lightweight steel, to shed weight and gain fuel efficiency to meet tougher federal standards." The Silverado already uses a few aluminum components in the engine and hood, and if more widespread use will help GM build its best fullsize trucks ever, then that's great. Honestly, we have no reason to doubt that aluminum will be used in the next Silverado and GMC Sierra. We just hope GM remembers that nothing is ever truly deleted from the bowels of the Internet when it launches the subsequent "look how great aluminum is!" campaign. Related Video: News Source: Reuters Green Plants/Manufacturing Chevrolet GM GMC Truck aluminum steel

Watch this time-lapse build of the Chevy SS for NASCAR

There's only about a week left until we get our first look at the production version of the 2014 Chevrolet SS sedan, but Chevrolet NASCAR teams have been looking at the race version of the car all winter. Autoweek has posted a really neat time-lapse video showing just a portion of what it takes to build one of NASCAR's new Gen6 stock cars.
Though the video is quite brief, it does show almost the entire build process starting with just the car's nose, and it gives us a good look at how integral the template is to the final product. As a bonus, Hendrick Motorsports also provided some videos showing two of its teams performing pit stop tests over the winter. The second video shows some of the more detailed aspects of the racecar's rear end, including the stock-looking trunk cutout and a newly mandated rear bumper extension that will be used on super speedways like Daytona and Talladega.
To see what Team Chevy has been up to all off-season, check out all three videos posted after the jump.

2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray order guide hits the web

The official debut of the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is only part of the excitement for fans of Chevy's virtuoso sportscar. Although we got to see the car and some of its preliminary specs in Detroit and Geneva, there is still no word on pricing and some of the juicier data points we've been waiting for - such as confirmed power output, EPA estimated mileage figures and performance numbers. Until then, CorvetteBlogger has gotten its hands on the order guide for the coupe version of the car - in both base and Z51 iterations - revealing tidbits like standard and optional features and available color combinations.
Some other new details made it onto the order guide, such as our first interior specs for the coupe including slightly less hip room and headroom, more shoulder room and the same amount of legroom. To see the full order guide, head on over to CorvetteBlogger. From what we can gather, it sounds like more information will be revealed on April 25 during a party at the Corvette Museum, and for those sun worshipers patiently waiting for a convertible, it would appear you've got another model year to wait through.